Grilling warms food and soul for Father's Day

• Grilling expertise by the book

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The smoky aroma of grilled meat is a summer classic, but don't hesitate to add some less-conventional fare — fruit, pizzas, bread — for a new taste sensation. Associated Press photos

Cherry tomato, bocconcini and basil bruschetta, an Italian-style appetizer, includes toasty bread that can be prepared on a grill that is warming up.

Grill tips, terms Barbecue: Cooking meat over a low, slow fire, often covered. Grill: Searing ingredients over a hot fire, generally uncovered. Baste (or mop): A liquid or thin paste that is basted over ingredients while they are cooking; those that contain fat can cause burning, so should be applied lightly and only toward the end of cooking time. Rub: Dry spice mixture rubbed onto ingredients before they are cooked. Rubs have few calories, flavor food quickly, form a nice crust and do not cause flare-ups. Marinade: Liquid or paste of acid, oil and flavoring agents, used to tenderize meats and coat the surface to keep it moist once it hits a heated grate. Marinating time: Longer marinating doesn't necessarily mean deeper flavors and may destroy texture. Marinate steaks 30 minutes to an hour; fish, 10 minutes or so; vegetables, with just a brief toss.

To many, Father's Day (this year, it's June 15) means eating outdoors with the honored guest wielding tongs and barbecue mitts. Abraham Lincoln's parents celebrated their wedding with a barbecue, and George Washington loved to go to barbecues and even wrote about them in his diary, according to Steven Raichlen, author of "How to Grill," "The Barbecue! Bible" and his newest, "BBQ USA" (Workman, 2003, $19.95 paperback).

"Barbecue is very deeply imbedded in our national psyche and has been since even before we were a nation," says Raichlen.

Bobbie Kealoha of Kane'ohe, whose family's weekend center is the brick barbecue oven he built in the back yard, said they grill everything: "fresh fish, when my brother catches 'em; pulehu steak, when my cousin sends over steaks from the Big Island; teriyaki, hot dogs, any kine."

Kealoha built the three-sided brick structure large enough to accommodate a full spread for family reunions, when 30 or 40 people might be eating at the same time and 100 or so come through in the course of the day and night. But he can also use just one end when only the immediate family is present. One nice thing: "The bricks hold the heat, you know, so when it's cold, wintertime, we pulehu meat and sit around and stay warm."

He can burn wood or use charcoal briquets. "Kiawe is the best, when we can get it. Sometimes I buy wood chips, but I like burning logs. It's a man thing, I guess."

Food Network chef and cookbook author Gale Gand enjoys grilling fruit on a propane grill on her porch outside Chicago. Grilling, she said in a phone interview, "really intensifies the sweetness without adding extra sugar. The hotter the grill, the more caramelization you'll get" when cooking fruit, she says.

Gand, co-owner of Tru restaurant in Chicago, believes grilling holds "the same emotional tie as a hearth or fireplace." People seem to gather around a grill "as if some kind of magic or alchemy is going on," she says.

And don't forget vegetarian friends when you grill: Vegetables, bread, pizzas and meat look-alikes such as Êveggie burgers and veggie dogs all are great cooked over an open fire, charcoal or a gas grill.

Their advice:

Keep the grill clean and well-oiled. "Food is less likely to stick to a hot grill grate, and you'll get better grill marks," he says. To clean a grill, Raichlen recommends using a stiff wire brush or crumpled aluminum foil. Then oil the grate before use: "Take a paper towel, fold it into a little pad, then dip it into a bowl of vegetable oil and rub it across the bars of the grate."

If you're cookin' with gas, have an extra tank of propane handy so you don't run out.

Baste steak with a little olive oil or rub butter on it when it comes off the grill. "That little bit of fat seems to bring out the flavor," suggested Raichlin. And let steaks or chops rest a couple of minutes before you cut into them so that the juices that have boiled to the surface can relax back into the tissues.

Rick Bayless, chef-owner of Chicago's highly rated Frontera Grill and Topolobampo restaurants, cookbook author and host of the PBS-TV series "Mexico: One Plate at a Time," calls himself "an inveterate barbecuer."

Bayless puts his charcoal and gas grills to good use every February when he invites friends over for a huge barbecue just to remind them "summer is going to come."

Bayless, whose parents ran Hickory House, a barbecue restaurant in Oklahoma City, says he grew up on the flavors of grilled and smoked meat.

"I don't like charcoal. I like to burn logs," he says. One of his favorite grilled foods is pizza, particularly one topped with melted goat cheese and bacon. And, of course, he likes to slow-cook pork ribs in the middle of his grill, with the coals banked on either side.

