Grill Zucchini

Vegetables cooked on the grill just taste better, to me.  This recipe doesn't call for the zucchini to be cooked directly on the grill, but rather indirectly so it basically steams.  The accompanying onions have a nice caramelized taste, though.  Notice that there are no grill heat settings on these instructions.  I have a charcoal grill and it is all that I have ever grilled with, so heat settings for this would be difficult.  Whatever your meat is cooking at should be fine.

Serves 2
Oil or nonstick cooking spray
1-2 thin slices onion
1 small zucchini or yellow squash, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1/2 tablespoon cold butter, cut into small pieces
Dash salt and ground black pepper

1. Place a rectangle of aluminum foil on a flat work surface.  Brush with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Arrange onion rings on foil.  Top onion with zucchini or squash.  Sprinkle zucchini with cold butter, then salt and pepper.  Bring up sides of foil and seal around zucchini.
2. Grill foil package over direct heat for about 5 minutes, then move to cooler part of the grill for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove foil package from grill to a heatproof surface.  Empty grill package onto serving platter, drizzling any juices over vegetables, and serve hot.

Grill Potatoes

I really like to grill. I wonder if part of this is that grilling in my house usually involves grill potatoes and grill vegetables.  They are easy, fast, tasty, and--best of all--produce no dishes to wash!  Note that these instructions are written with a charcoal grill in mind, since that's what I have, so there aren't indicators of heat.  Potatoes aren't real particular, so any heat that adequately cooks meat will work.

Serves 2-3

Oil or nonstick cooking spray
1/2 lb potatoes, cubed into small bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1. Place a large rectangle of aluminum foil on a flat surface.  Coat inside with brushed oil or nonstick cooking spray.  Scatter potatoes over foil, centering on rectangle.  Cut cold butter into small pieces and scatter over potatoes.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic salt over potatoes and butter.  Pull edges of foil rectangle up and overlap as much as possible.  If edges do not meet or do not overlap, add a second piece of foil to better seal package.
2. Grill foil package over direct heat for 15-20 minutes (the cooking time will depend on how brown you would like the potatoes to be; I tend to like mine brown so I cook them longer).  Remove from grill to heatproof serving plate.  Unwrap package and pour potatoes onto serving plate. Discard foil. Potatoes are best served hot.

Honeydew Salad

I suppose this couldn't really be considered a salad if it only has one kind of fruit.  But it is a salad for lack of a better term.  Other melons can be added to this, as well as firm berries like blueberries or raspberries, and it will still taste fantastic.  There really isn't a limit to the creativity; I just used honeydew because I found a good one on sale.  Whatever you use, the dressing will make it lightly sweet and very refreshing.  Perfect for summer.

Serves 4-6

Juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon torn mint leaves
1 honeydew melon, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. In a large bowl with a sealing lid, mix lime juice and brown sugar until sugar dissolves.  Stir in mint.  Toss juice mixture with honeydew pieces until evenly coated (the mint will be a good indicator of this).  Chill fruit for at least 3 hours or up to 4 days (if keeping longer than 2 days, drain off juices after 2 days to prevent sogginess).

Banana Pudding

I have never been a huge fan of pudding.  As a kid I really like making the boxes of instant pudding and watching it thicken as if by magic, but I didn't really like eating it and I still don't.  It never seemed as smooth or as flavorful as it should be.  The thought of making homemade pudding didn't really occur to me until about 2 years ago and since then it's the only pudding I eat.  Call me a snob.

Serves 4-6


60 Nilla wafers
3 ripe bananas, sliced thin
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups cold milk (I used 2%)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
Cool Whip or whipped cream, for serving

1. In an 8-inch square pan, line up Nilla wafers.  You could just dump them in and smooth, but I lined them up in rows and made two layers of wafers.  Top wafers with banana slices.  Set aside.
2. In small heatproof bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth.  Set aside
3. In small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch together with a whisk until evenly mixed.  Pour in cold milk and whisk until smooth.
4. Place saucepan on medium heat.  Stir constantly and cook until it bubbles.  Allow mixture to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Working very quickly, whip egg yolks while pouring about 1 cup of the hot milk into egg yolks.  Beat yolk/milk mixture until smooth and whip back into hot milk in saucepan.  Return to medium heat.
6. With saucepan on heat, stirring constantly, return mixture to a soft boil.  Once it boils, remove from heat.
7. Stir vanilla and butter into pudding until vanilla is incorporated and butter is melted.  Pour hot pudding over bananas and wafers in square pan.  Gently tap pan against counter (lift an inch off surface and gently drop) to bring any air bubbles to the surface.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding to prevent skin from forming.
8. Place pan of pudding in the refrigerator on a level shelf or surface.  Allow to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.  Can be stored in refrigerator for no more than 2 days (wafers get too soggy).  Serve with Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Sausage Gravy

My mom used to make sausage gravy for breakfast some Saturdays.  Making it for dinner is still fantastic.  I might have changed the recipe a bit from Mom's--I threw in a lot of the herbs I still had in the refrigerator from the CSA--but the idea is still the same and it's still delicious.

Serves 4

10 oz package sausage
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.

1. In a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat until done.  Try to chop the sausage into the smallest pieces possible.  Leave on heat.
2. Toss flour with sausage until evenly distributed.  Stir in herbs.  Pour about 1/2 cup milk into sausage and stir to loosen.  Add another 1/2 cup and stir again.  Add remaining milk and stir well.
3. Stirring constantly, continue to cook and stir over medium heat until gravy is bubbly and thick.  If thinner gravy is desired, add more milk.  For thicker gravy, mix another tablespoon of milk with 1/4 cup milk and add to gravy. 
4. Once desired consistency is reached, serve immediately (gravy will thicken if left standing).  Pairs well with biscuits (as shown below), grits, or potatoes.

Cheese Grits

I love grits.  They aren't real common where I live, but at least once a summer I like to make them for dinner.  The instant ones are OK, but I always think that homemade are better.  These don't have eggs and aren't baked, so they are more dense and--I think--have a better texture.

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup grits (they might be labeled polenta)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. In small saucepan, bring water and milk to a boil over medium heat.  Stir in grits and garlic salt.  Still over medium heat, cook and stir grits for 5 minutes or until thick.  Remove from heat.
2. Stir in cheese and mix to melt.  Serve immediately. 

Southern Sundays

During the summer, it has become a ritual in my house to make a Southern (or, at times, Southern-inspired) dinner on Sundays.  It happens to coincide with the season of TrueBlood on HBO.  I don't live in the South--not even close, really--but it gets plenty hot here in the summer and I call that good enough.  The tags will tell you which recipes came out of this weekly experimentation.