Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Salad with Perfectly Grilled Chicken and Potatoes for #SundaySupper

In my ongoing search for delicious and nutritious recipes to try and - if they're successful - add to my arsenal,  sometimes I hit the jackpot. That's what I did with this salad. It is a re-imagined version of the old Italian prosciutto and melon appetizer. I have already made it twice this summer for backyard get-togethers. And it's a hit. It'll be a hit for your July 4th party:

The great thing about this salad is you avoid the mess with the traditional prosciutto and melon. You know, when you bite into it and the melon juice drips all over you? So you scurry back to your plate for protection, or to put your hand under your chin. Only to find your white linen pants have melon juice all over them and it looks like you peed yourself. Not to mention, the stringy prosciutto getting stuck in your teeth with every bite. Not only that,  every time you take a bite the rest of the prosciutto becomes unwrapped from the melon. Then you're re-wrapping and playing drip-prevent defense at the same time.

It's a nuisance and this recipe eliminates all of that because you still get the awesome-sauce taste with added kick AND the bonus of using a fork. Novel concept, I know. This is simple and delicious:

Ingredients:

• 1-lb cantaloupe, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces. 
• 1/2 lb. honeydew melon. 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
• 10 mint leaves, chopped finely 
• 4 (about 1/4 lb.) slices fresh prosciutto, chopped finely 
• ground black pepper 
• 1/4 lb. fresh shaved Pecorino Romano cheese

Preparation:

• I admit I buy the pre-cubed containers of cantaloupe and honeydew for this. Since I make it when we're entertaining, and you probably will too, it's just easier. (Although more expensive. But worth it to me, and I'm a cheapskate. To each their own.) 
• Still, I further cut that melon myself into small enough cubes. 
• Then add your lemon juice, mint, and prosciutto. (Make sure you get the prosciutto from an Italian butcher. I've gone over this before.)
• Give it a few turns on the old peppermill, depending on your taste. 
• Shave your Pecorino and set it aside. Add it right before serving so it doesn't get soggy. Mix and serve. Easy and yum. Takes 10-15 minutes.

Make that ahead of everything else. Put it in the fridge and let all of the flavors absorb for a couple of hours. Cut and marinate your chicken (details below) and let that sit in the fridge for a couple of hours too. When you're ready for dinner, fire up the grill and do exactly what I say for potatoes and chicken that are grilled to perfection.
Ingredients:

• 2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4-5 inch pieces. 
• Marinade of your choice. (For a giggle, I like Caribbean Jerk.) 
• 3-4 roasting potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes. (I use Yukon or fingerling.)

Preparation:

• Rip off a 10"-12" sheet of tin foil. Curl it into the shape of a bowl. Spray it with cooking spray. (If you don't spray the foil, the potatoes will stick. I know because I forget most of the time.) 
• Put your cut potatoes into your foil bowl. Now double up on the foil. Season your potatoes however you like. Salt, pepper, garlic salt, rosemary, parsley, and/or butter or olive oil:

Before: A hot pocket of potato love

• Place your foil bowl of potatoes on one side of the grill on high. Close grill. You may walk away. (The potatoes are pretty much self-contained. Just make sure not to put them on a really hot spot on the grill.) 
• In about 20-25 minutes, put your marinated chicken on the grill. Keep an eye on the potatoes. If need be, lower the heat on that side of the grill. 
• Your window to walk away has now closed. (Remember what I said about the pork tenderloin?) That chicken is small and will cook fast. Walk away and you're doomed. 
• After 3-4 minutes, turn the chicken over. Reduce heat to medium. Let cook 2-3 minutes. Close grill. 
• Don't walk away. Sit in a patio chair with a beer and use your smart phone to catch up on any recent DKL posts you may have missed. 
• In another 3-4 minutes, open the grill, reduce heat to low, turn the chicken again. Once the temperature drops to warm, close the lid. Turn the grill off. 
• Let it cool and serve. Should take 45 minutes from the time you first put the potatoes on the grill.

Your chicken should look like this:

You gonna tell me that's not perfect?

Making it Peanut-friendly:

• The chicken is always juicy and tasty. The potatoes too. This makes for a happy Peanut. 
• The cantaloupe salad is hit or miss with her. You might have to take the mint off. Sometimes she can't grasp that we're having fruit as our vegetable. She'll learn to deal.
• She also doesn't like the skin on potatoes, but I don't peel potatoes. She IS learning to deal. (The skins also peel off easily when you cook them like this.) 

I take great pride in my grilling. I am a self-taught grillmaster. Neither my mom nor my dad grilled. I've had many failures, which is why I love sharing my techniques with you. It's a shame to waste good food.

Enjoy and Happy 4th!

Check out the other #SundaySupper recipes for July 4th:

• Tender & Sweet Crockpot Brisket Juanita’s Cocina
• Savory Patriotic Chicken Kabobs Big Bear’s Wife 
• Firecracker Salmon Rolls Comfy Cuisine
• Red, White & Blue Grilled Pizza Momma’s Meals
• Baby Back Ribs with Balsamic Peach BBQ Sauce Damn Delicious
• Bubblin’ Brown Sugar Baby Back Ribs In The Kitchen With KP
• Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen 
• Juicy Lucy’s with Blueberry Ketchup! by Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again 
• Grilled Hawaiian Teriyaki Beef Mrs. Mama Hen 
• Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Salad with Perfectly Grilled Chicken and Potatoes Daddy Knows Less 
• Texas Smoked Brisket Doggie At The Dinner Table 
• Grilled Chicken in a Blueberry BBQ Sauce Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Chicken Burgers with Curried Cabbage Slaw-Indian Soni’s Food for Thought
• Finger Foods for the Fourth Pescetarian Journal 
• Grilled Pork Satays with Peanut Sauce Tora’s Real Food 

Salads and Sides:

• Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad Supper for a Steal
• Roasted/Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan Katherine Martinelli
• Patriotic Ranch Potato Salad The Meltaways 
• Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Salad Are you hungry
• Texas-Creole Crawfish Potato Salad The Weekend gourmet
• Spicy Italian Peppers in Sauce What Smells so Good?
• Sangria Fruit Salad Cindy’s Recipes and Writings 
• Stuffed Black Olive Cookistry
• Mexican Quinoa Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing Dinners Dishes and Desserts 
• Low Fat Pasta Salad Basic and Delicious 
•  Bean Salad with Pickled Vegetables Diabetic Foodie
• Tomato and Mozzarella Appetizer Family Foodie

Desserts:

• Red White & Blueberry Ricotta Cupcakes Sue’s Nutrition Buzz 
• Red Velvet Brownies Magnolia Days
• S’mores Pastries Daily Dish Recipes
• Red, White and Blue Firecracker Cupcakes Chocolate Moosey
• Caramel-filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream The Messy Baker 
• Red/white/blue German Obstkuchen (fruit-topped cake) German Foodie 
• Strawberry and Cream Cake Cupcakes and Kale Chips 
• Fourth Sticks In the Kitchen with Audrey
• White Chocolate Berry Tart Vintage Kitchen Notes 
• Apple Pie Beetle’s Kitchen Escapades 
• Red White and Blue Coconut Rum Cake Family Spice
• Individual Red White and Blue Triffles Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence
• Mini Carrot Cakes Mama’s Blissful Bites 
• Plum and Apple Pies Cositas Bonitas
• Red White and Blue Triffle Cravings of a Lunatic