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Grilling got you down? Try one of these recipes from McCormick.

I can't tell you how sick I am of my grilling regime. Way too plain old Dick and Jane.

So "Master the Flame. Master the Flavor" McCormick's grilling slogan caught my eye as I need serious help especially with the 4th right around the corner. Yes, I would like to master the grill -- create something tasty.  The company offers up some great, easy-to-follow, recipes for steak, beef, burgers, pork and ribs, chicken, seafood and sides, all of them of course involving a shake or two of their spices.

Nutrition info and easy directions are included with each recipe. Rip and ride my friends...that's print and cook to all you non motorcycle riding friends. Better yet send these recipes to your phone so when you are in the store they are at your fingertips. Love it. Visit McCormick for all the details and fire up that grill.

Pop Food! A World Cup Dinner Party Featuring Bobotie and Soccer Ball Cupcakes.

Alicia Sanchez, host of Pop Food, prepares a delicious Bobotie, a savory South African casserole, followed by soccer ball cupcakes. Invite some friends over to share a traditional South African dinner with a little pop culture while enjoying the 2010 World Cup.

Grand Uses for Summer Grapes

Grapes are one of my favorite snacking fruits, simply for their refreshing taste and texture and the ease of packing them up for any trip. But after doing some research, I realized I was letting quite a few opportunities to use grapes in my cooking pass.  

The Food Network has a great video on how to use grapes in creative, unique dishes; for instance, Smooth White Grape Gazpacho. Only five ingredients and simple to make, this recipe is perfect for a light summer evening meal. Seedless white grapes, soy milk, slivered almonds, scallions, and lime are all you need in addition to your blender or food processor. 

And you can add grapes to just about anything to spice up a dish with some sweet. For instance, next time you barbecue, try chicken and grape skewers. Or mix some seedless green or red grapes into your chicken salad. Add to a seafood dish such as swordfish or sole for a distinct flavor. I just discovered a lovely recipe for Brandied Chicken Curry with Grapes, a dish I'm making for a graduation party this weekend. 

Grapes are such a versatile fruit, you can use them in any type of dish, from your appetizers to your desserts. Check out this easy recipe for Warm Grape Cake if you're looking for a different type of summer treat. Spend some time with these recipes and don't be shy about using grapes - I guarantee you'll have a whole new level of respect for this grand fruit!

Pack Your Picnic Basket. It's Summertime.

 What did you do over Memorial Day weekend? I always consider it the first weekend of summer so usually eat outdoors -- as many meals as possible. 

As a BBQ alternative, how about packing a good old-fashioned picnic basket, your family, and the dogs and head out to a state park?

Picnics are the perfect occasion to cheat a little, and The Food Network's Southern-Fried Memorial Day Picnic has the perfect party food to keep your picnic basket at the top of its game. 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Shrimp and Deviled Egg Salad Rolls are the main course, but there's plenty more in this basket. You'll want to choose a place where you can spend some time, because you'll never eat all this at once! I packed this picnic for a group of six and there was still food left over. 

For appetizers, French Onion Dip with your favorite chips or crackers and Parmesan Puff Pastry will keep your hunger at bay while you find the perfect spot. Pair those with some refreshing Cherry Cooler, an awesome combination of cherries, hibiscus tea, and sugar to keep your thirst quenched.

Polish off your fried chicken and sandwiches with a side of potato salad or broccoli slaw, then take a few minutes to digest. A hike will top this meal off nicely! The only thing missing is dessert - but that's okay. Surely there's an ice cream stand on your way home! Enjoy summer!

Don't Let the Grill Cool Off! Grilling Desserts

For a healthy dessert after a marathon grilling session, skip the ice cream stand and try putting some fruit on the grill. From bananas to plums to pineapples, you can make some really cool desserts with those really hot coals.

 

I have to admit, I never would have thought to try grilling fruit until I started watching cooking shows. The Food Network has some great tips on this phenomenon, one of the best being, put the fruit on, turn it once, take it off. Once you get the hang of it, it’s simple, it tastes great, and it’s healthy! 

 

Melons are a good choice, because you can cut larger pieces. A slight brushing of Canola oil will help the fruit not stick. And make sure you pick the side of the grill you didn’t cook burgers on.

 

Bobby Flay’s video below offers a yogurt topping for the fruit, but you can do a Chai syrup, melt chocolate and peanut butter in a skilleton the grill for a sweeter topping, or simply eat the fruit as is. Ice cream on the side is always a good choice. 

 

It’s one stop cooking for your summer meal - just wheel the grill onto the deck and cook your appetizer, your main course, side dishes and desserts all in one place. How can it get any better? 

Grills Aren't Just for Burgers Anymore

In my opinion, the best part about the grill is the ability to cook just about anything on it. I love grilling the traditional items, steaks and hot dogs and burgers, but I also love to grill vegetables, fish, even corn on the cob.

Salmon is one of those versatile fish that tastes great no matter what you do with it. Fresh or frozen, it works perfectly on the grill, in pieces about 1-inch thick. Allow the grill to get extra hot and you can cook the fish right on it, no aluminum foil necessary. Season or marinade as you want before cooking (I love teriyaki salmon). 

