Still time for summer entertaining
Looking for something to grill? Look no more. Times staff writer Russ Parsons walks you through everything you need to know from the type of grill he favors to his recipes for naked ribs, chicken and more. Why are they called naked ribs? A spicy dry rub means ribs so tasty you don’t need to dress ‘em up with sauce. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Whatever the activity, or lack thereof, a fabulous dinner is a great way to cap off a summer day outdoors. All that’s needed is a campfire, a little planning, a skillet and a Dutch oven. Here, at Dockweiler State Beach, a camp menu includes pan-fried trout, white bean salad and buttermilk stick biscuits. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
A Rosé is perfect in summertime. It tends to be lower in alcohol, and goes perfectly with warm-weather menus. They’ve got it all: crisp, mouth-cleansing acidity; spice and ripe fruit; and just a hint of juicy sweetness. Here’s your how-to-buy guide. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Leaves are nature’s brilliant cookware, and a no-fuss way to prepare something outdoors. Banana leaves can be cut down to make plates or unfurled into wrappers perfect for enclosing, then grilling, a smooth, melting cube of feta, a recumbent sardine or a mint-studded lamb meatball. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
If you find yourself with more tomatoes than you know what to do with, here are a few recipes to try: Fresh tomato soup, pasta with fresh tomato sauce and -- saving the best for last here -- Bloody Marys. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Southern fried chicken, coleslaw, biscuits and ham, brownies -- it’s the iconic July 4th picnic, so popular (once upon a time) that it became a cliché of the culture. A few smart cooking techniques and updated ingredients can bring the joys of a homemade picnic back to the holiday -- and out to the beach, park or mountainside. All the recipes here. (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
A let’s-get-a-few-friends-together soiree begs for party snacks with a few surprise ingredients -- bite-size turnovers that have personality and that go down perfectly with either a glass of crisp, cool white wine or a light summer ale. Trust us: Turnovers of chicken and watercress pesto, left, and mushroom and truffle cheese will be gone in a flash. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
And now, for something completely different: How about a cool plate of pickled radishes, peppers, zucchini and grapes. Impressive on any table, and oh-so-easy to make. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)
Cherries are best known in desserts, either farmhouse rustic or in dainty pastry shop configurations, but they have a terrific affinity for main courses too, as these recipes can attest. For dessert, try a slightly unusual take on the fruit salad: add wedges of ripe apricots and honeydew melon to halved cherries. (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
On this, we probably can all agree: Pie is the quintessential summer dessert. Here, juicy nectarines and plump blackberries cavort merrily in a lattice-top pie. The recipe calls for black pepper -- a pinch adds an intriguing dark note to the crust. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Summer desserts aren’t all about ice cream. Dial down the flames to a slow burn and watch pineapple luxuriously transform beneath a lush glaze of dark rum and Balinese long pepper, which grows in the Indonesian islands jungles and has a rich, spicy essence. But this is just one recipe for taking desserts to the grill. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
