Grillin’ and Chillin’ on a Beautiful Summer Day
Outdoor entertaining is the way to go in July in Colorado. We enjoy grilling in the backyard or out on the water on our boat. The menus are simple but hit the spot. Here is a recent dinner we enjoyed on the water: Watermelon Salad, Grilled Corn, Grilled Scallop Kabobs on Rice and green salad of your choice.
The Fruit Salad in a Watermelon Bowl is so much fun while using a variety of colors, textures and flavors. I am a big fan of cinnamon so always add it to my fruit salads. If you are not, omit. I also love this watermelon bowl idea for a potluck because you can just leave it behind and not have to worry about collecting your dish later. Before I discovered a “V” shaped knife, I laboriously cut each notch out by hand. Whoa, that was a lot of work! I would like to think I have better things to do with my time and happily discovered this knife that cuts my time in more than half. A link to the knife is in the recipe, from Amazon, naturally.
Rice – I love Rice & Ancient Grains with Quinoa cooked in chicken or vegetable broth. I find it at my favorite membership store, Costco.
Scallops – Notice the small potato on the ends of the wooden skewers. Yeah….there is a story here. After having an entire skewer of scallops take a dive, no pun, we came up with this idea. Keep those slippery little guys from taking a swim in the lake by securing a potato on each end. Preparation of the scallops – simply place them in a zipper baggie and sprinkle with your favorite oil. I often use Butter Flavored Olive Oil from EVOO. Once coated, add Chef Jason’s Fishy Fishy spice blend and shake until scallops are evenly coated. This is a delightful blend of brown sugar, chilies, salt, garlic, onion and other spices.
Corn on the cob – Does it get any easier? Simply brush with, once again, your favorite olive oil and then sprinkle with seasoned salt and paprika. I told you it was easy! Wrap each ear in foil and grill maybe 10-15 minutes, turning several times. Carefully unwrap to serve and don’t forget the corn holders for the ends! Once again, search Amazon “corn holders for corn on the cob.”
If you like my easy yet elegant entertaining ideas, please visit Eclectic-Entertaining.com for even more and also where to snag my two cookbooks! But whatever you do, keep it fun and keep it eclectic! Barbara
