The Grill Pan

I wanted to get a grill pan at the beginning of summer, but they seemed too expensive for such a specialized item that would only get used a couple of times a year.  Then there was one in the half-off, end-of-season section at Target and I decided to go for it.  It's supposed to be for cooking pizza on the grill, but can be used for anything.  Besides, bbq-ing pizza?

Brussels sprouts are not an obvious choice to serve alongside burgers, but I really wanted to try out the pan.  And grilling or roasting the sprouts until they are slightly charred is my favorite way of having them.  I only wished I had remembered I was out of parmesan when I was at the market.  Besides, whenever I light up the grill, I want to make the most of the charcoal.  I also made the grilled polenta for dessert.

One little caveat, keep some oven or grill mitts handy.  The handles get hot.  Yes, I was stupid.

And this has nothing to do with my most recent grilling session, but I took this photo of the corn while the charcoal was getting up to temp.  I have about four ears for sure.   I'm fine with them being small, since I usually cut my ears from the store in half.  I'm just hoping they grow healthy.

This isn't my house.  It's a few blocks away, and I thought it was totally amazing.  They trained their squash vines up on the roof!  I'm not sure exactly what they all are.  I think some are zucchini and there may be butternut squash.  Really hoping there's enough pumpkin in there to make the most awesome Halloween decoration ever.  You can see on the left that they trained the vines up a trellis until they were long enough to toss on the roof.  It's actually a very good idea.  The leaves won't get sprayed with water and form mold, and there are probably fewer pests up there.  It provides shade insulation for the house against the summer heat.  Getting the fruit down is another matter.  I have a rock roof, so this won't work for me, but a handy person who has limited garden space and no fear of heights could do this easily.