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!

Whether it's hand-cut donuts from the local bakery to the 10th PB&J sandwich with flecks of sand from the beach, everything tastes better on vacation. It could be the boost in vitamin D, the extra afternoon nap, or having ditched your watch on day one of vacation. There is one dish that the whole family goes bonkers for - on or off vacation. Fish Tacos.

It certainly helps when you can stop by the local fish market around the corner and pick out fresh fish caught that morning. I've also made these with frozen Mahi Mahi from Trader Joe's and they taste great too. My boys love fish tacos as it gives them a chance to top it with their choice of toppings. My favorite toppings are ChopChop's Purple Cabbage Slaw and Avocado and Mango Salsa. The flavors are bright and fresh, a perfect complement to sun and surf-filled days. Or a perfect way to transport you to the carefree days of summer. And who wouldn't love that?

Click here for ChopChop's recipes for Fish Tacos, Purple Cabbage Slaw and Avocado and Mango Salsa. And I highly recommend Corn and Wheat Tortillas from Trader Joe's. They are the perfect size for soft tacos and do not fall apart like corn tortillas often do. Plus they are delicious.

This is it. The last days of summer. I knew this day would come. But I think I was pretty successful in living in denial last week while on vacation. A week on the Cape with abundant sunshine certainly helps. We also made sure our meals featured seasonal produce - corn on the cob, grilled zucchini and caprese salads just to name a few.

When I came across a recipe for Peach Plum Salsa, I was excited to test this summer fruit salsa out on my favorite beach bums.


Peach Plum Salsa
Adapted from Cook's Country Backyard Barbecue

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 jalapeno chile, seeded & minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ripe peaches, pitted and chopped fine
• 2 ripe plums, pitted and chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
• kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Whisk jalapeno, shallot, vinegar, honey, and oil in a small bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes for flavors to combine.
2. Combine peaches and plums in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cupe of fruit to bowl with jalapeno mixture and mash with potoato masher until smooth.
3. Add mashed fruit mixture and basil to bowl with cut fruit and stir until combined. 
4. Season with salt and let sit until flavors combine (15 minutes).
5. Serve with grilled meat or fish or with favorite corn chips.

The Good: Easy to whip up. The boys loved, loved it. Even got them to eat their pork chops!

The Bad: Fruit will become mushy after half a day. Wasn't a problem though since the fam devoured it.

Grade: A. Solid.