Summer Feasting from the Fire: More Than 75 Relaxed Recipes for Grills, Salads & Sides

More than 90 recipes to help you celebrate summer with effortless food cooked over fire, whether at the beach, camping or in your own garden.

Summer is the time of year when people are most likely to spend time together outdoors, and there’s no better way to do it than with a great BBQ. The summertime entertaining vibe is all about relaxed food, which is why we all love grilling. Nothing beats the smell of char-grilled meat and vegetables, or the taste of sweet corn on the cob as you dig into the juicy kernels. Combining fresh flavors with exciting grilling techniques including cooking on a fire pit grill, salt block cooking, and cedar-plank smoking, Valerie Aikman-Smith presents her recipes for perfect summer food. From delicious seafood including Baja Fish Tacos with Blistered Jalapeños, Grilled Snapper in Banana Leaves, and Mezcal Lime Shrimp on Salt Block, to feasts for meat-lovers such as Jerk Pork with Mango Chutney and Grilled Honey Plantains, Portuguese Piri Piri Poussin and an All-American Burger. Valerie includes fabulous vegetable dishes from Grilled Zucchini Flowers with Shiso Lemon Salt to Roasted Cauliflower with Walnut Romesco. Desserts designed to round off an alfresco feast include Matcha Ice Cream with Black Sesame Praline or a classic Grilled Banana Split with Dark Chocolate Sauce. Finally, if all the heat has made you thirsty, try a Basil Aperol Spritz with Flowering Herbs, Sicilian Slush Cocktail, or a Watermelon Margarita.

Valerie Aikman-Smith is a Los Angeles-based food stylist and writer. She worked in top restaurants before going on to style food for films such as Titanic and Ocean’s Eleven and for Food Network TV. Her work is featured in many magazines and books, and she is the author of Salt & Pepper, Smoke & Spice, and Pickled & Packed for Ryland Peters & Small.