Bayless thinks a common grilling mistake is that people get their fire too hot, causing food to cook too quickly on the outside before it's done on the inside. In fact, Raichlen suggests setting up three grill zones: hot, medium and cool. Then if something is cooking too fast, you can quickly move it to the cool zone.

Bayless also suggests brushing or spraying oil on the food rather than on the grill, unless the grate is cast iron.

Cookbook author Rick Tramonto, Gand's partner at Tru, says the most common grilling mistake is turning the food too soon or too often. "People don't let stuff cook; they don't let it develop a crust. They don't let it develop a good sear," he said, suggesting you resist the urge to fiddle and flip, prod and poke (which bruises meat or vegetables, allowing juices to run out). Use tongs instead of a barbecue fork, to avoid poking holes in food.

Tramonto says he enjoys grilling because of the great flavor and "the whole ambiance of being outside and cooking outside. It brings family together; it brings friends together; it's a great social setting."

He's fond of his Tramonto Potato Wedges: For each potato, you need a half cup of olive oil, two cloves of minced garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste, and one teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and bake it in a 400-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Let it cool about an hour. Make a marinade of the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cut the potato into eighths lengthwise, then immerse in marinade for 10 minutes. Grill on both sides for about 3 minutes each side.

Other vegetarian techniques: A huge selection of produce can be cooked on your grill — either directly, or sealed in those cute little foil pouches. Corn on the cob can be cooked in the husks or shucked and slathered with butter or some other spicier baste and wrapped in foil. Everything from asparagus to peppers, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and even pineapple can be grilled directly or on skewers.

No meal is complete without a good chunk of bread: French bread split lengthwise and brushed with olive oil, garlic and herbs can be grilled until toasty. Grilled pizzas are all the rage. Make them fairly simple — with a bit of olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, basil and cheese — and cook quickly on the grill. Bruschetta — Italian bread crust appetizers — are great to prepare while the grill is heating for later use.

Wanda Adams of The Honolulu Advertiser, Patricia Talorico of the Wilmington (Del.) News, Debra Hale-Shelton of the Associated Press and Angela Stephens of the Gannett News Service contributed to this report.

Grilling expertise by the book

Gettin' ready to grill? Get some advice from the pros: There are quite a few new books on the subject.

"Grilling America" by Rick Browne; ReganBooks, hardback, $25.95.

This book has an upbeat show-biz air as befits the author and host of a PBS television food series, "Barbecue America," who does his research roaming the country in his 35-foot motor home. There are plenty of well-flavored stories of people and places, with a colorful assortment of photos. His recipes range from cedar-plank swordfish with pineapple salsa, from Oregon, to Uncle John's beer and potato salad, from California. There also is vegetarian fare, including Fantasia's BBQ tofu cakes from Hawai'i.

"Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue" by Cheryl and Bill Jamison; Harvard Common Press, paper, $16.95.

The Jamisons, based in Santa Fe, N.M., extol "real" barbecue: "Celebrating a meal with friends and family by smoking food slow and low over smoldering wood."

To them, high-heat grilling and barbecue are not the same thing. The book's Part I shares "secrets of success," including information on fuels, tools and smoking. Part II is all about seasoning and cooking. Part III is devoted to more recipes, for sauces, side dishes, desserts and drinks.

Other books of note:

"Let the Flames Begin" is by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby; Norton, hardback, $30.

Schlesinger and Willoughby are the estimable authors of "Thrill of the Grill" (Morrow, 1990), winner of a James Beard award. Putting food over live fire is the only way to get that true, ineffable grilled flavor, they say.

There are enough original, spirited recipes here to ensure no one goes hungry — more than 250, ranging from Turkish eggplant dip to Thai-style mussels, chicken wings and smoke-roasted standing rib roast of beef.

"Celebrating Barbeque" by Dotty Griffith; Simon and Schuster, hardback, $24.

Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Griffith distinguishes among four regional styles of barbecue (Carolina, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City) and provides 85 "classic" recipes.

"Fish and Shellfish Grilled and Smoked" by Karen Adler and Judith M. Fertig; Harvard Common Press, paper, $15.95.

Adler is a barbecue/grilling book publisher and author; Fertig is an award-winning cookbook writer and columnist for the Kansas City Star; both are based in Kansas City, Mo., which takes grilling and smoking very seriously.

The book gives basic information, recipes and "everything else you need": rubs, marinades, bastes, sauces, salsas, relishes and sides.

"Fire Up the Grill!" by the editors of Woman's Day; Filipacci, paperback, $14.95.

Here's handy practicality.Each of the 75-plus recipes tells you what heat and grill set-up you need, preparation and cooking times and nutrition analysis. Nearly every recipe has a full-page color photo, and tips and hints are stacked into page margins.