Ahh, thank heavens; summer sunshine and heat has finally arrived! For most of us that means cooking outdoors every chance we can get, and for a great majority it means cooking any variety of meats, the occasional spud and perhaps a kebab or 10 and little else.
However, an entire meal from appies to dessert can be successfully cooked on a barbecue, keeping the heat from the kitchen and adding different great tastes to summer fun.
Our first recipe today is a delicious grilled brie with roasted tomatoes; it’s perfect for an appetizer.
The second recipe is for a grilled vegetable dish. Feel free to substitute or add other vegetables to this dish. Happy summer, everybody.
Grilled Brie and Ciabatta topped with Slow-Roasted Sunblushed Tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh chilies
6 mini wheels or three 4.5 oz wheels of brie cheese, at room temperature (I use double cream brie from Poplar Grove in Naramata)
Cedar plank
1 baguette (French bread), pita or ciabatta loaf
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
Sunblushed Tomatoes
250g (1/2 lb) fresh cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
For Grilled Brie: Soak an untreated cedar plank (available at grocery, cookware and hardware stores) in water overnight.
Whisk the olive oil in a large bowl with the lemon zest, garlic and chilies. Add cheeses to the bowl and coat with the mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Preheat the grill to high and place the wet plank on the grate. Heat the plank until smoking and burning on the bottom at the edges, about 10 minutes.
Slice the baguette, pita or ciabatta and toast pieces. Brush lightly with olive oil. Place over a barbecue grill rack. As they are done rub them, one at a time, with a whole, peeled garlic clove. Season with a little sea salt, then stack them one on top of the other and set aside on the warming rack of the barbecue.
Arrange the cheeses on top of the plank. Drizzle with any remaining marinade. Cover the grill and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the cheeses are swollen and ready to burst. Remove the plank from the grill using tongs and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve the cheeses on the plank with grilled bread.
To eat, make a shallow cut on top of cheese and partially peel back skin. Dunk bread in melted cheese and go for it! Serve with Sunblushed Tomatoes.
For Sunblushed Tomatoes: Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.
Grilled Balsamic Vegetables
1 medium zucchini, cut thick, diagonally
1 summer squash, cut thick, diagonally
1 piece radicchio, cut into fourths, core left intact
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes or 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 -2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 -2 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Place zucchini and squash in a mixing bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper and red pepper flakes.
Toss squash like salad until it is evenly coated. Place radicchio on top of squash and drizzle cut sides lightly with olive oil and balsamic, then toss vegetables again, adding a little more balsamic if needed.
Skewer vegetables and grill for 8 minutes, turning frequently, or until vegetables are tender.
Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan cheese before serving if desired.
Cathi Litzenberger is The Morning Star’s longtime food columnist, appearing every Wednesday and one Sunday per month.
