recipe: grilled mac and cheese with french fried onions

When my parents gave Tony and me our grill for Christmas, they mentioned that you can grill pretty much anything that you can bake in the oven. That could come in handy when it's 95 degrees this summer, and turning on the oven isn't an option. Just imagine -- chocolate chip cookies and enchiladas in July! Or apple pie and homemade pizza in August!

The weather hasn't been hot enough here yet to necessitate major grilling experiments, although Tony and I have had started dabbling with different recipes. We've made grilled pizza a few times, but I think I'm still searching for the best grilled pizza recipe. And over the weekend, we tried grilled mac and cheese, which turned out to be fantastic. This recipe is ready for prime time.

The recipe is going to look verrrrry familiar if you remember the baked macaroni and cheese recipe I posted last fall. One key difference: Tony requested I put French's French fried onions on his. He says it took the dish to a whole new level.

Also, you can see that we grilled the mac and cheese in two separate pans. I've been pretty sensitive to dairy lately, so I couldn't use real cheese in mine. So instead of using one 9-inch square casserole dish, we used two 8-by-4-inch loaf pans. I put real cheese in Tony's pan and Daiya soy "cheese" in mine.

That said, I'll give you the recipe assuming you're using just one baking dish, using real cheese in the whole thing and spreading onions over the entire casserole.

Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from James Beard's American Cookery

• 2 cups macaroni (or medium shells)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk (or soy milk)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 splashes of Tabasco
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or mozzarella, which is what we had in the fridge)
• generous amount of breadcrumbs
• four handfuls French fried onions

Butter a 2-quart baking dish. (We used disposable foil dishes for easy cleanup.)

Boil noodles for the minimum cooking time. My box called for 10-12 minutes, and I boiled for 10 minutes. Drain.

For the white sauce, melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, heat milk to the boiling point. Add milk to the butter-flour mixture. Add salt and Tabasco. Sauce will start to thicken. Cook on medium-low, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.

In the prepared baking dish, add half of the macaroni, spread half of the white sauce, and add half of the cheese. Then add the rest of the macaroni, the rest of the white sauce, and then the rest of the cheese. Top with a generous amount of breadcrumbs. You can make your own breadcrumbs, but I used store-bought Italian-seasoned crumbs. Crush four handfuls of French fried onions in your hands and spread over top of casserole.

Pre-heat grill to 350-400 degrees (medium-low). Grill for 25 minutes or until breadcrumbs are crispy brown.

recipe: grilled cornmeal mush

Tony and I got a grill for Christmas from my parents, and we have been using that puppy regularly all spring. Food just tastes better with that grill flavor, with some char on it.

The weather was perfect last night, so of course we grilled. I read in the newspaper that you can grill cornmeal mush, so I decided to try my hand at it. I made up this recipe, based on my previous experience with mush and quick Internet research on cooking techniques. It turned out to be a fantastic side dish. Grilled mush is definitely a keeper recipe. (Oh, if you're fancy, feel free to call it grilled polenta.)

It's crisp on the outside and creamy inside with a great charred flavor.

Grilled Mush

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add salt.

Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water, whisking constantly for 2 minutes to remove lumps as mixture thickens. Be very careful to avoid splattering yourself. (I've been burned before by mush.)

Turn heat to very low and cover. Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring bottom and sides of pan every 5 to 10 minutes. Season with pepper.

Pour cornmeal mixture into a greased mini loaf pan.

Refrigerate until firm, at least two hours or overnight.

Before grilling, remove mush from pan and slice into 6 pieces.

Place directly on grill and cook 10 minutes per side over medium heat.

Serves 2 to 3.

entertaining: brunch on the grill

After a summer of unrelenting humidity and temperatures topping 90 degrees most days, yesterday most definitely was a welcome break. The humidity and high temperatures took a vacation -- like most everything else in Washington in August in an election year. And the beautiful weather was a reminder that summer won't last forever and that fall will be here eventually. 

Tony and I spent most of the afternoon outside with Ben and Mandy on the pool deck of their apartment. We came for brunch and stayed to swim -- two of my favorite weekend things. Ben made brunch on the grill at the deck, which was fitting for the day. 

First up, grilled French toast, which was soaked in a batter that included Grand Marnier. Topped with strawberries, also mixed with Grand Marnier, and Cool Whip.  

On the side, grilled nectarines and plums, served over spiced yogurt. That's Greek yogurt, cinnamon, honey, toasted walnuts, and orange zest. 

And this watermelon wasn't grilled, but I have to mention it because this is the first watermelon I've seen in I-don't-know-how-long that actually has seeds. Ben and Mandy got it from their CSA, and I can't say that it tasted any different than seedless watermelons I buy at the grocery store, but it was nostalgic. It brought me back to my childhood, when I would eat the seeds and worry about watermelons growing in my belly.

Rounding out the meal were grilled Canadian bacon and homemade Bloody Marys. A fine meal. And before anyone realized it, it was 4 o'clock. Sunday, you were perfect.