Grilled Chicken with Herbs

We served this chicken, the so called Simon and Garfunkel chicken, at a graduation party for one of our kids. It was a big deal kind of a party, becasue not only do we have a nursing school graduate, but also we haven't had a real party since another one of our kid's weddings, and it just felt important to have nice food for the occasion. This chicken fit the bill. We did it on the grill, but the recipe calls for baking it, but the really nice feature for an outdoor BBQ party is that you can cook it most of the way-->stop-->then heat it up on the grill. Here is the rub: ▢1 tablespoon dried crushed parsley ▢2 tablespoons dried crushed sage ▢1 tablespoon dried crushed rosemary ▢1 tablespoon dried crushed thyme ▢1 tablespoon dried crushed oregano ▢1 tablespoon dried crushed basil ▢10 bay leaves ▢1 tablespoon ground black pepper ▢1 tablespoon sugar Measuring. Measuring the ingredients is a bit tricky since some of the herb leaves may be powdered, not crushed. The big chunks, like oregano, have more air in them, so try to compensate by adding more or less depending on how much air in your raw materials. If your measurements are not precise or if you lack one or two ingredients, no wars will break out, but I think the sage, bay leaf, and rosemary are essential. Crushed bay leaf may be hard to find so you can use whole bay leaves. Just take about 10 leaves and crumble them in your hand, measure the crumbled amount and add more if necessary. The pepper will add a little heat, but not much, but you can cut it out if you're a wimp or amp it up if you're a tough guy. Optional. At one time I had included 1 tablespoon dried crushed hot red pepper (cayenne or chipotle) in this recipe. I have removed it because I decided I like the recipe better without the heat. If you want a capsaicin jolt, go for it. Method Measure everything and dump it into a blender; see "Measuring" note about the bay leaves. Put the lid on the blender (very important), and run it on medium for a few seconds, turn it off, and run it again. Continue pulsing about until you have a powder. Dump the whole thing in a jar and label it. How to use this stuff. If the food has not been been brined, then sprinkle with salt, ½ teaspoon per pound. If it has been brined, then skip the salt. Lightly coat your chicken or potatoes or asparagus or whatever with water (the ingredients dissolve better in water than oil), sprinkle on the rub liberally, even if you are a conservative. If time permits, let the seasoned meat sit in the fridge for an hour or three. Grill, smoke, or roast.