July 4th: Robert St. John's New South Grilling

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Does it look like a hot and steamy July 4th, and the thought of charred steaks and hot dogs does not warm your heart and stomach? Maybe you are hankering for a lighter meal, like fish, but cooking fish on a hot grill is just too tough. Robert St. John's New South Grilling: Fresh and Exciting Recipes from the Third Coast (Hyperion 2008), wants to change all your ideas about cooking fish on the grill. Many people are scared to grill fish over live charcoal. They might have tried once or twice but the fish stuck to the grill grates and burned too easily. Consequently, they gave it up and dusted off the frying pan. Brush the no-stick grilling marinade on a fish filet, place the filet on well-cleaned grill grates, cook it a few minutes, and it will flip perfectly every time. (p. 5) There is a whole chapter at the back of the book full of the no-stick marinades, dry rubs, and sauces. The no-stick marinades start almost like mayonnaise, a thickened egg yolk and oil based sauce. The No-stick Grilling Marinade for Seafood (p. 208) starts with beaten egg yolks, mustard, balsamic vinegar and oils, to which are added three kinds of pepper and various spices. Then you use the marinade for practically all the recipes in the seafood chapter. There is a fun Grilled Cioppino, in which seafood and fish are first marinated, then grilled, and finally added to a stock (p. 110). Or try the Snapper Pontchartrain (p. 125). Again the fish filets are first marinated, then grilled, and finally served with a Lemon Meuniere (p. 218) and crabmeat. Isn't that a dish that can rival a T-bone? Robert uses no-stick marinades on beef, vegetables, and poultry, and there is even no-stick marinades for shrimp (p. 209) since there is so much shrimp in his repitoire - his hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi is just an hour due north of the Gulf of Mexico. There are plenty of recipes that don't use marinades and he also includes recipes for pizzas made on the grill- anyone for Grilled Crawfish Pizza (p. 23)? But the heart of the book are the no-stick marinades. Hey, it's going to be a long, hot summer, so get healthy with fish on the grill. Previous articles: July 4th: Sub Rosa Tarragon and Saffron Vodkas July 4th: Knork It! 4th of July 2006: Benjamin Franklin 4th of July: East Meets West July 4th: Paul Galer's Gourmet Burger July 4th: Celebrate with Chef Tattoos [Cookbook reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef