To 'que or not to 'que?

It's officially summer when Father's Day rolls around marking the beginning of hot weather foods and firing up the old barbecue.

I'm a huge fan of cooking outdoors. I love the smells, the flavours and the relaxing spin grilling puts onto any occasion. If you drop the main course on the grass no one seems to mind, drop it on the kitchen floor and it's bye-bye to supper. But as a safe food advocate, I advise if you do drop your steak on the lawn, you really should throw it out--who knows what it touched while laying in your flower bed. My point is maybe drinking and grilling isn't such a great idea. (Note: Always pick a designated griller.)

Which brings me to one of my pet peeves: Why does the person standing at the grill get all of the praise? You, in fact, probably did all of the work deciding on the menu, shopping for the ingredients, prepping the courses, and marinating the meat. Then you pass off the food to the griller, and the next thing you hear is, "Scott (Insert your griller's name here), this is fabulous steak." Okay, I'm hopelessly shallow when it comes to my cooking. If I made it and it's great, I want the praise. If it wasn't, I'm good with blaming it on the griller. (Note number two: Always thank the griller and the prepper.)

While I'm on the topic of men and grills, why are they consumed fire and charring the living daylights out of whatever they are grilling? Is it too many TV commercials with flames licking the meat, or some throwback to primeval times when they had to make sure the meat was burnt? Who knows? But it needs to stop toute suite.

Any time you blacken protein, you're producing carcinogens (envision screaming health professionals running for the hills). We don't need any more help changing our DNA, so the next time you fire up the grill remember to marinate all proteins to reduce their destruction as well as cook on medium heat, flipping often. You can blacken fruits and veggies--that's due to the sugars. But when you blacken protein whether on the grill, in the oven, or in a frying pan, you alter the proteins.

Choosing a grill is key. It all comes down to how many burners the grill has. You need three so that you can cook using direct or indirect heat. I have a Weber and I love it. Some days I think I should've married my Weber instead of (insert ex-husband's names here)--it's so dependable, reliable, and is always ready when I am.

The people at Weber know a thing or two about grilling. They've put out a fabulous guide titled Weber's Grilling What's Good for You. It's free to download on their website.