This Fourth of July weekend, flames and smoke will rise over backyards across the country. And that means grilling. In the best-case scenario, you get a tasty meal. In the worst case, you get an awesome story of how you turned hamburger into charcoal briquettes—or maybe how you got grill marks on your hand.

Steven Raichlen, author of the Barbecue! Bible, wants to help you stay on the right side of that line.

Steven is a major NPR fan, so when the call came to tape a July 4th segment with Morning Edition, he was on the next plane to Washington, DC (literally). Here’s gorgeous video from the taping to help you brush up on your July 4th grilling skills, along with a a recording of the full interview on NPR.

I love to grill. And while it can be hard to fight for time in front of the flames for those of us aren’t necessarily of the ribs-ribs-and-more-ribs persuasion (yes, my nickname in college was Megan the Vegan–yes, it rhymes), when I finally do secure some face time with the grill, it’s all over: peppers, onions, giant portabellos–even pineapple–and, of course my favorite: corn on the cob. Corn, in all its simplicity, can be prepared and impressive number of ways. To husk or not to husk, to soak or not to soak–these are but two of the questions when it comes to preparing corn on the cob on a grill. So this July 4th, I turned to author Crescent Dragonwagon of the Passionate Vegetarian cookbook for a new way to approach the golden kerneled goodness. Our author and her intrepid tasters found that no pre-soaked, husk bundled grilled ear of corn could stand up to naked corn cooked straight on the grill. Here’s what my experiment is going to look like this weekend:

Grilled Corn via Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon (pp.737-8)

Ingredients:

1-2 ears per person, shucked

Any desired condiments including butter, seas salt, pepper, lime halves

1. Preheat the grill to high, then turn it down to medium.

2. Place the corn over indirect heat or low direct heat and grill, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes. The yellow of the corn should intensify slightly, and there should be lots of golden-brown scorched spots. The texture will be a little tougher and chewier than raw or boiled corn, but that’s part of it’s charm! Serve immediately.

YUM. What will you throw on the grill when you commandeer it this 4th of July weekend?

With the long 4^th of July weekend quickly approaching it’s time to plan our holiday barbeques and picnics! After my fiasco of an Independence Day barbeque last year, where everyone showed up with a bag of chips and my grill lost a leg, I admit to dreading this year’s July 4th. Last year I winged it. This year, I had planned on staying in and sulking (just a little) until I recently discovered a foolproof (or me-proof) answer to last year’s holiday disaster: Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins.

With knockout recipes in line with Lukins’ Silver Palate Cookbook, Celebrate! offers 46 menus for entertaining on special occasions, be it a Kentucky Derby-inspired buffet or a Labor Day picnic. As an added bonus, Lukins suggests extra touches to make an event even more special, including music selections, wine recommendations, and decoration tips.

This year, I’m ready to conquer this holiday armed with Lukins’ “Bang-Up Fourth of July” menu, which includes recipes for Glorious Gazpacho, Dazzling Grilled Veal Chops, Outrageous Lobster Salad Rolls, A Decorative Cucumber Salad, Garden Squash Salad, Fresh Peach Cobbler, and Buttermilk Ice Cream.

I’m especially excited about the Garden Squash Salad below, since there is an amazing farmer’s market close to my apartment!

Garden Squash Salad

Summer squash, both zucchini and yellow, are crisp and delicious when served raw and very thinly sliced in a salad. Dressed with plenty of lemon juice and Parmesan cheese (look for the finest Parmigiano-Reggiano), it matches up well with peppery arugula and some fine ripe tomatoes.

4 small zucchini, ends trimmed

4 small yellow squash, ends trimmed

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup extra-virgin live oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved or cut into thin slivers

2 large bunches arugula (12 ounces total), stems trimmed, leaves washed and patted dry

2 large ripe tomatoes, cored

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cut the zucchini and squash into very thin slices on the diagonal and place them in a bowl.
2. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper together in a small and toss with the squash. Let the squash rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Then add the cheese.
3. Place the arugula in a salad bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, and then into very thin wedges, and scatter them over the greens.
4. Just before serving, spoon the squash and dressing over the arugula and tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, tossing the salad at the table.

For the full menu, including this Garden Squash Salad from Sheila Lukins’ “Bang-Up Fourth of July” menu, see the excerpt below, via Scribd:

Celebrate Pp132 137

My own grilling skills are embarrassingly limited, but as soon as the weather gets warm, I begin craving all things cooked over charcoal. But between excessive rain here in the Northeast and a lack of grill access  in my Brooklyn apartment, I didn’t get a chance to grill at all this spring. So, when I went to the beach last week, I decided to beef up my skill set by grilling every single night. Among the hot dogs, hamburgers, vegetable skewers, and my latest obsession, grilled corn, one dish stood apart from the rest–Steven Raichlen’s Caveman T-Bone recipe.

Due to a mediocre grocery store and budget limitations, we had to go with a flank steak rather than T-bones. We marinated it in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and parsley for a couple hours, sprinkled on salt and pepper, heated up the coals, and then laid it right on the coals. While the thinner cut made it more difficult to get the amazing char Steven gets on the T-bone (while still keeping the middle nice and juicy), it did get a more smoky flavor than it would have gotten on the grate. The steak was delicious on its own (with grilled corn on the side, of course), and the leftovers made for incredible steak sandwiches the next day, but to be honest, the best part was that it was just plain fun to make!

Flank steak on the coals

The poke test

After foiling and resting, it's time to slice

Click here for Steven’s Caveman T-Bones With Hellfire Hot Sauce recipe and video