Now that we are well into summer your grill should have plenty of use by now. Do me a favor and ask yourself…have you had your fill of burgers and brats? Put some pizzazz into outdoor cooking. Just about any food….and I mean any food can be grilled. How about grilled pizza? Yes you can grill a pizza. What better than a crispy crust with a smoky flavor? You can grill a take and bake pizza or you can make your own crust and put anything on it. One thing I like to do is take left over pulled pork and put that on my homemade pizza crust, add some BBQ sauce then top with green onions, crispy bacon and fresh mozzarella.
I also love to grill fruit. There is nothing better than a caramelized slice of grilled pineapple. It is so simple, but yet so tasty. All you do is brush a tiny bit of olive oil on both sides of the pineapple and throw it on the grill. The natural sugars will caramelize and the olive oil will help keep it from sticking on the grill. Another suggestion is to grill apples with cinnamon and sugar. I cut the apples into slices, (you can leave the skin on if you like) add the cinnamon, sugar and just a little bit of butter. I also like to add raisins and if you are really feeling adventurous, add a couple of splashes of Jack Daniels. Wrap all of this in tinfoil and put it on the grill. I like to leave it on the grill until it becomes thickened and the apples are cooked all the way through. This concoction is great to put on vanilla ice cream!
I have one final tip for you. Don’t shuck your corn on the cob before you put it on the grill. Leave it in the husks. This is what you need to do….soak the corn in the husks in cold water for about 30 minutes. Then all you need to do is put it on the grill and turn them about every 10 minutes. It takes about 20 minutes to cook the corn. If you are not done grilling your meat, you can just move the corn to the outer edges of the grill where it’s not as hot and leave it there until all the food is done cooking. By leaving it in the husks, the corn grills evenly and does not burn. You can also leave it in the husk until you are ready to eat it, keeping it warm.
So the next time you grill, get creative. Bon Appetite!
– Danette Nicoloff