COLUMN: Lake City Cookin’ — A sweet, spicy recipe for heart of summer

Hello. Can you believe July is here? It seems to be a favorite time and season for many.

July is just the heart of summer, and we all look for ways to stay cool and out of the heat. You know what our parents used to say? “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Well I am all for that; more people cook and grill out this month than any other.

I think July Fourth has a great deal to do with it. We just get into it and find the joy again of eating out-of-doors, and we do this often and to make eating outside more enjoyable, I have worked hard to turn our big out-back patio into an outdoor sitting and dining area.

It’s nothing fancy, but we enjoy it, and so does our dog, Lucy. We now have a new swing with two new patio chairs to help us relax when we can get away from our at-times hectic schedule.

The new swing was an anniversary gift from hubby. It seems to work well. The old swing we have had for years, however, still a favorite. It’s not that big, and when company comes it’s nice to have the new one.

Nothing beats sitting in a comfortable patio swing on a warm day with a cold lemonade and a good book. Hubby hung some festive patio lights all along one wall, and with the lamps we have plenty of light now for evening entertainment.

But hey we can’t just sit around all day; we better get something together for our July cookout. Everyone loves burgers, ribs, corn on the cob, red and green cabbage slaw, and baked beans. There is no end to the foods you can cook out now; desserts can be cooked on the grill, as well.

First, let me give you the recipe again for my new July sauce. It is simple and can be used for any type of meat — chicken, beef, pork and turkey.
It as well makes a great dipping sauce and can be made ahead and stored for three weeks in a jar in the refrigerator. 

Shirley’s Sweet & Spicy July Sauce

Mix and whip together ½ cup honey, ½ cup 7UP with a cup apple juice, a cup pineapple juice, and a teaspoon cumin (the ground spice).

If you want it hot, add your favorite hot sauce. Mine is Tabasco. As a child of the Deep South Delta, way down in Alabama, and having lived not too far from the city where Tabasco is aged in white oak barrels on Avery Island, La., I grew up enjoying Tabasco.

If you visit Avery Island, you can tour the factory. I can truly say Tabasco is a staple at my house and has many uses. Add the hot Tabasco sauce as much as you like. If you are doing a lot of barbecue, you may wish to double this recipe.

Brush this July sauce on as you grill the meat and store any leftovers in glass jar with a lid for up to three weeks; also, you can freeze it.

Let’s do some ribs — baby backs and spare ribs as well some short ribs, a real mix of both pork and beef so that family and friends can get their favorite. About leftovers, don’t worry about that; ribs keep well and can be wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven the following day. Add a little more July sauce if you wish to keep moisture in.

When choosing ribs, get fresh and meaty and watch for sales. Ask the store butcher, who may make you a deal if you buy in bulk. Add a few well-made burgers to the mix; the kids love these.

Hand-formed deluxe grilling burgers

Two pounds of ground chuck will make eight big burgers. Add a 1/3 cup July sauce to the raw meat if you want them spicy. Now form your burgers by making a thumbprint in the center and brush on more sauce as you grill them. Cook to order as each guest wishes. You can do well done, medium or rare. The thumbprint keeps the burgers round and flat.

Serve on warm toasted buns, which you can toast right on your grill. Have all your condiments at the ready, such as sliced fresh tomatoes, sliced sweet onion, bread-and-butter pickles, mustard and a good leaf lettuce; if you like mayonnaise and ketchup, add these as well. Hold the ketchup on mine; I like it, but not on a burger.

Place all the condiments on a tray so that they’re easy to get to. Let each person dress their own the way they like it. If they want cheese, have good sharp cheddar in slices ready for the warm burgers.

We need some fresh slaw to go with this good feast. To save time and work, buy a bag of slaw, mix about four cups, place this mix in a large bowl, season it with black pepper, and set it aside.

Slaw dressing

Mix together in a small bowl two tablespoons sugar and two tablespoons vinegar; beat in a cup of real mayonnaise and chill this dressing.

If you want more vegetables and crunch in the slaw, add ½ cup sliced green sweet bell pepper, ½ cup sliced red sweet pepper and ¼ cup pine nuts. This is not only colorful, but also good for you. Pour your chilled dressing over the slaw mix, stir and chill well.

Other foods that will go well at our cookout and you can make ahead are deviled eggs. Try adding a small can of deviled ham when you mix the filling for the deviled eggs. Mash cooked egg yolks with mayonnaise and black pepper, add the can of deviled ham to the mix, fill the cooked egg whites with the mashed cooked egg yolks and mayonnaise, mix and chill, and lay a small cube of sweet red pepper on top of each deviled egg — so pretty.

A fresh vegetable plate with raw asparagus spears, celery and carrot sticks is healthy and great; add your own favorite. I prepare my relish plate ahead of time and allow the prepared vegetables to sit in cold water in the fridge. For this, you can use Ziploc bags filled with water; it really makes the veggies crisp. Add a ranch dip or honey mustard, my favorite. Sounds like great cookout food.

Corn on the cob is a hit at a cookout

In a big pot of sea-salted boiling water, drop ears of corn, cover tightly, turn off the heat, and let set 10 minutes for good steamed (not boiled) corn. Serve with butter. You can do this on the grill outside if your grill has an extra on-the-side burner like mine. We cook with gas and have used the same old big gas grill for years. It still works great.

Lucy has starting digging holes in the yard

Remember when I introduced you to our new puppy, Lucy, in the May column? Well, she is over 10 months old now, and her new thing is to dig holes. She digs tiny little holes around in the back yard (what to do?). Hubby fills them back in, and a few days later she has re-dug most of them. It’s a game to her. I scold her to no avail; it’s as if she is saying to me when I do try to correct her, “Hey, Shirley, you got your work and I got mine.”

When I told my 6-year-old grandson Conor about Lucy’s hole-digging, his simple solution was this: “Grandma, you must plant flowers in each hole and she will stop digging.” Guess what? It worked!

Cold dessert for a hot July day

This will be perfect for a hot day. Beat a quart of vanilla ice cream with a quart of sliced peaches, pour into a ready-made graham cracker crust, add a small carton of Cool Whip or you own homemade whipped cream to the top, spread over the ice cream, add a few sliced peaches to the top, and freeze for an hour or so.

Slice and serve on cold plates. Sounds like a perfect ending to a great cookout. You can substitute strawberries for peaches if you like.

I have enjoyed our July visit and we would like to say happy birthday No. 5 to Eamon Michael Cummins, who graduated from Kindergarten in June and is visiting with big brother Conor here in South Carolina as you read this.

I happily can report they are visiting at my house — what fun! — along with the boy’s dog Grace, who is about 14 months old and having a great time with our puppy, Lucy.

Is there anything more fun than little boys and puppies?  I think not, and on that happy note I simply must go outside and play. The boys and dogs are waiting. I hope you will also go play outside a while and enjoy this perfect, jubilant July day.

Sincerely, Shirley.

— Cummins is a freelance writer working from her home office. She contributes articles on cooking and travel and writes book reviews for magazines and newspapers. Shirley has been writing the Lake City Cookin’ column for the News & Post for 10 years. She can be reached via e-mail at .