With the country standing at the cusp of grilling season (sounds so dramatic, doesn't it?), this dish is one you'll want to make again and again.  It's one of those recipes that you unfortunately won't have a lot of leftovers if you take it to a potluck and one that almost everyone will ask for the recipe.

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This time we enjoyed success.  Delicious, wonderful success.

Grilled Pizza

Pizza Dough
Shredded or Sliced Cheese
Sauce (we used both pesto and tomato sauce)
Toppings- veggies, meat, etc.  We used zucchini, mushrooms, roasted bell pepper, and onion

Prepare your grill for direct heat.  Preheat the stone on the grill.

Prepare your dough by shaping into a flat disc- keep it small-ish, around 10 inches in diameter.  I prefer extra thin crust so make it as thin as possible, but that's up to you.  If you use the recipe I mentioned above, you will probably get 3-4 small pizzas.  We made 3 pizzas and cheesy bread.  Delish!  Also, get your sauce and toppings together on a tray so that you can quickly assemble the pizzas.

Remove the preheated stone to a heat-proof surface and grill the dough, about 3 minutes total, flipping halfway through.  Remove to a cooling rack.  Replace the stone onto the grill.  Assemble the pizza and place it on the pizza stone.  Grill, covered, 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and it looks perfect.

Let cool for a minute before cutting.  Enjoy!

A Couple Pizza Ideas
Slather the crust with pesto.  Top with mushrooms, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses.  Grill, and after removing or toward the end, add halved grape tomatoes.

Top the crust with regular pizza sauce.  Top with onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and cheese.

Brush a crust with olive oil and top with cheeses.  Grill until cheese melts and slice into strips for cheese sticks.

Decided to use the grill pan instead of the grill- just for convenience reasons

Salt and pepper
3/4 pound short pasta, such as campanelle
1 3/4 cups corn kernels (from 2 ears)
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
3 medium zucchini
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Prepare zucchini:  using a sharp knife or mandolin, slice the zucchini lengthwise into long, thin slices.  Grill on outdoor grill or grill pan over med-high heat, lightly oiling the zucchini and sprinkling with salt and pepper prior to grilling.  Flip when the bottom side has nice grill marks.  Remove from heat when zucchini are softened and both sides are lightly charred.  Set aside to cool, and then chop into 1/2 inch pieces.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than package instructions; add corn and cook until tender, 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup pasta water, ricotta, and Parmesan. Add pasta mixture, zucchini, basil, and dill and toss to combine. Add more pasta water if necessary to create a light sauce that coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper and top with more basil and Parmesan.

Notes

• I used a mixture of cellentani and rigatoni pastas to use up what I had in my pantry.  Any shorter pasta will do.  
• I had fresh basil from my garden and didn't use dill at all.  
• I had some boiled corn left over from another meal, so instead of boiling it, I just sliced it off the cob and used it that way.  You could also use frozen corn.

What I am telling you about is by no means revolutionary, but it is my husband's favorite thing to grill, and maybe one of our favorite warm weather meals.  You can use any combination of vegetables you like, and they can be eaten as a side dish or a main course, served with bread or potatoes.  Just know that you won't have many leftovers!

While our favorite salmon recipe is this one, I like a lighter, fresher take on salmon and other fish in the summer.  Can you identify with that?  The desire to have a simpler, fresher, lighter take on your food so that the freshness of the summer produce shines?



While summer might be fading into fall, hang onto that summer simplicity a little longer with this dish.  The cucumber pineapple salsa is also fine as a salsa/dip, or a topper for other meats.  I made as-written and have linked to the original recipe.



Salmon with Cucumber-Pineapple Salsa
originally from Everyday Food, June 2007 issue

1 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)

In a medium bowl, whisk together lime juice, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil; add cucumbers, pineapple, scallions, jalapeno, and basil. Season with salt and pepper; toss gently to combine.

While the salsa melds together, generously season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high; add salmon, skin side down. Cook until skin is crispy and salmon is opaque about 3/4 of the way through, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn salmon over, and continue to cook just until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve salmon topped with salsa.

Notes

• Since it's just two of us, I halved the recipe and still ended up with quite a bit of salsa.
• I also pulled a Rachael Ray and eyeballed everything. I tried to have an even amt. of pineapple and cucumber.
• As you can see from the picture, I did a pretty fine dice on the pineapple by cutting it into slabs, then sticks, and then little cubes.  I just like my pieces small.  

Looks burnt beyond all goodness, but so good!

