Grilled Cornish Hens with Squash Pancake Wrapped Grilled Green Onions

I suppose this sounds com-plicated, but it really isn't. Most of it we had while visiting our son and daughter-in-law. We added the squash pancakes in an attempt to use up some summer squash. We cut the hens in half and rubbed them with a mix of equal parts of ground cardamom, ground coriander, ground Szechwan peppercorns, and kosher salt. Set them aside for a couple hours. Next, make the pancake batter by mixing together about 2lb of grated summer squash (dewater it by adding salt and pressing the water out in a colander), one egg, 1/2C Parmesan cheese and 2T flour. We also added 2T chopped fresh basil. Refrigerate the batter for one hour. Place the hens on a hot grill, turning as needed for about 30 min. (internal temperature 160-180 and juice runs clear). While the hens cook, form the batter into cakes and coat them with bread crumbs. Fry them in a bit of olive oil, flattening them with a spatula, until they are golden. While the hens are resting after cooking, drizzle the onions with some olive oil, place them on the grill, turning them frequently. They grill in about 10 min. When they are done, wrap them in the pancakes. The sauce was a quickly pureed mix of roasted red peppers, tomato and garlic and served at room temperature. We are currently thinking up other things to do with the pancakes...they are very tasty.

Soup of Roasted Summer Vegetables with Swiss Chard and Leek Tart

The swiss chard tart has been here before. Basically, the swiss chard and leek is sauted in olive oil, cooled, and mixed with 2 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks. Bake it in a pie shell for about 30 min at 350 until it is firm.

The soup is prepared by first roasting the vegetables. Cut 2 baby eggplants, one medium onion, 2 small summer squash, one whole head of garlic on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Then add to the sheet 4 tomatoes that have been halved and likewise seasoned. Continuing baking for another 30 min. After they have cooled, remove the pulp from the skins and puree in batches until it has the consistancy you wish, smooth to chunky. Add 2C chicken stock and bring to a simmer. This amount serves 4 nicely. Serve with a garnish of sour cream and some chives if you wish. This is a very nice but not too heavy soup for a summer evening and pares nicely with the tart. Serve with some crusty bread and a chilled white wine.

BBQ Beef Brisket - Adapted from Saveur

This is the best beef brisket recipe we have ever tried. The meat turned out juicy and tender, a hard com-bination in our experience with this cut of meat. Start but preparing a rub from 1-1/2T paprika, 1-1/2T kosher salt, 1T dry thyme, 1T dry mustard, 1T ground cumin, 1t ground coriander, 1t garlic powder, and 1t ground black pepper. This was enough rub for a 4 lb brisket. Coat the meat with the rub and place in the refrigerator overnight. The brisket was cooked on the Weber over indirect heat at about 225 degrees for 4 hours. Put the meat in a shallow baking pan, add about 6 oz. of beer, cover tightly and return to the grill or place in a 250 degree oven for another 2 hrs. Remove the meat from the heat and let it rest for another hour. Slice across the grain and enjoy with your favorite bbq sauce.

Ravioli with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Anti-pasta Salad

This is a cool refreshing and simple dinner that used the first of our fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes are uncooked. Start by roughly chopping 2 or 3 large tomatoes. Place them in a bowl with 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 extra virgin olive oil and 15-20 chopped fresh basil leaves. Toss and set aside. Cook the ravioli according to package directions. We used a spicy pork and beef variety that our grocery had but you could use any filled pasta, ravioli or tortellini. Drain the pasta, cool and toss with the tomato mixture. We added sliced kalamata olives just before serving. The anti-pasta salad is a mix of lettuce, cheeses, meats such as salami, peppers, and olives. Serve with a nice crusty bread and your choice of wine.

Chorizo Sausage Stuffed Patty-pan Squash

We got both the squash and the sausage from Freshfork Market, our CSA. Start by cutting the top off the squash. Scoop out and retain the squash using a melon baller and set aside. Lightly brown the sausage to remove the excess fat. Remove the sausage to a paper towel and set aside. In the same pan saute 1/4C diced onion, 1/4C diced celery and 2 cloves minced garlic. Put the sausage and the veggies in a mixing bowl and add the squash. Stir in a lightly beaten egg and then stuff the mixture into the squash shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min. The squash is garnished with some fresh chopped parsley. The tomatoes with fresh basil and white balsamic vingegar. You could use any kind of sausage to make the stuffing but the chorizo gave it a nice "heat". The link for the CSA is www.freshforkmarket.com

Grilled Chicken and Couscous Salad with Moroccan Spices - Adapted from Saveur and Epicurious

We are fans of Middle-eastern spice com-binations as a result of Dee's trip to Morocco with Operation Smile. These are the latest. For the chicken: Prepare a compound butter by mixing 1/4C dices shallots, 1 clove minced garlic, 2T freshly chopped cilantro, 2T freshly chopped parsley, 2t sweet paprika, pinch of hot paprika, 2t ground cumin, and salt and pepper to taste with 1 stick of softened butter. Carefully seperate the skin of 1/2 chicken from the meat and push the butter between the skin and meat. We grill the chicken on a slow fire on the Weber for about 2 hrs.

For the couscous salad: To 2C of chicken stock add, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1t ground tumeric, 1/2t ground cinnamon, 1/4t ground cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mix to a simmer and add 1C couscous. Cover and set aside. When the liquid has been absorbed add 1 diced cucumber, 1C trimmed and blanced green beans, 1/2C raisins and 1/4C fresh lemon juice. Toss together until well mixed. Chill the salad until the chicken is done. We served the chicken and couscous with simple sliced tomatoes and onions garnished with some fresh basil.