July 4th is Friday. Wondering what to prepare for an entertaining and delicious summer side? I suggest two foods that you may not think to throw on Barbie that make a wonderful summer splash and are are SO EASY to draw rave reviews.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Despite the convenience and fast turn around of my dad's preferred corn-cooking method, the microwave, I like to grill corn. It's easy and fun to do. Fire Barbie to high and pull back the leaves to make handles. I like to tie the leaves with butcher's string or in a pinch, dental floss. Remove the silk, of course. You can throw the corn on to the grill like this, no problem-0. But I like to brush on quasi-melted butter infused with minced garlic and chopped cilantro or basil. It's just a little fancier with that little flair. Brush, cook, and rotate for about 10 minutes or so depending on the size of the corn. A trick is to keep the leaves from the flame. Once your corn is grilled, you can eat with the handy handles still tied up OR you can break the cob in half and slice off the kernels to use in a salsa or salad.
Grilled Peaches
Don't forget to grill fruit for an outstanding ovation, Mon Chef! My boys' current fave is grilled peaches. It tastes like peach pie with out the crust. They can't believe that I serve them this sweet-tasting delicacy with their meal and don't save it for dessert. You can do either one and you'll score major points with kids and grown-ups alike! Simply cut the peach into halves and remove the seed. I say "simply" because most people can do this without difficulty. However, I encountered peaches last Sunday that weren't exactly the ripest; I just couldn't get them sliced into halves very well. OK, I butchered them. Sigh, "Slaughtered" is more appropriate. Skewers saved the day! Either way, grill the peaches until you get those nifty grill marks on them (shorter cooking time for the sliced-to-bits variety than the perfectly sliced halves).
Serving options are abundant for grilled peaches. Most of the time, I serve them as a side because I'm time-crunched with STARVING children who currently are eating me out of house and home due to full-blast summer activities. Other suggestions I highly recommend include:
~ Serving for dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top of a grilled half OR a butchered peach as topping on the scoop of ice cream. Either choice makes a pretty and unexpected presentation.
~ Chop up the slaughtered grilled peach even further and make a salsa with your grilled corn to put on top of grilled fish. Add diced avocado, mango, and papaya mixed with a little lemon juice, garlic, and chopped cilantro and your fruit chutney with corn makes a colorful and delicious topping to please the eye and stomach.
Any grilled fruit or veggie you'd like to suggest? I'd love to hear about it, so post your fave by clicking that envelope picture below to the right. Happy Independence Day, Divas and Dudes!
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3 comments:
I personally love grilled pineapple.
Grilled corn is the bomb! Grilled peaches, however, kind of makes me want to vomick! Another great grill (but definitely NOT low-cal friendly) is to core out a Vidalia onion, pack it with as much buter as humanly possible, wrap in in foil and cook it on the grill. If you have the time, it's best to set it away from the coals (yes, I said coals. Gas grills are for Communists!) and cook it for about an hour and a half. MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm...that's some good eatin'!
My typing skills are awful. Obviously, that should be "butter" and not "buter" and "wrap it in foil" instead of "wrap in in foil."
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