Don't know how Spring is playing out near you, but in New York it seems like we made the jump from cold and rainy to hot and humid with the absence of those sunny pleasant days where being outside presents absolutely no challenges to personal comfort. With the heat comes the constant need to cool down, and perhaps there's no better way to achieve that with maximum seasonal refreshment than lemonade.
Oh, you say lemonade isn't grilled? That's where you're wrong!
New Years poses a hosting challenge—you're usually not serving dinner, but you need to keep guests well sustained for hours while counting down the clock, and if the party is going well, you'll most likely be too inebriated to cook. I attack this quandary by creating an army of finger foods that are good both hot and at room temperature, and these goat cheese-stuffed Peppadews fit the bill quite nicely.
Distance might make the heart grow fonder, but it can also be a bitch. I just got back from a visit with two of my best friends in North Carolina, where both carnivores and herbivores found common ground sustaining ourselves on fried delicacies like hush puppies, tots, and mozzarella sticks during a holiday beach weekend spent alternating between laziness in the sand, couch, and hot tub. While sloth and gluttony may have been the dominating themes, my overall feeling was a strong desire to be with these two amazing people way more often in my life. In the fleeting moments we do get to spend together each year, those often too quick encounters do lead to fond memories. One of those was a time when they were on our home turf, and wanting to show off some grilling skills without the use of meat (oh, how hard that can be), I put together a grilled pizza party, which was preceded by these figs stuffed with goat cheese.
Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend Meatwavers! I couldn't have asked for a better one as I relinquished my usual grilling duties and let some top chefs cook for me at the first annual Montana Master Grillers weekend at The Resort at Paws Up. An immaculate weekend from start to finish—look for the full low-down on Serious Eats shortly—the only downside was leaving 80 degree and sunny New York for 50 degree and snowy (yes, snowy) Montana. The weather was part of the novelty of the weekend, but returning home to true summer warmth from the mountain cold left me in the mood for something more tropical, with a bit of cooling power, and this rum-glazed grilled pineapple with toasted coconut and vanilla ice will do quite nicely.
Before I digressed into the virtues of an all-out barbecue bash, and how to plan one, I was on a bit of Cuban kick with pernil, followed by Cubanos. Picking back up from there, I can't image how you could have either of those without plantains— inseparable in my book. Of course, grilled plantains can be excellent, but I have a sweet spot in my clogged arteries for tostones—twice fried green plantains.
Handpicked items by the Meatmaster to aid in your own barbecue and grilling.
Proceeds help support this blog.
Advertisement