The best piece of advice I found when researching how to grill fish - or anything for that matter - correctly was to leave it alone. Don’t keep turning it over, because it will break. Sear the fillet on one side before you turn it, and this will also prevent sticking and give you those fancy grill marks. Bobby Flay demonstrates here.

And if it’s not perfect, so what? It’s fun to try, and summer meals are the perfect time to experiment. Add some grilled vegetables as a side dish and no one will notice your grill marks aren’t even. Slice up some zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, onions, garlic and toss with olive oil. Pour into aluminum foil and place on the grill, or place your aluminum foil bundle into a grill pan. Cook until the vegetables are tender, and serve as a side dish to your fish. Enjoy on the deck or patio with a glass of white wine, and buy some extra charcoal. We’ll grill up some desserts later this week!

Fire It Up - It's Grilling Season.

 It’s about that time again, when the scent of grilled food permeates every neighborhood and friends and family gather to barbecue for just about any occasion. I love the grill - I would use it every night during the summer if I had my way. But I had to get over the fear of lighting the silly thing first, especially my little charcoal grill. Once I realized my choices were to light the grill or order a pizza, I ponied up and mastered the task.

I learned to form my little pile of charcoal, put lighter fluid on them, then light a long match and wait for them to turn gray, the signal that I could finally cook. This method seemed to take forever, though.

Then I learned there were better ways, thanks to Real Simple's grilling tips. They recommend using hardwood charcoal, which lights faster and burns hotter and cleaner than briquettes. There’s also the chimney starter, a notion I had never heard of. It’s a can open at both the top and bottom, with newspapers packed on the bottom. Charcoal goes on top, light the paper, and wait 15 minutes, then you can cook. I haven’t tried this yet, but I plan on buying one this year.

If you're not an outdoorsy person, you can even buy an indoor grill. They have some fancy ones now, and they taste almost as good as if you cooked your food in the great outdoors.

In my world, the vegetable and shrimp kabobs marinated in sesame ginger sauce will be waiting for that flame to rise. Cooking healthy is just as easy on a grill as it is in the oven -- vegetables, fish, potatoes. Grilling is a summer tradition, and it’s getting better every year.

Spice it up With Three Bean and Beef Chili

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned chili on a cooler evening, and we're getting them up North this week.

A traditional three bean and beef chili tastes wonderful after simmering in the crock pot all day. The Food Network offers a variety of recipes for beef, chicken and turkey chili, as well as vegetarian style. Ellie Krieger’s is pretty standard if you’re looking for a traditional pot of chili.

Hook up your crock pot with some olive oil and add your veggies - typically onions, peppers, garlic, and this recipe suggests adding carrots. Once they’ve softened, add your cumin. I like to add chili powder here for some added zip. Crumble your ground beef into the crock pot and add crushed tomatoes, water, a chipotle chili if you choose, and oregano, salt and pepper.

I like to add some crushed red pepper flakes to take the heat up a notch. Simmer this mixture, and then add in beans as you choose; this recipe recommends black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans. Simmer in the crock pot - the longer the better -- and serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos on top, with tortilla chips on the side. Spicy! Keep that theme going a little longer and have a margarita to cool it off. 

Roasted Salmon: Keeping Mom Healthy and Happy

Keeping Mom’s taste buds happy doesn’t mean sacrificing her health. For a perfect Mother’s Day dinner, try some heart-healthy roasted salmon. It’s an easy fish to prepare, because it doesn’t take much to make it taste great. This recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart, shows the fish’s classy side by immersing it in a white wine sauce for that fancy dinner. 

Roast the salmon in a pre-baked, 450-degree oven on a rimmed baking sheet or a baking dish. Prepare your sauce with a cup of dry white wine, flour, butter and chives on the stovetop. It’s quick and easy, but it will taste like you slaved over a hot stove all day!

Martha serves her roasted salmon with potatoes and mushrooms, which is delicious, but I like salmon with brown rice and asparagus. I mix onions and mushrooms with my rice and add a touch of Tamari sauce for flavor. My steamer is fast and efficient for my asparagus, and I like to chill it and serve with olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese for something different. A PInot Grigio will top off this meal sufficiently.

As for Mom, she’ll enjoy -- even more so because she doesn’t have to cook!

Spice up Scallops with Caramel Glaze

Fresh Maine sea scallops are my favorite treat when I head north for a long weekend. There’s just something so purely New England about them, and for me, scallops from anywhere else don’t compare.

 

I used to just broil them with butter or bake with bread crumbs or Romano cheese, but then I discovered how much you can really do with scallops. From salads to pan seared, from pasta dishes to even pizza recipes, there’s so much out there that I bet you haven’t tried when it comes to scallops -- I hadn’t, until I started getting creative. 

 

Paula Deen has a great recipe for Seared Sea Scallops with Caramel Glaze. About 12 large scallops serves four, so plan accordingly. 

 

The glaze is made from vegetable oil, corn syrup, butter, water and sugar in a small saucepan and spooned on top of the scallops after they are seared. I like to serve on a bed of baby lettuce.

 

Asparagus or green beans go wonderfully with this dish, and a nice risotto. Deen recommends green beans with almonds and caramelized onions, a simple dish that complements this recipe. Olive oil, butter and sugar are sauteed with onions, then add green beans and almonds. 

 

I hope you’re planning on heading up to Maine soon for the full seafood experience. Go hungry!