Grilled Corn with Lime and Chili Powder

Grilled corn on the cob has become our go-to side dish this summer.  With burgers, chicken, shrimp - you name it - if we're grilling for dinner, then we are grilling corn.  

The flavor on this is just outstanding.  Butter, salt, fresh lime juice and a little kick from the chili powder.  So, so good.  So fresh! 

    2-4 servings

Grilled Corn with Lime and Chili Powder

4 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned

butter

salt to taste

chili powder

2 limes, cut in wedges

Preheat grill on medium-high with the lid closed for a couple of minutes.  Brush the ears of corn with vegetable oil.  Place directly on the grill, turning frequently for about 10 minutes.  The kernels will brighten in color and char marks will appear.  Butter, salt, dust with chili powder and squeeze one wedge of lime on each one.

Spicy Turkey Burgers with Avocado-Ranch Dressing

My husband and I have been grilling fools lately.  Probably a combination of the awesome weather we've been having, a new grill and a fantastic new brick courtyard we built.  But we are spending more time than ever outside.  At any rate, we grilled these turkey burgers the other night and they are amazing.  The burger itself is very simply seasoned, but garnished with spicy cheese, avocado-ranch dressing and if you like, a tomato and more avocado (yes, please!) makes it pretty sensational. 

The avocado-ranch dressing really cools down the spiciness of the pepper jack cheese and the burger itself.   Such a great combination!!  I make this sauce often - it's also fantastic with Southwestern egg rolls. 

Makes 4 burgers and 1 1/2 cups dressing 

Spicy Turkey Burgers

1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon McCormick spicy grill seasoning
4 slices pepper jack cheese
4 good rolls (I used ciabatta)

Avocado-Ranch Dressing
1 cup ranch dressing
1 avocado, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  Divide the turkey into 4 equal parts and form each section into patties.  Make an indentation with your thumb in the middle of each patty to prevent the tops of the burgers from rounding.  Use the tablespoon of grill seasoning to sprinkle evenly over each one.  Place on grill and close lid, grilling for 4-5 minutes on each side or until they are cooked throughout (165 degrees using a meat thermometer).

Make the sauce: in a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mash with a fork (or I used my potato masher!).  Serve over the turkey burgers or as a dipping sauce or dressing.

Grilled White Pizza with Tomatoes

Where I live in Georgia, we typically don't have a "Spring" season.  We may have one or two really nice days between March and May but pretty much you can expect it to go straight from winter to the hot stickiness that is the deep south.  This year has been quite the exception.  The weather has been amazing and well, Spring-like!  Low 70's, breezy, no humidity.  Just lovely!  And we have been spending more time than ever outside - playing, eating and cooking. 

We also did this last summer - turned our backyard into a brick courtyard because we cannot grow grass to save our lives (too shady!).  It was the best thing we could have done, so relaxing.  But, onto our dinner!

If you've never tried grilled pizzas, you have to - absolutely amazing.  The dough gets crispy and the cheese melts so perfectly.  It's so easy to do any ingredients you like!  You'll throw the dough on first, so have all of your ingredients prepped and right next to you on the grill.  

  

This makes 2 pizzas (about 9x13" each) and this recipe is for one of them.  We actually did my Ranch Barbecue Chicken Pizza on the other dough.  Just remember to double your ingredients if you want to do this white pizza on both.

Grilled White Pizza with Tomatoes

1 pound pizza dough, divided into 2 equal pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 Roma tomato, sliced

1 cup shredded pizza cheese (mix of mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheese)

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Preheat your grill to medium.  Roll the pizza dough very thin (in whatever shape you like) to about 9x13" and place on a baking sheet.  Combine the olive oil and minced garlic in a small bowl.  Carry the dough, tomatoes, cheese, olive oil mixture and a pastry brush out to the preheated grill.  

Carefully lay the dough onto the lower part of the grill and immediately brush the olive oil and garlic onto the dough.  Place the sliced tomatoes, followed by the shredded cheese and Italian seasoning.  Close the lid to help the cheese melt a little but it doesn't take long for the dough to cook - about 4-5 minutes.  Keep checking and pull off when dough is crispy and cheese is bubbling and melted.  Cut into bite size squares.         

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

One of the many things I love about Savannah is that is stays summer-like for a pretty long time.  This means that we can enjoy being outside and do outdoorsy things like grilling well into October.  The weather was exceptionally warm this weekend - like high 80's -so we finished some landscaping in our backyard, fired up the grill and hung outside with a couple of cold beers.  Ahhh....

I liked this recipe and marinade from Kitchen Meets Girl because it's simple, full of flavor and it only needs to sit for about an hour.  Easy.  I actually made double the amount of the marinade because we ended up dipping our chicken in it - it is just too good!  In fact, I served rice with this and honestly, I just poured a bunch of the sauce over my rice and mixed everything all together.  

And you know, I soaked my Bamboo skewers like they always tell you to and I still burnt the ends - happens every time...

Serves 2-4

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

3 tablespoons soy sauce**

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

juice of one lime

2 garlic cloves

1-2 teaspoons Siracha

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, oil, lime, garlic and Siracha and mix thoroughly.  Pour into a large zip lock plastic bag and add chicken breast.  Seal bag and toss around a bit to ensure all the chicken breast pieces are fully coated.  Place bag in a bowl and allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour.  

In the meantime, if you are using Bamboo skewers, soak your sticks in water for at least 15 minutes.  Remove your chicken pieces from the marinade and skewer.  Grill on medium high heat for 6-8 minutes per side, until juices run clear.

** This is the original recipe for the marinade.  You can make double like I did, just make it all together and divide it half - half will be used to marinade the chicken and the other half to use later on your rice or just to dip.  

(Source:  Adapted from Kitchen Meets Girl)

Tuscan Lemon Chicken with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

How good is grilled chicken?  I mean, really any kind.  I love a good, crispy, charred piece of chicken breast that is still juicy in the middle and the grill is just excellent for that.  I love summer!  We do tons of grilling.  You will love this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for lemon chicken - it is just packed full of flavor.  And simple, too, especially if you use boneless, skinless chicken breasts like I did (in her original recipe, Ina used a whole bone in chicken and flattened it - also fantastic, I'm sure). 

I served this with romaine lettuce topped with a Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette adapted from the always fabulous Tyler Florence (it is apparent yet that I watch a lot of Food Network?).  This meal was light and refreshing and I know would be killer for your next grilling party! 

Serves 2-3 

Tuscan Lemon Chicken with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise (or 4 small chicken breasts)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced rosemary (I used dry, Ina used fresh)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved

Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 tablespoon hot water
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon sour cream (Tyler used Creme Fraiche)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt and black pepper

Sprinkle each side of the chicken breasts with salt and place in a large plastic storage bag.  Combine olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and 2 teaspoons black pepper in a small measuring cup.  Pour the marinade into the storage bag over the chicken, seal and squeeze to work the marinade into the chicken. Place bag in a bowl to prevent spills and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  Squeeze the bag a couple of times to ensure every bit of chicken is getting some of the marinade.

Preheat your grill and pull chicken out of the marinade, gently shaking to remove excess.  Grill each piece for 5-6 minutes on each side or until the juices run clear.  Place the lemon halves on a cooler side of the grill when you put the chicken breasts on.  Serve the chicken with the grilled lemon halves and a nice green salad.

Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette (salt and pepper will be to taste) in a mason jar, put cap on a shake vigorously to emulsify (or whisk everything together in a large measuring cup).  Drizzle over greens and toss well to coat.

(Source:  Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics and Tyler Florence)