Get Grillin'

For my tomato display, I sliced up a bunch of beefsteak tomatoes and arranged them in a stoneware pan. For garnish, I artfully arranged some leftover romaine and rosemary springs. The tomatoes looked like someone had spent half of a day slaving over them, but it was really only 30 minutes. I must say, this barbecue was quite the success.

Now that its officially summer, people have begun inviting friends and neighbors over to grill and enjoy burgers. Unfortunately, most of the people who do the inviting become overwhelmed with the thought of having a large amount of friends over and immediately rush to the caterer to chop up veggies and put them on a tray with some dip. And they also roll out the money to pay some guy to slice tomatoes and lettuce and artfully arrange them so people can put them on their burgers. It is time to end this nonsense. You, yes you, can slice tomatoes and prepare lettuce in an artful and beautiful way that cost tons less than catering, and you can have quality control so you can choose to use all organic or local produce. By using local and organic produce, you are helping sustain your local environment and your local economy. Plus, the produce will be a lot fresher. What a way to grill.

For my lettuce display, I washed 3 bunches of organic romaine and chopped each leaf in half. Then I arranged them in a shallow, wooden salad bowl. Simple enough. And to make it look beautiful, I added lemon slices and a sprig of rosemary to the front of the lettuce display. Looks catered, taste catered, but doesn’t cost catered.

the idiot proof veggie, CORN

sadly, the price of our beloved corn is on the rise. thanks to ethanol. I do love alternative energy, but i do also enjoy a nice cob of corn. so i suggest we all go out and buy a couple cobs of good old maize before the price goes up even more. the easiest way to cook corn is to boil it. 1. fill a pot of water, salt the water, cover and let boil. 2. while the water is boilin', husk the corn (rip all the green stuff off and break off the white thing on the butt of the corn). as fun as corn husking is, it is also incredibly messy. i suggest you do that over the sink. 3. plop the corn into the water. 4. allow to cook for i want to say 15 mins or so, but sometimes more and sometimes less. when the corn looks good, strain it and enjoy. another great way to enjoy this classic American veggie is grilled. this is possibly the best, but a grill is needed for it to work. 1. place a husked corn cob on a square of tin foil that is big enough to wrap around the whole corn. 2. lather the corn in butter. (the more the merrier, you want a good chunk of butter to be used up on this corn) 3. sprinkle the corn with lots of salt 'n' pepa. if your feeling ambitious, add a little cayenne peper, garlic powder or even fennel seed. 4. roll up tinfoil around corn, being sure to fold in the ends. you dont want any of that buttery deliciousness falling out. 5. place these corn roll ups on the grill. turn a couple times until the corn is done. about 10 mins or so. dig in! if you are still to stupid to figure out how to make corn after reading this, try the frozen kind.