Brushing off the cobwebs both on this blog and on our grill for a special Memorial Day post! We're doing a happy dance here as this weekend is the unofficial kickoff to summer. In celebration of such a joyous occasion, I'm digging into the "vault" and pulling out some of our all-time favorite grilling recipes:

BBQ Chicken Throwdown: David Chang v. Martha Stewart: I test David Chang's Spicy Korean BBQ Chicken recipe against Martha's Brown Sugar BBQ Chicken. And the winner is... 

Grilled Butterfly Chicken: Who knew butterflying a whole chicken and cooking it on the grill would result in the tastiest chicken ever? Cooks Illustrated knew of course. 

Fish Tacos, Purple Cabbage Slaw and Mango Avocado Salsa: These recipes from ChopChop are in regular rotation at our house, even in the dead of winter.  

Peach Plum Salsa: This fruit salsa is just about perfect on anything you throw on the grill.  

Put-This-On-Just-About-Everything-Spice-Rub: This is pretty much a perfect blend of savory, briny, sweet, and spicy goodness. We make this by the bucket-full at the start of the summer.

Happy grilling!

I have been trying loads of new recipes lately, I think partly due to the arrival of spring plus I needed something to shake things up from the winter rotation of soups and comfort food. Here's a menu plan for 5 delicious dinners for this week - or any week really. If your family is anything like mine, this will be the best week ever. 

Monday: Pasta with Peas, Bacon, and Ricotta - From Dinner: The Playbook, this easy-to-whip-up meal will surely please even the pickiest eater of the bunch. Cook 1 lb tubular pasta according to directions. Add 3-4 tbs of ricotta to a large bowl and toss cooked pasta with ricotta. Next, fry up 1/2 pound of bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. Add 1/4 chopped onion and one 10-oz package of frozen peas to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped bacon back to the pan with the peas and onion. Then toss mixture onto pasta. Season with salt, pepper and grated parmesan. 

Tuesday: Miso-Glazed Fish with Rice and Spinach - Another winner from Dinner: The Playbook, this simple and fast cooking meal is now a family favorite. I substituted salmon with Mahi Mahi and served it with sautéed spinach and white rice. Healthy and delicious! Click here for the recipe.

Wednesday: Braised Adobo Pork Tacos - Okay, another recipe from Dinner: A Love Story. I admit it. I'm obsessed with all the recipes from Jenny Rosenstrach. They are just so good and easy. She suggests making this with polenta (which I'm sure is amazing). I ended up cooking this in a slow cooker and and we made tacos with this. You will die of happiness if you make this. Click here for the recipe.

Thursday: Burgers with Fruity Slaw and Sweet Potato Fries -  What's not to love about this meal? Tasty burgers, a simple slaw with kid-friendly fruit and healthy oven-baked sweet potato fries. This menu comes from ChopChop: The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families spring issue. This issue has four other great family dinners you have to try. 

Friday: Taiwanese Meat Sauce Over Rice with Baby Bok Choy - My family goes crazy for a good rice bowl. When I saw this recipe from Jennifer Che of Tiny Urban Kitchen in the Boston Globe, I just knew my brood would love it. Simple meat sauce is packed with umami as it's cooked with dried mushrooms and asian flavors. We completed this dish with a hard boiled egg and stir-fried baby bok choy. I can't wait to make this again. Click here for the recipe!  

Have a good week!

Here I am, three weeks into my personal adventure eating challenge (three new recipes/week and one new restaurant/month) and can proudly say, I am meeting the challenge! Here's a recap:

Week 1:

• Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta
• Mini Spinach and Tomato Fritattas
• Grilled Asian Pork Chops

Week 2:

• Roasted Tomato Linguine
• 101 "Whaler" Fish Sandwich
• Asian Slaw
• El Sombrero Restaurant

What I am finding difficult is finding the time to write about it. How do all those food bloggers and mommy bloggers do it? How do they find time to blog, twitter, attend conferences and events, work a full-time job, and mother little ones? I want in on your secret!

Until then, posts on week 2 are in development. A visual sneak peek...