Oh my. When I die and go to Heaven, shut-up you in the back, this is going to be served everyday.

Back in the days before I had to go gluten and dairy free this was one of my most favorite summer meals. I think out of all the foods I have had to give up, it is the only dish I truly miss.
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Nataly emailed me last week asking if I had any no cook recipes in my repertoire and could I pretty please share them.

My first thought was, “Well, I can pour a mean bowl of cereal!” Because who among us doesn’t try to convince our children that it was THEIR idea to have a bowl of cereal for dinner every now and then.

But I got thinking about summer schedules and the heat and how most of us want to be out enjoying the weather, not tied to our hot stoves once we get home from work. So I thought I would offer up some tips to making summer cooking easier.
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Who doesn’t love corn-on-the-cob?

My favorite thing to do with corn on the cob is to grill it.

Step One: Peel off the first few layers of husk.

Step Two: Soak the corn on the cob in water for at least 15 minutes while you warm up the grill

Step Three: After soaking gently pull back the layers of the husk and remove the corn silk as much as possible.

Step Four: Brush a little oil on the corn, then wrap the husk back around the corn, and wrap the entire corn on the cob in tin foil

Step Five: Put the corn on the grill over medium heat. Turn every couple minutes. Then move the corn to a more indirect source of heat like the upper rack of the grill.

Step Six: After about 15 minutes remove the corn from the heat.

Step Seven: Keep the corn wrapped in the tin foil to keep it warm on your buffet table.

Now, you can melt some butter and serve the corn with that. But how about making a spicy butter to give the corn on the cob an extra little zip? Your guests will love it.

In a small sauce pan mix together (enough for about 10-12 ears):

1 cup butter
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/4 tsp garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Heat long enough for butter to melt. Put a pastry brush out with small saucepan so your guests can brush the spicy butter onto their corn.

Once you have your corn cooked this way, you will be hard pressed to go back to regular plain, boiled corn.

(I will add photos later. I am still cooking my food for this weekend, but wanted to get the recipes up since I have had so many requests for the Fourth of July recipes. I am also cooking entirely on my outdoor grill. Have I mentioned here that we are in the middle of a kitchen remodel? We are at the point right now where we have no appliances. Woooo hooooo. Or something like that.)

Along with the potato salad it is a law that you must have pasta salad. Yes, really. I generally make more than one but this one is an old favorite stand-by that everyone loves.

It conforms to the trifecta of a good recipe:

1) Easy.
2) Can be made in advance, actually it is preferable to make it the day before so that the flavors can meld together.
3) Loved by everyone.

1 (16 ounce) package of pasta, I like to use the tri-color ones

can black olives, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed*
cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 pound Genoa salami, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 pound pepperoni, pizza style, cut into bite sized pieces

3/4 cup olive oil**
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar**
ground black pepper to taste**

(fresh mozzarella is delicious, but you can use the regular kind too)

(*you can substitute your favorite Italian dressing instead. Buy an extra bottle to leave on the buffet table for people who want to add a little more zing to their pasta salad.)

Cook the pasta.

Drain the pasta and run under cool water.

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Refrigerate until your guests arrive.

Summer entertaining is my favorite. Probably because it is easy to prepare most of the dishes before hand so that you can relax and enjoy your company. Also, because men always seem to want to work the grill so if you plan your food wisely the menfolk will do the actual cooking on the day of the party. Men always look better standing at the grill in 100 degree weather, holding their bottles of beer. I just look hot and sweaty and borderline alcoholic.

This week I thought I would share some recipes for those of you entertaining this weekend. Everything can be made in advance.

First up today, the ubiquitous potato salad. It is a summer barbeque staple. Honestly, I think it is written in the Constitution that you must serve this at any and all Fourth of July functions, or else be deported.

My husband is currently eating his second helping of it and said, “You have to give me this recipe!” I guess in case I meet an untimely death he wants to ensure that he can still eat this potato salad.
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I have been using my grill a lot recently, in between making variations of easy pasta recipes. It is difficult to cook when you are not at home. At all. Ever. And need to serve dinner at 8:30pm.

