Herb Chicken with Honey Butter

Mother's Day during a pandemic. The plan: give Jessica the day off from everything — from work, from kids, from the house. I woke up at 5 AM and cooked the full spread: chilaquiles (her favorite, the annual tradition), fresh juice, coffee. She came out at 8 and the table was set and the kids were dressed (a miracle involving bribery and threats) and she sat down and ate without doing a single thing and I watched her shoulders drop for the first time in two months.

The pandemic has been hardest on Jessica. Not visibly — she does not complain, she does not crack — but in the accumulation of everything she carries. The job (full-time, from the dining table, with two children in the background of every Zoom call). The kids (managing Sofia's school and Diego's chaos while I am on shift). The fear (that I will bring the virus home, that Roberto will get sick, that the world will not go back to normal). She carries it all and makes it look manageable, and on Mother's Day I wanted to carry it for her, even if only for one morning.

We FaceTimed Elena. She was in her kitchen — of course she was, Elena's natural habitat — and she showed us a cake she had baked for herself because, as she said, "If no one is coming to feed me, I will feed myself." The independence of this woman. The stubbornness. Roberto was behind her, eating a piece of cake at 9 AM, and when Elena scolded him he said, "It is Mother's Day. Cake is allowed." She rolled her eyes. She gave him another piece.

Sofia gave Jessica a handmade card that said: "Dear Mom, thank you for being the best mom even when everything is weird." Everything is weird. Six-year-old summary of a pandemic. Sofia also gave her a flower she picked from the neighbor's garden without permission, which I will address with the neighbor later. Diego gave Jessica a hug and a half-eaten cracker, which is the toddler equivalent of a Tiffany bracelet.

In the afternoon, I fired up the grill and made what Jessica wanted for dinner: simple grilled chicken, a big salad with vegetables from the garden (the spring crop is coming in — tomatoes, peppers, herbs), and garlic bread on the flat-top. Nothing fancy. Nothing that requires fourteen hours or competition-level technique. Just good food, cooked outside, eaten on the patio, while the kids played in the yard and the sun went down and the world, for one evening, felt almost normal.

Jessica said, "Thank you for today." I said, "Thank you for every day." She said, "Do not make me cry on Mother's Day." Too late.

That evening on the patio — the salad pulled from the garden, the kids in the grass, Jessica finally still — this was the dinner I wanted to anchor it all. Not a showpiece. Not something that required a second mortgage in ingredients or three hours of my attention. Just Herb Chicken with Honey Butter: a clean, fragrant piece of chicken off a hot grill, finished with something a little sweet and a little rich, the kind of food that tastes like someone actually thought about you when they cooked it. That’s exactly what the day was about.

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

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Honey Butter:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

Make the honey butter. In a small bowl, mix softened butter, honey, parsley, and flaky sea salt until smooth and well combined. Set aside at room temperature while you prepare the chicken.
Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Drizzle with olive oil and rub to coat evenly. In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of each breast and press gently to adhere.
Preheat the grill. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grates. Allow the grill to reach full temperature, about 5 minutes.
Grill the chicken. Place chicken on the grill and cook undisturbed for 6—7 minutes per side, until grill marks form and the internal temperature reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Avoid pressing down on the chicken while it cooks.
Finish with honey butter. Transfer grilled chicken to a platter or cutting board. Immediately top each breast with a generous spoonful of the honey butter and let it melt over the surface for 1—2 minutes before serving.
Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing or serving whole. Spoon any honey butter pooled on the platter back over the chicken. Serve alongside a garden salad and crusty garlic bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Herb Chicken with Honey Butter — The Dinner That Made One Evening Feel Almost Normal