Fire Up The Barbie
Make your next backyard barbecue memorable and impress your guests with something special. That smoky fire pit is perfect for lean cuts of meat and even better for all types of fish, not to mention vegetables that can add up to a meal pretty quickly. Savory marinades and spices of ginger, rosemary, and turmeric can turn an ordinary burger into an extraordinary delight. Mix and match mushrooms and zucchini with mangos, pineapples, and peaches for a colorful and healthy skewer. Don’t miss out on colossal shrimp and sea scallops along with corn on the cob, asparagus, eggplant, summer squashes, bell peppers, sweet onions, or cherry tomatoes. Whether it’s filet mignon or baby backs rubbed with a finishing touch of barbecue sauce, or lobster, tuna, and swordfish basted with an herbed oil or garlic butter, you’ll discover that virtually everything you love to eat can be grilled. And it’s fun too! Just ask the chefs whose creations are featured here. — Maria Desiderata Montana, photography by Vincent Knakal

Alaskan King Salmon with Marinated Grilled Baby Vegetables by executive chef Ulrich Ludwig
of Del Mar Country Club

AUGUST RECIPES

Grilled Lobster, Fregola, Carrots, Brown Butter by California Bistro chef de cuisine
Jesse Paul of Four Seasons Resort Aviara

Ingredients:
2 each live Maine lobster
2 cups fregola
9 cups carrot juice
1 oz garlic (1/2 shaved, 1/2 minced)
1 tbsp shallots minced
1/4 lb Peas
2 cups pea tendrils
2 each carrots
1 lb butter
4 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup wasabi peas
3 oz olive oil
salt and pepper as needed

For the lobsters: Place lobsters in boiling water for 6 minutes. Plunge into ice bath to chill. Remove claws, reserve. Remove tail from body by twisting both in opposite directions. Place tail in a towel and apply pressure until it cracks, and then reverse pressure and pull apart. Remove meat from shell and cut in half lengthwise. Remove meat from claw intact. Remove knuckle meat and save.

For the fregola: Slowly sweat shaved garlic in oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add fregola and coat with garlic and oil. Add 8 cups of carrot juice and cook slowly over low heat, constantly stirring. When all the juice is absorbed and fregola is tender, take off the heat and reserve for later.

For the vegetables: Blanch the peas in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Shock in an ice bath, then drain. Peel the carrots and cut into rounds. Roast in a 350-degree oven until tender.

For the wasabi peas: Place wasabi peas in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

For the brown butter: Slowly cook the whole butter over low heat until it is melted. Add the thyme and cook until the butter turns golden brown. Reserve the brown butter.

To plate: Season the lobsters with oil, salt, and pepper. Grill the lobsters until they turn opaque. While the lobsters are grilling, heat a sauté pan over high heat. Add 1 tsp of oil. When the oil is shimmering add the minced shallot and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Shake the pan and add the fregola. Toss the fregola in the pan to incorporate the garlic and shallots. Add the peas and carrots to the pan. Add 1 cup of carrot juice to the pan. Let the juice reduce to a glaze. Add 1 tbsp of cold butter and the reserved knuckle meat from the lobster. Toss until the butter is melted. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Finish with some chopped chives. Toss the pea tendrils with some wasabi pea powder and carrot oil. Place the grilled lobster on the plate and drizzle with brown butter.

Grilled Ahi Tuna Sandwich on foccacia with olive tapenade mayo, oven-roasted tomatoes, and lolla rossa lettuce by executive chef Faisal Sultani of Paradise Grille in Flower Hill Promenade

Ingredients:
8 4-oz ahi tuna loins
lolla rossa lettuce
foccacia bread

For the olive Tapenade mayo:
2 each cloves garlic
1 cup olives
5 each anchovies
2 cups mayonnaise

Combine garlic, onions, and anchovies in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add mayonnaise and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the roasted roma tomato:
1 bunch tarragon
1 bunch thyme
4 roma tomatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Slice roma tomatoes in half and scoop out seeds. Line tomatoes on a sheet pan and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle on herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

For the ahi tuna sandwich: Grill ahi tuna until medium rare. Slice each into 4 pieces and set aside. Grill focaccia bread and set aside. Add olive Tapenade mayo to both sides of the foccacia. Add 5 small pieces of lolla rossa lettuce. Add sliced tuna. Add roasted tomatoes. Slice in half and serve with a Paradise Salad or Paradise Black Truffle fries.

Serves 8

Loch Duart Salmon with Grilled Corn Salad and Gazpacho Vinaigrette by chef de cuisine
Daniel Boling at The Grill at The Lodge at Torrey Pines

For the Gazpacho Vinaigrette:
2 lbs vine ripe tomatoes (rough chopped)
1/2 small red onion (sliced)
1 small cucumber (peeled and sliced)
6 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tsp saffron (bloomed in 2 tbsp hot water)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)
1 tbsp salt
3 slices leftover French bread (crust removed and torn into smaller pieces)

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except for the bread and allow it to marinate for 2 hours at room temperature. Add the bread and let sit for 5 minutes. Puree the mixture in a blender for a few seconds. Make sure not to completely liquefy. Pass the finished vinaigrette through a mesh strainer to remove any tomato seeds or skin. Reserve in the refrigerator. For best results do the day before so flavors have time to develop.

For the grilled corn salad:
6 ears of sweet corn (husk removed)
3 red bell peppers
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
8 oz arugula
2 oz fresh basil (torn leaves)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt

Place corn and peppers directly on preheated grill and while turning lightly char the outside of both. This will take 5-6 minutes. Place vegetables in a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow them to steam for 5 minutes. Peel charred skin off the peppers and take out the seeds. After they are clean slice them and place in mixing bowl. With a knife cut off the kernels of the corn making sure not to cut too deep. Along with the corn toss the remaining ingredients with the peppers at the last minute before serving so arugula does not wilt.

For the salmon:
6 6-oz pieces of salmon with the skin taken off
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Rub the salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on a preheated grill and cook for 2 minutes. Rotate the salmon 90 degrees and cook for another 2 minutes. Flip salmon over and finish cooking for another 2 minutes. You can cook it less if you like your salmon more on the rare side. Allow salmon to cool slightly off the grill before serving.

On 6 plates put a pool of the vinaigrette on the bottom, about 3 oz each. Top with the grilled corn salad and then the salmon on top of that. Drizzle the whole plate with more extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 6