It's been a lot rainier this summer than most, so we haven't gotten to grill quite as much, but we still grill almost every chance we get.  We saw this recipe on an episode of Primal Grill with Steven Raichlen and tried it that same night.  Since then we've made it 4 or so times.  It's our new favorite way to eat corn.



It's simple, tasty, and economic.  It's also easily scaled to suit more or fewer ears.  The one downside is that it does require advance preparation, but even the prep doesn't take a lot of time.  This would make a great addition to any cookout, and with Labor Day coming up, it's good timing!  Yay!



Oh, and did I mention that this corn is made directly over coals, immediately adding a cool factor?  Yep, it is.

Fireman's Corn
from Primal Grill

Four ears corn, silks removed and approx 1/2-1" trimmed from the top
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 gal water
Softened/Room Temp. butter
Cayenne Pepper
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Make a brine for the corn by combining the salt, sugar, and water in a tall, cylindrical vessel.  Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.  Add the corn, cut end down, into the brine and allow the corn to brine in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

Prep your gill by preheating charcoal (or if using gas, prep for direct grilling).  Once the charcoal is ready, spread it out in an even layer.  Place your ears of corn directly on the coals, or on the grill grate of your gas grill.  Grill until husks are charred and blackened and even missing in places, 5-8 mins. per side.

Remove from grill, strip off remainder of husks, and slather with butter.  Sprinkle with ground black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Notes

• The one note I can think to type is that my 1/2 gallon plastic pitcher works perfectly for 4 ears of corn.  When we made 8 ears for a family dinner, we used our 7 qt. stock pot.  

I think I did one of these last year, but happy 4th of July to you!  Now's a good time to see what's been done in the past.

How do you celebrate our nation's independence?  Do you watch fireworks, cookout, go vacationing, all of the above?  The 4th has always been for me a time spent with family or friends.  It usually involves fireworks and usually a cookout with great food.

Below are some of my top pics for a great 4th (or any time)!  Whatever you do, happy Fourth to you and yours!

Grilled main dishes:


A delicious burger


BBQ chicken

Buttermilk Brined Grilled Chicken

On the side:

Potato Salad

For dessert:


As American as....Blueberry Pie

Strawberry cobbler

Isn't it fascinating the way social media changes the way we learn and discover things?  Following Snookie on Twitter may not be the type of learning you want to foster, but Pinterest and the blogosphere open up a whole host of new material- recipes to try, books to read, DIYs to attempt.  I love the creativity and adventurousness of others!  For a long time I personally resisted Pinterest food pinning because they weren't trusted sources, but now the food board is probably my biggest or my most used board and I'm slowly working my way through recipes I've pinned and will share them here. 



Today's post is Key West Grilled Chicken (no longer pinned), and as the unofficial end to summer has passed and the days shorten, our grilling days may be numbered, but this one is a good recipe to have in your repertoire.  I doubt it'll ever be a superstar, but it's a good base marinade to have on hand, and if you're the deviant type who plays around with recipes, you will find lots of ways to tweak this one.  I made it pretty much as is, except that I used chicken thighs rather than breast meat.  It's also an affordable recipe, coming from grocerybudget101.com.  Next time I'm adding some spice to the marinade- both Drew and I agreed that a little heat from crushed red pepper or cayenne would benefit this.

Aside from its baseline goodness and adaptability, the recipe is quick and affordable.  From fridge to plate in less than an hour, and that includes marinating time!

Key West Grilled Chicken
from this site

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tbs. honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Juice of 1 Lime
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice, and garlic.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. If you prefer kebabs, as are pictured, cut the chicken into large chunks, skewer onto bamboo sticks that have been soaked in water for 5 minutes, and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

For a slightly zestier version, add a teaspoon of Freshly Chopped cilantro to the marinade.

Grill on medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. Serve with fresh salad, steamed veggies, baked potato or any of your favorite sides. For variation, try marinating shrimp, (which will take 2-4 minutes to grill in all!)

Make this tonight!!

There are many dishes on here that I share because I enjoy them and hope you might, too, but this one is really special.  Its flavor combinations of citrus, herb, and smokiness are a triple threat! 



This recipe is simple, coming together in less time than it takes to light a charcoal grill and about the same amount of time that it takes to light a gas one.  It's tasty and involves few ingredients, and I am all about getting the mileage out of simple, flavorful ingredients rather than fussing with an ingredient list that's often longer than my weekly grocery list.  It's also fairly quick, which is perfect for those nights when you don't feel like doing much prep work.  In fact, our charcoal took longer to light than the actual cooking time of the fish. 



