For the past several summers, my husband and I (and usually a friend or two) have been spending occasional weekends in Ulster County in Upstate New York, renting small rooms at a simple inn that happens to be on green, open land with a large pond at one end of the property and a lively stream near the house. There’s no kitchen in our rooms, but my determination to cook summer meals and eat outside drives me into high-gear improvisation mode, using a small Weber charcoal grill, mostly local ingredients, and a few fancy bottles of Italian condiments I bring up from the city, mainly good olive oil, capers, anchovies, and olives. And my need to rise above the primitive has led to some beautiful meals (and also, at least in the beginning, to a few out-of-control evenings full of flames, drunkenness, and not much edible food). Grilling is, for the most part, something I’ve realized I need to really focus on when I’m doing it.Even when you concentrate, grilling is never a sure thing. There are always variables that prevent you from having complete control over your heat. You need to just accept this, and be flexible when surprises occur. I spend a lot of time moving pieces of meat or fish from a hot flame area to a low-heat part of the grill and back, or tempering grease flare-ups with a spray bottle of water, or covering the grill for a few moments. One thing I’ve begun to learn from my bare-bones streamside grilling is patience. Waiting for the fire to burn down to a nice glow is highly recommended. Roaring flames can be exciting, but they’re actually useless for cooking. I do get anxious waiting for the coals to settle, especially if I realize it’s getting dark and soon I’ll be unable to see what I’m doing (the area is usually lit with only a few bug candles), but if I can occupy myself with a little wine, or by identifying bird songs, or waiting for the bats to start coming out and swooping down near the grill, I can pleasantly pass the time until the coals are ready. With beautifully orange-blue coals, you have a much better chance of avoiding the charred-black-but-raw grill syndrome, which can be infuriating.
For me the most important ingredient in grill cooking is olive oil. Everything, meat, fish, vegetables, and even fruit, gets bathed in it. I use two types, a supermarket oil for whatever gets thrown on the grill, and an estate-bottled extra-virgin oil, often one of my favorite Sicilian brands like Ravida, for salads and for drizzling raw over cooked food. I also keep on hand Sicilian sea salt, a good pepper grinder, lemons, and an assortment of fresh herbs, which can elevate a simple grilled fish or chicken into a dish with the aroma and aura of romantic Mediterranean al fresco dining, which is really what my grill fantasy is all about.
The only real drawback I’ve experienced to this lovely streamside idyll is that last summer during one of my lethargic attempts at out-of-city jogging, I got chased down a quiet country road, for quite a long, isolated stretch, by a black bear. I was truly horrified and later discovered that I’d been clenching my jaw so tightly during what seemed like the race for my life that I had shattered two back teeth. I spat them out into a wineglass at the bar my husband took me to to try and calm my nerves. A five-minute bear chase seems like an eternity (although it’s an excellent workout), and with no cars or people in sight, I really wasn’t sure how or when the episode would end. I knew there was a house coming up, and when I thought I was just about to approach it, I turned to check on the bear, and to my amazement he was suddenly plopped down in the middle of the road just staring at me. A few seconds later I saw him lumbering back into the woods. Jesus. Aside from the bear, the only other problem with this summer arrangement has been having to wash all the dishes in a bathtub.
The recipes here are a bit more freewheeling than my usual, since that seems to be the nature of barbecue cooking. I’ve left ingredient amounts loose, though I have given specific weights for fish and meat. All the dishes feed four.
Happy summer cooking!
See the following menus and their accompanying recipes, posted on the days following this essay:
Raw Cremini, Pecorino, and Celery Salad
Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Sea Salt, Orange Zest, and Mint
Blackberries with Sweet Wine and Basil
New York State Trout Wrapped in Pancetta and Filled with Sage
Grilled Asparagus and Scallions with Capers
Green Salad with Sorrel
Pecorino with Wildflower Honey
A Dinner of Skillet-Grilled Mussels and Sweet Strawberries
Ricotta with Black Olives and Thyme
Bruschetta
Avocado, Tomato, and Red Onion Salad with Anchovies
Skillet-Grilled Mussels with White Wine, Tarragon, and Shallots
Strawberries with White Wine and Vanilla
A Grilled Calamari and Couscous Dinner
Grill-Roasted Black Olives with Garlic and Thyme
Grilled Calamari with Pomodoro Crudo and Couscous
Grilled Figs with Caciocavallo
Tuna Spiedini and Corn on the Grill
Tuna Spiedini with a Fennel Marinade
Green Tomato Salad with Mozzarella, Pine Nuts and Basil
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Peaches with Red Wine
A Dinner of Grilled Lamb and Eggplant
Lamb Spiedini with Peppers, Savory, and Ricotta Salata on Herb Salad
Grilled Eggplant Salad
Grilled Plums with Grappa and Mascarpone
Grilled Sausages and Summer Cantaloupe
Italian Sausages with Grilled Grapes and Rosemary
Grilled Zucchini a Scapece
Potato Salad with Summer Garlic
Cantaloupe with Sweet Marsala
Erica De Mane 
Leave a Reply