Gena's Summer Grilling for Memorial Day

This is the first in a series of blog posts by grilling expert Gena Knox.

Although it is a little early for summer tomatoes, I discovered beautiful red and yellow beets, huge heads of Bibb lettuce and fresh eggs at the farmers market here in Athens, Ga., last Saturday. My garden is already full of herbs such as parsley, basil and oregano, so adding them to what I found at the market created a fresh, seasonal menu that didn't take all afternoon. The minimal time I spent in the kitchen reminds me that if you cook seasonally with fresh ingredients, the less you have to do to make them taste delicious.

Memorial Day kicks off summer and (hooray!) grilling season. Outdoor entertaining, summer garden parties and casual, last minute burger grill-outs consume my summer months and I love every minute of it. See what I cooked up with my finds (blue cheese-and-bacon deviled eggs for starters) and the recipes after the jump.



It's always a good sign when everyone, including my girlfriends, goes back for seconds. They did when I tested out this easy summer menu -- deviled eggs, roasted beet salad, grilled hanger steak, summer sweet corn pasta salad and key lime pie -- at a dinner party last week.

Blue cheese-and-bacon deviled eggs have always been one of my favorites (top anything with bacon and of course it will be delicious).

The roasted beet salad with goat cheese dressing adds amazing color to the table; once beets are out of season, simply substitute fresh peaches, plums or tomatoes.




Grilled hanger steaks and flank pair perfectly with fresh salsa verde. The beauty of my fresh summer corn pasta salad is that you can make it ahead of time and serve it at room temperature. As a Southern girl with a love for our regional flavors, I included a recipe for key lime pie to finish the meal.

But learn from my mistake: At my dinner party I only made one pie, which was consumed in a matter of minutes. Facing a table full of mildly disappointed faces, my friend said "remember every Southern woman makes at least two pies."

Blue Cheese-and-Bacon Deviled Eggs

PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 10 minutes
YIELD 4 servings

4 eggs
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled and divided
1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

FIRST Place eggs in large pot, in a single layer. Add cold water, covering the eggs by an inch. Bring the water to a boil; cover and remove from heat. After 10 minutes, drain and run cool water over the eggs. Allow to cool, then peel and halve lengthwise.

NEXT Place yolks in a medium bowl; using a fork, mash with mayonnaise and mustard. Stir in half of the crumbled bacon, the blue cheese and parsley until combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

LAST Spoon the mixture into egg halves and top with remaining bacon pieces.

Click here for the grilled beet salad, grilled hanger steak, summer corn pasta salad and key lime pie recipes.

Gena Knox is the founder of Fire & Flavor and the author of "Gourmet Made Simple." She'll be blogging about grilling this summer for Slashfood. For more information on Gena, visit her Web site FireandFlavor.com. For more grilling tips, visit the AOL Food Grilling page.