Category — Outdoor Cooking

One of my favorite things about summer is inviting friends over for a barbecue. There’s nothing better than the smell of a Weber Smokey Joe charcoal grill and fresh citronella candles on the table. This summer, I’ll be treating my guests to a healthy feast served on bold, beautiful melamine dinnerware. I absolutely adore the Jonathan Adler Kaleidoscope collection!

We’ll also be sipping on refreshing sparkling raspberry lemonade while enjoying our time in the sizzling California sunshine. No barbecue is complete without fresh corn on the cob, but since I’ve been on a bit of a baking streak lately, I think I might mix things up a bit with these adorable corn-on-the-cob cupcakes.

Makes 24 cupcakes or 8 “ears of corn”

Ingredients

Vanilla Frosting
Yellow liquid food coloring
24 Vanilla Cupcakes, baked in white paper liners
3 1/2 cups small yellow, cream, or white jelly beans, such as Jelly Belly
4 pieces yellow fruit chews, such as Laffy Taffys or Starbursts
1 tablespoon black decorating sugar
1 tablespoon white decorating sugar
8 sets of corn holders (optional)

From The Martha Stewart Show, April 2008

I had, hands down, the best guacamole this past weekend. It was the Fourth of July, and my friend was throwing a soiree on his deck in Manhattan Beach. There was really no better way to add pizazz to the ordinary fare of burgers and dogs.

We used a recipe from Alton Brown , who so famously uses science to perfect his dishes and this was a standout!

Ingredients

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

I like the authenticity of using a traditional Molcajete , which is shown in the image above, but we used a regular serving bowl and it still tasted great. We smeared the good stuff on our burgers and hot dogs and scooped up a good amount on our chips, too.

Are you having a fourth of July party and don’t have a menu planned yet?  I’ve got some great ideas for you that are quick, easy and fun.

If you are having an outdoor party you need to carefully consider the menu since it is harder to keep food cold in the heat.  My best tip for this is one I saw on HGTV .  A party planner recommended taking a baby’s inflatable tub or small pool raft and filling it with ice.  Then you can put all your food in that to keep it cold and prevent leakage when the ice melts.

For an easy menu, I’d go with hot dogs, burgers, potato salad, chips and salad.  For that all you’ll need is a grill to prepare the meat and the rest can be bought from your local supermarket.

But if you want something a little more fun, I’d recommend trying a theme.  You could go southwestern and add chips, salsa and guacamole.  For the burgers, you could mix chorizo or bison in with the beef for a really awesome kick of flavor.  You could serve black beans instead of potato salad and have grilled peppers instead of a salad.

Or you could try a more polish/german theme with sausages or bratwurst instead of hot dogs, and make a german potato salad recipe .

For a middle eastern feel you could barbeque lamb and then grill some eggplant.  Serve that with pita or pita chips and hummus and babaganoush.

You might think its strange to recommend ethnic food for a holiday that celebrates America, but I kind of think that’s what America is all about, the blending together of different cultures.

If you want to serve festive drinks, I recommend my fun "Freedom Punch ".  To make it more festive, serve it in this light up party fountain.

Whatever you do, the key thing is just not to stress!  Parties are supposed to be fun, so make sure you enjoy yourself.

It’s summer.  It’s simple.  All you have to do is grill, swim, tan, peel, and sleep.  If you do anything more than that you really are missing the point of summer.

With every activity comes the attire to do it in style.  I want to throw some apron ideas at you for this year’s time spent at the grill.  For the guys it’s easy. Just pickyour favorite witty saying that you won’t get sick of joking about and go with that…for example:

you can even personalize…

For the gals…as usual…you can really make a statement.  Here are a few I though stood out:

DII Pink Ruffles Hostess Apron

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DII Black Printed Damask Chefs Apron

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Jessie Steele French Hostess Apron

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Women’s Sweet Sunshine Apron by Flirty Aprons

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Danica Studio Neema Apron

If you have this extra feature on your gas grill, use it! It’s so easy to make a delicious dinner for a family. Serve it with a salad, baguette and wine or cole slaw and French fries. Either way, it’s gourmet and good times!

The simple way to make a perfect rotisserie chicken. You will need:

• a 3 pound bird
• 1/4 cup butter
• paprika
• salt
• pepper

Put the chicken on the rotisserie, turn the grill to high and cook for ten minutes. Mix the other igredients. Turn the heat to medium and baste with the butter mixture. Close the lid and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, basting between sips of wine and good times. When the leg jiggles and could easily be pulled off, you’re ready to roll!

