Forget you're cooking - fire up the grill, invite over a few friends and enjoy the experience.

Grilled chicken mixes well with seasonal ingredients year-round, and is a healthy choice for a weekday grilled supper or weekend cookout.

When it comes to grilling chicken, no one is more informed or experienced than Bill and Cheryl Jamison. Bill and Cheryl are the country's foremost authorities on grilling and smoke cooking. They are the authors of the top-selling cookbooks "The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining," "Chicken on the Grill," "Smoke & Spice," "Born to Grill" and "Sublime Smoke."

"Few things are tastier than properly grilled chicken, lightly browned and crusted on the surface, succulent and tender at the center," says Cheryl Jamison. "Chicken is easy and relatively quick to grill when you know what you're doing. It's a solid value for every night family meals, and great for entertaining because just about everyone likes it."

Bill Jamison notes that most people get their start on the grill with hamburgers and hot dogs, "which aren't much harder to prepare than peanut butter sandwiches.

"People build too hot a fire, or don't watch the cooking time, and end up with chicken that overcooked, or burned on the outside and undercooked in the middle," he says. "You can still have fun at the grill, but keep an eye on the heat, the chicken and your watch."

To avoid cooking disasters, they say, start with a properly heated grate, oil it just before you begin to cook, and don't try to move the chicken until it has cooked for at least a couple of minutes, or the chicken skin may stick to the grill.

"The key to grilling chicken that is nicely browned on the outside and completely cooked on the inside is to turn the chicken often and allow it to grill over a steady medium heat," the authors say. "This method will consistently produce juicy, deeply browned grilled chicken."

The Jamisons also recommend using the "hand test" to gauge the heat of the grill. "Hold your hand a couple of inches above the cooking grate and count the seconds until the heat forces you to pull away. One to two seconds is hot, three seconds is medium-hot, and four to five seconds is medium, perfect for most chicken. For a gas grill, simply turn the heat up or down as needed. With a charcoal fire, add or remove coals, adjust the vents, or move the grate, depending on the design of your grill."