We are in the playoffs of baseball season right now, which means the madness will slow down somewhat, or at least our snack bar visits will slow down. My 5 yr old daughter thinks that the snack bar is the latest and best restaurant in town. If I were a better mother I would probably feel guilty about that.

And this, has been the extent of my inspired “cooking” lately:

Why, yes, it is a snow cone. What? I’m just keeping it real for you. Also, my children think that snow cones are the best thing since sliced bread, or ice cream in a ziploc bag.

Here are some links to recipes other people are posting about that have made it to my short list.

Shannon, at Rocks in My Dryer, has posted an easy, family friendly recipe called Bruschetta Chicken Bake Doesn’t that sound all fancy? Like your neighbors and husband will be impressed when you just breezily announce what you are making for dinner. No need to tell them all how simple it is. We can keep that a secret.

Completely unrelated, Shannon and I are speaking together on a panel at BlogHer this summer. We are going to be talking about privacy and parenting. We are also going to be holding hands under the table because we are both nervous public speakers. But, shhhhh, that is a secret too. Are any of you going to be at BlogHer this summer?

Back to recipes…

Mary, at Owl Haven, posted a yummy sounding Beef Stroganoff recipe that seems easy enough and does not use canned creamed soup, a personal turn-off for me.

And not that she needs any more links, but Pioneer Woman has posted a fabulous sounding Green Bean Recipe. I love green beans and they are cheap, plentiful, and in season right now. My kids also love green beans which means they will be eaten and not just be a decorative green plate accent.

This side dish is oh so yummy. Perfect to pair with a nice grilled steak. Eaten outside on a glorious warm evening. With a big glass of wine. Some smart funny friends. Where there are no bugs. Or whining children.

I guess you can say that if there was going to be a perfect, albeit imaginary, evening this side dish could be there.

You might notice something different about this post. “Where are the photos, Chris?” you might be asking.

They were lost in an unfortunate delete all images slip of thumb from the SD card. I had thought I could remake the dish and rephotograph it in all its glory. But this morning I was staring at my Blackberry, all the ingredients laid out before me on the counter. I scrolled past the rest of the week and weekend: 6 baseball practices, 5 baseball games, one art lesson, one afternoon of kayaking, tickets to a play, a doctor appointment, horse back riding lessons times three, a desperately needed hair appointment, tile that has to be ordered and picked up by tomorrow, a bathroom that needs to be painted before the tile is picked up but after the paint is bought, and well, I realized that it just was not going to happen.

Instead I will give you the recipe, just in case the stars align and you can have the perfect evening and need this dish.

You will need:

[Insert photo of artfully arrange ingredients on the kitchen table. Make sure breakfast dishes are strategically placed out of the view of the camera.]

1/2 cup dried mango
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup basmati rice (any kind will really do, but I love the way this one tastes with fruit)
14oz chicken broth, either from a can or if you saved some when making soup last week
3/4 cup water
1tsp basil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

This is the part I like, because it is SOOOOOOO easy.

Cut up the dried mango into 1/4 inch pieces.

[Insert obligatory photo of knife wielding child.]

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan that has a well fitting lid.

[Insert photo of pan. WITH a lid.]

Bring to a boil. Give it a quick stir.

[Insert photo of spoon inside of a pan. For really artsy fartsy look capture steam rising from pan.]

Cover. Turn the heat down as low as it can go.

[Insert photo of low flame on the stove. Make note to photoshop out spills on burners]

And let it cook until the rice is done. Just as if you were cooking rice regularly. If you have some toasted pine nuts, throw them on top. I never do so I just skip this. I bet it would make it even more delicious though.

[Insert photo of beautiful rice on a plate, smiling child with fork poised to eat it]

And that is the end. Really. That is it.

[Insert on least photo of rice with a half empty glass of wine in the background]

Enjoy!

I have had a number of requests lately for side dishes.

Why is it that they always seem the most difficult to come up with? Maybe because we will happily eat the same baked chicken, grilled steak, pan seared pork chops over and over again and yet we long for some variety with our side dishes. Something that moves us beyond rice and steamed veggies. Something that livens up the meal.

I am on an eternal quest for new side dishes. This is a recent recipe I have experimented with subjected my family to added to the rotation.

Why yes, it does kind of look like a white brain.
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