Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sam Zien is a twelve-time Emmy Award winner and the host of Sam the Cooking Guy. His latest show, Just Cook This with Sam the Cooking Guy, premiered on the Discovery Health Channel in September 2007 and now airs on Fit TV. His website is TheCookingGuy.com.

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sam the cooking guy's awesomely delicious guide to grilling.
 
just grill this! features Sam the Cooking Guy's simple, delicious, and occasionally unconventional recipes for cooking anything on the grill. With his trademark irreverence and humor, Sam demystifies the age-old process of cooking with fire-and he leaves nothing out. From things "not normally grilled" like salad and pizza, to a week's worth of burgers, seafood, and even desserts-it's all here. With just grill this!, you may never see the inside of your kitchen again.

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Sam the Cooking Guy

John Wiley & Sons

Chapter One

tasty.

one of my favorite things to do when entertaining is to have stuff already skewered and let my guests do the cooking. It gives them something to do and frees me up to do other things, or just lets me relax instead of cook. In fact, I prefer to leave as much of the appetizer section of the event to my guests as possible.

grilled shrimp cocktail MAKES ABOUT 60 SHRIMP

On big sporting-event weekends, New Year's Eve, and other occasions, supermarkets sell those ready-made shrimp cocktail party packs. You've seen them—the round, clear plastic containers with boiled pink shrimp lined up in a circle like the Radio City Rockettes at Christmas.

Well, they suck, so don't buy them.

1 cup chili sauce, not the Asian chili sauce—the ketchup kind 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Cholula) ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 lime, cut in half 60 shrimp (31/40s), peeled and deveined, but tails on Olive oil 10 wooden skewers, soaked in water about 30 minutes

Combine the chili sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and juice from 1 lime half—mix well and set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium-high.

Put 6 shrimp on each skewer, keeping them in their "c" shape.

Brush the shrimp lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the shrimp a couple minutes on each side until they are just done. Remove from the grill, squeeze on the remaining lime juice, and serve with the sauce.

grilled coconut shrimp MAKES ABOUT A DOZEN

Mmmm. I've got nothing else.

¾ cup coconut milk Juice of 1 lime 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 to 2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce (see Sauce section) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons curry powder 12 large shrimp (like U10s or 15s) peeled and deveined but with tails left on

Combine the coconut milk, lime juice, soy, chili sauce, cumin, and curry in a casserole dish. Add the shrimp, mix to coat the shrimp evenly, and refrigerate up to an hour.

Preheat the grill to medium-high.

Remove the shrimp from the coconut milk mix and place on the grill.

Cook until the shrimp are just done, maybe 3 to 4 minutes a side.

chicken with chipotle ranch MAKES 16 SKEWERS

Who doesn't always have ranch and chipotle around? Wait—don't answer that.

16 small-ish bamboo skewers, 6 to 8 inches each (see BTW) 1 cup ranch dressing 1 to 2 canned chipotle peppers, minced Juice of 1 lime 8 chicken thighs 1 teaspoon chili powder ½ teaspoon each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive oil

Soak the skewers in water for about 30 minutes to help prevent them burning on the grill.

Combine the ranch, chipotle, and lime juice—I'd start with 1 chipotle; you can always add more if you want it spicier.

Cut each thigh into approximately 8 bite-sized pieces.

Combine the chili powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Push 4 pieces of chicken onto each stick, and keep them near the top.

Lightly brush with olive oil, and season with the chili powder mix.

Preheat the grill to medium-high.

Grill the chicken until done, turning it to keep it from burning.

Serve with the ranch sauce.

btw

I like to use small skewers and not put too much on each one. The idea is to skewer the food, not your tonsils, when you're eating.

buffalo wings MAKES ABOUT 30

These work well on skewers and I like to skewer each wing with 2 sticks—you don't have to, but I find they just don't slip around as much.

60 wooden skewers 1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce ½ cup (1 stick) butter ¼ cup brown sugar 3 pounds chicken wings Blue Cheese Mayo Thing (page 46), for serving

Soak the skewers in water for about 30 minutes to help prevent them burning on the grill.

Meanwhile, combine the Frank's, butter, and brown sugar in a small pot (or bowl in the microwave) and heat until melted—mix well. Set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium-high.

Skewer 2 wings on each stick. Place the wings on the grill and cook until done on the first side, then flip.

Baste the now-cooked top side well a couple times during the bottom cooking stage. When the bottom is done, flip them over and baste the bottom well.

Remove to a plate, baste some more, and serve with the Blue Cheese Mayo Thing.

the most basic (AND BEST) bruschetta ever MAKES ABOUT 16 PIECES

There's not much better than a simply grilled baguette, some beautifully fresh tomatoes, a little garlic, and some basil. And good olive oil—don't forget that.

1 pound ripe medium tomatoes 1 large clove garlic, a big boy 1 long French or sourdough baguette Extra virgin olive oil ½ cup loosely packed basil leaves, chopped pretty fine Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the grill to medium.

Cut the tomatoes into enough thick slices to cover the baguette.

Leaving the outer paper on the garlic, cut the clove in half. (The outer paper will keep your fingers from getting too garlicky.)

Slice the bread lengthwise, drizzle with oil, and grill face down until golden brown and crispy.

Remove the bread from the grill and immediately rub the cut side of the garlic clove all over the cut sides of the bread.

Layer the tomato slices on the cut side of the bread, then add the basil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Eat right away.

btw

The key to this is amazingly ripe tomatoes. A ripe tomato should smell like a tomato, and have a little squish to it, but not too much. And more than any other tomato recipe, this is not the time for "maybe" ripe tomatoes. So if you're not sure what a nice ripe tomato is, ask your produce expert, cuz there's no shame in asking.

steak & mashed potato quesadillas MAKES 2 QUESADILLAS

The wonderfulness of the Mashed Potato Taco from book #2 (Awesome Recipes & Kitchen Shortcuts) prompted me to revisit the age-old question "What more can I do with mashed potatoes?" This is it, and it makes sense for four good reasons:

? Because you're going to have leftover steak—you just are.

? Because where there's steak, there's probably potatoes.

? Because a grilled quesadilla is wonderful.

? Because why the hell not?

And who can argue with logic like that? So here it is—make it, eat it, love it.

Olive oil 1 red onion, peeled and cut into ½-inch circles Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Four 8-inch flour tortillas 1 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese 1 cup mashed potatoes, warmed 2 cups (about 10 ounces) leftover cooked steak, very thinly sliced

Preheat the grill to medium.

Lightly oil the onion slices, season with salt and pepper, and put on the grill.

Cook, turning once, until they soften and have good grill marks—remove to a bowl.

Turn the grill down to low.

Put 2 tortillas on 2 plates, sprinkle ¼ cup of the cheese on each, top each with half of the potatoes, add half of the steak to each, and finally add the remaining cheese to each. Top with the 2 remaining tortillas. Slide the quesadillas from the plates to the grill and grill until golden brown. Carefully flip the quesadillas over. Grill on the second side until the insides are warm and the tortillas are crispy.

Remove, cut into wedges, and...