First, it uses boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you’ve ever tried to eat healthy, you probably found yourself eating a lot of boneless skinless chicken breasts. You hear all the time that white meat is healthier than dark meat, that the skin is terrible for you, etc. And while that’s technically true, even dark meat poultry can be a healthy choice. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the embodiment of that. They have a bit more fat than the breast meat, it’s true–but they’ll also bring a lot more flavor to your dish, and tend to be a bit more moist than boneless skinless chicken breasts. And they’re just as convenient! If you prefer thighs and legs when you order your chicken from a fast food place, you’ll probably be much happier with boneless skinless chicken thighs than with breasts.

Second, it takes advantage of the broiler, a feature of my oven that I severely neglect. We live in the city, on the 16th floor, which makes grilling a fairly complicated option. Enter: the broiler. Basically anything you can grill you can cook under your broiler. It doesn’t take the place of the taste of real charcoal grilling, but if you’re using a gas grill, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs
Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2007

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs) CALORIES 321 FAT 11g FIBER 0.6g

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Except this time.

This time, my friend Jeff bought me this awesome set of spice rubs for my birthday. One Salmon Rub, one Steak Rub and one Chicken Rub from Rub with Love.

So I took that spice rub, and what I learned from an episode of Good Eats, and I made broiled salmon. And it was good. Really.

The Spice Rub is sweet and spicy at the same time. As usual, Alton Brown’s method yielded perfectly cooked salmon, even though I had no idea what I was doing. I really enjoyed the salmon, too. It was flaky, but meaty, and very moist. And of course, this is probably just a salmon thing, and I’ve secretly not known it, but the texture was more like chicken than any fish I’d eaten.

Spice-Rubbed Salmon

• 1 side, skin-on, sockeye salmon, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, pin bones removed
• 3 tablespoons Rub With Love Salmon Rub

Position a rack in the oven 3 inches from the broiler. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and place the salmon on the pan.

Evenly spread the spice rub onto the salmon and allow to sit for 45 minutes, at room temperature.

Turn the oven on to the high broiler setting for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, place the salmon into the oven and broil for 6 to 8 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish reaches an internal temperature of 131 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the salmon from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

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