You can thank the staff at Everyday Food for this recipe, and it can be found online or in the June 2012 issue.  It's a perfect summertime grilling treat, and it had both Drew and me wanting more and discussing how we eat better at home than most of us can eat dining out.  Gotta love those recipes that make you feel like you've created a star dish!  I'm posting the recipe below, as is, and also linking to the webpage for a printable version.

Grilled Fish with Citrus
from Everyday Food, June 2012

Oil

Directions

Cook's Note

Mash together 1 stick unsalted butter; 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest; 2 teaspoons fresh orange juice; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 clove garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro; and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt.

Happy Summer, and welcome back to the blog! 

This weekend I knocked out not one, but two new recipes.  Yay!  Here's one of them.



It's been said before on the blog, but we love to grill in summer, but grilled chicken doesn't always excite us, because if you make sure it's done, it's often overdone and a little dry.  This particular recipe utlizies a sort of combination of brining and marinating the chicken for flavor and moisture infusion, and boy is the end result tasty.  A full 24 hours of prep time is required, so planning ahead is essential.  Everything does, however, come together easily.  Depending on the appetites in your household, you can get 4-6 adult servings off one bird.  I made the recipe as is and will post it below.  You can also click the link below to see professional pics and the original webpage for the recipe.  Definitely put this in your summer grilling repertoire.

We served it with a salad and baked sweet potato, but any of the summer sides would work great.



Buttermilk Brined Grilled Chicken
from June 2012 Southern Living

1 whole chicken, cut into individual pieces (breast, leg, thigh, wing) or the equivalent of a whole chicken already in pieces
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups water
1/4  c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. hot sauce
3 Tb. Kosher salt
1 Tb. pepper, freshly ground preferred
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, halved

In a bowl (or even the bag you'll marinate in), combine the buttermilk, water, sugar, hot sauce, salt and pepper and stir.  At this point make sure it's in a resealable bag or container for brining.  Add the lemon and onion and then the chicken.  Place in refrigerator and let sit 24 hours. 

When ready to grill, prepare your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium high (300-350).  Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

Place chicken on unlit portion of grill and grill, skin side up, covered, for 40-50 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of meat regoisters 165.  Flip the chicken over and place over lit portion of grill and grill for 5 minutes more or until skin is crispy. 

Remove from grill and let the meat rest, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for approx. 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Sorry for the picture- just when I think I've improved on those photography skills even in the slightest bit, I forget to take a picture of the final recipe, all assembled, and then a picture like this comes along. 



I've had this recipe in the queue since I received the July 2010 issue of Southern Living.  It came right around the time my friend Jordana invited us all over and served similar burgers, which were great.  Recently I went to Shelby's newest burger restaurant, Newt's (highly recommend it if you live near Shelby, NC!) and had a Greek style turkey burger as well, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then.  This weekend, with Drew at work, the time for this recipe to have its time in the sun had arrived.



If you've never eaten a burger made with meat other than beef, you have to brace yourself and tell yourself that it's not supposed to taste like beef.  I think that's where people get in trouble with beef subs- nothing tastes like beef, so if you're expecting beefy taste from any other meat, you're just setting up the dish for failure.



That disclaimer out of the way, this turkey burger is a treat.  It's loaded with feta cheese and has a nice, light feel.  When topped with the cucumber sauce, it's beyond a fulfillment of my memory of the Newt's burger.

I'm posting it with the few changes I made; the title of the recipe is a link that will take you to the original recipe. 

Greek Turkey Burger
adapted from Southern Living

1 lb ground turkey
1- 4 oz package crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tsp fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cucumber
1- 6 oz. container plain Greek yogurt
1 Tb. chopped fresh mint
1 clove garlic, minced, pressed, or grated
1/2 tsp. salt
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Preheat a grill pan or skillet to medium high.  In a large bowl, combine the turkey, feta, onion, oregano, and salt, mixing lightly to combine.  Shape into four equal sized patties. 

Coat the pan or skillet with cooking spray or a light brushing of oil and grill patties 5-8 minutes on each side, or until the interior of the burger registers 170 degrees or there's no pink in the middle.

Stir together the cucumber, yogurt, mint, garlic, and salt in a small bowl. 

Serve the burgers on the toasted buns topped with your Greek yogurt sauce and any other condiments you may enjoy.