Before this summer, my husband and I had never been very adventurous when it came to grilling. We have had a few grand ideas but tended to fall back on fail-safe burgers and brats. Now that we have an infant and are housebound after baby’s bedtime, I guess it seems like we might as well get a little creative with the grill and hang out on our back patio as the sun goes down.

I’m sure grilling corn doesn’t seem that adventurous to many, but we’d never done it. I’ve read so many recipes that sound deliciously awesome, but it is so easy to throw some corn in a pot of boiling water for a minute and, well, I’m lazy.

Last night we decided to grill some pork chops and I was determined to do corn as well. I googled and found a recipe online that did not involve wrapping the corn in its own husks or soaking it in water or any of that nonsense (then you are essentially just steaming it, so what is the point?) I wanted those puppies on the grill grate!

This recipe was easy and so very summery. The original recipe called for parsley, but the basil is overflowing in my garden, and I just prefer it.

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Grilled corn with basil-garlic butter

Adapted from recipe on kitchendaily.com

Ingredients

4 ears sweet corn in their husks

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

Coarse salt and black pepper

You will also need: Butcher’s string

1) Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.

2) Fashion the husk of each ear of corn into a handle, tying back the husks with butchers string, and remove the corn silk.

3) Place the butter, basil, and garlic in a mixing bowl and whisk or beat until smooth and creamy.

4) When ready to cook, lightly brush each ear of corn with a little of the garlic-parsley butter and arrange on the hot grate, positioning the ears in such a way that the husks are away from the fire. Grill the corn until the kernels are handsomely browned all over, 8 to 12 minutes in all, turning as needed, brushing with the remaining butter, and seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Remove the corn from the grill and serve at once.

I love this torte. I’ve made it so many different ways and it is always beautiful and delicious. It is simple to make but it makes you look like you know what you’re doing. Believe me, I never have any idea what I’m doing.

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Peach-Strawberry Torte

Adapted from the wonderful Hay Day Country Market Cookbook

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 ripe peach, pitted and thinly sliced

4-5 large ripe strawberries

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan; pour out any excess flour.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

3) In another bowl, cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Beat until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and zest. Add the reserved dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth, thick batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan.

4) Toss the fruit with the lemon juice and 2 tsp granulated sugar. Arrange the topping decoratively over the batter, using just enough fruit to cover the batter in a single overlapping layer. Bake in the middle of the oven until lightly browned around the edges and just set in the middle, 30 to 35 minutes.

5) Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Top with flat plate and gently flip the plate and cake pan over, turning the cake out of the pan. Invert the cake once more, this time turning it right side up onto a serving dish. Slice and serve.

This morning I woke up hungry and thinking about the pint of strawberries languishing away in our fridge. I wanted to make strawberry muffins, but the last time I did, I ended up with something so sweet and fluffy that they might be more aptly called cupcakes. (No offense, cupcakes. You have your rightful place in my heart.)

I found this lovely muffin recipe over at Noble Pig. I like that it is half regular flour and half whole wheat flour giving it a little extra heartiness, plus yogurt which I already had on hand. Yogurt? Whole wheat? How healthy is that? Okay, there’s a good portion of melted butter in there too.

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Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

Adapted from Noble Pig (and apparently originating from a Stonefield Yogurt label)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 pint strawberries, chopped

2 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coarse sugar (optional- I didn’t use it)

In a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar and baking soda.  Stir in strawberries.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla extract.  Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet until well combined.

Divide batter evenly among a 12-cup greased muffin tin or line with paper liners.  If you want strawberries to stay at the top of your muffins, cut up a few extra and place several pieces on top of the batter in each muffin cup. Sprinkle each muffin with coarse sugar, if desired.  Bake for 18-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven until the tops are golden brown. 

Remove immediately from muffin tins and cool on a wire rack.