grilled asparagus

• fresh asparagus spears
• olive oil
• coarse salt
• fresh ground pepper

Drizzle asparagus with a little olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness over an open flame. Cut off bottom of stalks before serving.

The dish: Every now and again I love a little vino, but I've never paid too much attention to those "wine snobs" that turn the pleasurable act of sipping a glass of Cabernet into a chore full of using big words and making funny faces, and worst of all, ultimately spitting out the drink. I feel I should let them know that even "bad" wine is pretty good once swallowed, but it's just too much fun to watch them act like tools. White with fish and red with beef is pretty basic stuff, but after that you get into grey area with other meats and veggies. Everyone seems to have their own opinion about what works with what, but they all pretty much agree, there is no wine to pair with asparagus. To listen to the most snobby of them, you'd think they were talking about kryptonite and superman, not Pinot Grigio and spring's favorite green stalk. I'm not even that huge a fan of asparagus and I think it gets a bum wrap. To combat this bias I suggest first grilling asparagus, as there is no more delicious preparation of the green. Don't be afraid to let it sit on the bbq a little while and get some char-color to them. While that's going, find the cheapest and lightest dry white wine (bonus if the cap screws off) you can and stick that puppy in the freezer for awhile, letting it get almost ice cold. Between the taste of the grill and the lightness of the freezing wine, the flavors work together like Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet. While this method may be looked down upon by the most dedicated students of vinology, it works and is a great treat for the warm months.

grilled zucchini

• fresh zucchini
• olive oil
• coarse salt
• fresh ground pepper

Cut zucchini in half lenghtwise, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, or better yet spay some on if you have a Misto. Grill over a medium flame for about 10 minutes, turning once.

The dish: So it finally happened, the rain stopped for about 7 minutes and I was able to unwrap my grill from its cover and fire it up. For those of you who don't know me, I have a beautiful condo (technically my wife has it, she's just cool about letting me crash here) with a balcony about the size of an unfolded newspaper. There's no chance of me fitting one of those behemoth grills that seem to be so popular, and here in sunny New Windsor our elected officials have nothing better to do than dream up inane laws that prohibit me from having any bbq. All grilling that appears here is done on the down low using a grill that's about the size of a large shoebox (hey, like Bob Dylan said, if you're gonna live outside the law then you have to be honest). If you don't like zucchini, then try it grilled, it takes on a whole new flavor. It becomes crisp and moist all at once and begins to taste like the flame without overpowering the natural taste of the zucchini. It's one of my favorite veggies on the grill and I recommend trying it even if it means chancing a visit to the local kangaroo court.