I have to add real life experience to my June 30th post.

I went to a fabulous barbeque throw down at a friend’s place. The food was all home cooked, Southern style: mac and cheese, bbq baked beans, collard greens, potato salad. All delicious, all made with love and skills.

I was happily anticipating my burger which had been marinated over night in a special sauce. When it came off the grill and I had my first bite, my friend asked to me if I could pick the secret ingredient in the marinade…

Uh, “lighter fluid” I thought.

I could not taste anything on that burger but nasty chemicals. I asked other friends afterwards and we all agreed. None of us could finish the burgers. Besides tasting foul, we all imagined we’d drop dead with cancer if we took a second bite.

I now firmly stand for gas and electric grills only. Besides being more green, they are also way better for your health. And they seal the deal for the reason you’re grilling in the first place; your taste palette.

It might look cool and bring back fond memories from childhood but, in my opinion, the charcoal grill should die with the dinosaurs.

This recipe came to me from combined moments of genius in the kitchen with friends from Europe. It’s been tried and tested on the East coast and West with meat-eaters and vegetarians alike and gotten nothing but thumbs up all around. You will need:

• One medium deep dish with cover
• 1 pound chicken – any cut you like or use unbreaded veg chicken nuggets
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 10 springs fresh thyme – use the leaves only
• 1 1/2 T chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 T fresh grated ginger
• 2 lemons – use juice only
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 t cayenne pepper
• sea salt
• cracked pepper

Rinse the chicken and place it in the dish. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until all the chicken is coated. Cover and put in the refrigerator. Obviously you’ll need to double it for more meat. This recipe does not need to be exact so go with your gut! It’s best to marinade at least over night. If the chicken is fresh you can leave it for two or three days even, just stir it every once in a while. You can add veggies and make skewers or slap it right on the grill. Either way you’re gonna love it!

You’ve probably heard the claims that cooking meat over an outdoor barbeque comes with an increased risk of carcinogens. That’s because when meat is cooked at a high temperature (including frying and broiling) the amino acids react with creatine to form heterocyclic amines (Has) which are worrisome chemicals. Grilling over a flame is double trouble because it exposes the meat to the cancer-causing chemicals contained in the smoke. Yikes!

Here are some ideas to help cut down the risk factor for you this summer.

• Marinating meat is thought to be helpful by some but the evidence isn’t concrete. Whatever! It still tastes good. Check out my Mediterranean Marinade recipe tomorrow. It rocks!
• Grill smaller pieces of meat – they cook faster at a lower temperature
• Choose leaner meat – It’s the fat that makes the flames that makes the smoke which is bad
• Flip a lot – that way both sides heat evenly
• Buy natural briquettes and wood chips from a natural food market
• Choose an eco-friendly propane grill instead of a charcoal grill
• Don’t use lighter fluid
• Choose low fat meats and trim off the excess fat
• Don’t eat the burnt bits

Or just go vegetarian! Try Boca burgers, meatless chicken and lots of veggies!

Besides red, white and blue, a grill is the one element that makes our upcoming American summer holiday distinguishable. So, if you don’t already have one, I’m here to help. There are hundreds of choices out there and I want to make sure you’re spending more time celebrating than shopping. Take my Get a Grill Quiz and find out which type of grill is best for you!

Questions

1. Are you a basic burger cook or a gourmet chef?
2. Do you cook for a select few or do you like to throw down for a massive posse?
3. Which rates higher for you, the classic smoky bbq taste or neat grilling with an easy clean up?
4. Where will you be grilling? A few steps from your kitchen? A trek across the yard?
5. When you’re not grilling, where will your grill live? Under cover? Out in the open?

Answers

1. For basic burgers look for a straight up grill. For a gourmet chef you can go all the way with side shelves, rotisserie, lights, radio, cabinet space… you name it, they got it, but buyer be ware: the features cost extra.
2. Grills come in all sizes. Think about how many burgers you’ll need to cook at once to suit your party. Look at the surface area of prospective grills and go from there.
3. To charcoal or to gas, that is the question! A charcoal grill is more mess but if you really want that Fourth of July flavor, just jump in the pool afterwards! There are plenty of sleek gas grills on the market in all price ranges. If you want it ready for the 4th make sure there’s not a tedious instillation process necessary.
4. Consider a grill with shelves, side trays and even cabinets if you want to keep cooking utensils and condiments next to the action.
5. If your outdoor grill does not have a place to live that is completely covered, you must get a stainless steel grill unless you want to add rust to your next bbq recipe!