Food52 Any Night Grilling

January 15, 2018
Disbrowe, an Austin-based food writer (Southern Living) and James Beard Award winner, offers home cooks recipes aimed at the nightly dinner table. Charred bread becomes a meal topped with hummus or chicken; basic flatbread/pizza dough goes upscale in Alsatian-style tarte flambé. Vegetable mains and sides include black lentils with smoked beets cooked directly in wood coals, and there are charred-greens recipes such as grilled radicchio and pears topped with anchovy bread crumbs and burrata. A section on grilled fish features swordfish kebabs and a one-pot clambake, and there’s a world of wings, ribs, steaks, and burgers to choose from with “killer condiments” such as cornichon relish and a gingery beet ketchup. Charts deconstruct classic s’mores and other dessert combinations to create innovative riffs. Disbrowe discusses advantages to grilling (deepened flavor, benefits of “lingering heat,” and outdoor cooking’s romance), weighs gas versus charcoal grilling (she prefers lump charcoal), and provides photos instructing how to use a chimney coal starter. With her effortless approach to grilling, Disbrowe will inspire home cooks to grab a pair of tongs on any given night of the week.

March 15, 2018

James Beard Award-winning author Disbrowe (Down South), a self-professed "weekend griller," spent months developing these approachable recipes for any day, any time grilling. Using the author's straightforward instructions, cooks of all skill levels will be able to fire up a gas or charcoal grill for preparing such dishes as crackly rosemary flatbread, cauliflower steaks with green harissa, and boneless leg of lamb with sumac yogurt sauce. As with Karen Adler and Judith Fertig's The Gardener and the Grill, this book covers a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, and desserts that don't require lengthy prep or cook times. More gourmet than a basic guide, these recipes bring to mind laid-back gatherings laden with crisp cocktails and freshly grilled foods. VERDICT If you're intimidated by heavy-handed barbecue bibles, opt for this inviting collection instead. Highly recommended.

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