Chicken Skewers with Cool Avocado Sauce

Year six ends the way every year should end: at the grill, at dawn, with coffee and the desert blooming and the knowledge that the fire is burning and the family is whole and the future is closer than it was when the year began.

Year six in review: the pandemic ended (mostly). The vaccine arrived. The Sunday cookout returned. The TV segment aired (twice — they re-ran it in December). The magazine column launched (four columns published, eight more to come). The cooking program expanded to fourteen stations. The competition circuit resumed (one first-place win, one second-place finish, one first-place ribs — my best rib year ever). Elena retired. Roberto's A1C dropped to 6.8. Sofia started competitive soccer. Diego started preschool. Jessica started saying "the restaurant" in present tense instead of future tense, which is the linguistic equivalent of a groundbreaking ceremony.

The savings: $76,000 (slightly behind the $92,000 target for the year, but the cooking program expanded faster than expected and required some personal investment that Jessica categorized as "brand building, not loss"). The Manual: 124 pages. The business plan: sixty-eight pages. The timeline: 2033. Eleven years away. The countdown is real and the progress is real and the dream that used to live on a napkin sketch now lives in a leather-bound journal and a spreadsheet and the hearts of everyone who has ever eaten my food and said, "You should open a restaurant."

The Battalion Chief exam is in five weeks. The competition is in seven weeks. The spring is here. The garden is growing. The grill is hot. Year seven begins. The years are getting faster. The food is getting better. The fire does not care about time. The fire just burns.

Just show up. Keep showing up. That is all there is. That is everything.

Year six deserved something on the grill at first light — not the competition-day intensity of a full brisket or a rack of ribs, but something clean and direct and worth standing over with a cup of coffee while the desert woke up around me. Chicken skewers with cool avocado sauce hit every note I needed: the fire doing its work, the avocado grounding the heat, simple enough that the grill could carry the meaning without the cook having to overthink it. Jessica came out in her robe and ate three off the skewer before they were even plated, which felt like the right way to start year seven.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
Wooden or metal skewers
Cool Avocado Sauce:
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
2–3 tablespoons cold water, to thin

Instructions

Soak skewers. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent burning.
Marinate the chicken. In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Add the chicken cubes and toss to coat evenly. Let rest for at least 10 minutes at room temperature.
Make the avocado sauce. Combine avocados, Greek yogurt, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding cold water one tablespoon at a time until the sauce reaches a pourable consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Assemble the skewers. Thread chicken, bell pepper pieces, and onion pieces onto skewers, alternating and leaving a little space between each piece for even cooking.
Preheat the grill. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium-high heat (about 400°F). Lightly oil the grates.
Grill the skewers. Place skewers on the grill and cook for 5–6 minutes per side, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and shows good char marks. Internal temperature should reach 165°F.
Rest and serve. Remove skewers from the grill and let rest for 2–3 minutes. Arrange on a platter and drizzle generously with the cool avocado sauce, serving any extra sauce alongside for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Skewers with Cool Avocado Sauce — What I Put on the Grill at Dawn When Year Six Was Finally Done