Cook On A Hot Tin Roof

What happens when an early heat wave arrives? Don't cook. Adopt a summer attitude when it comes to cooking and baking. Look more towards lighter fare and less time in the kitchen. Wipe off the grill and get it fired up.. It's too hot to cook indoors..

An unexpected burst of high temps leaves most home chefs flummoxed . After all, they've planned a week of dinners and even lunches that require preheating the oven and roasting or cooking.Air conditioning should be turned on full blast but if you don' t  have it installed yet take heart. The microwave is your best friend during these times. If it can be microwaved do it. Those meat pies and pizzas can be zapped quickly instead of  baking in a hot 375 degree F ovens. Even preheating can be bad because it turns a kitchen into a proofing drawer. Most meat pies take almost an hour  to thoroughly cook up - which means being stuck and eating in a steam bath. Another idea is to just get cold cuts and make sandwiches along with getting premade salads. If the cold cuts don;t cut it  for you nitrates , then buy a whole roasted chicken or ribs at your local grocery. Acme now has roasters that are already cut into pieces and Stop & Shop has bags of fried chicken.

If the temps get too irritating, then get out the grill. You can still grill those steaks and salmon you planned  on cooking in the oven. They may even taste better than what you originally had planned for them originally. Marinate them in teriyaki  or barbecue sauce. The roast chicken and Cornish hens can even be put on the barbecue.. They do need to be spatchcocked or split open for grilling. Even if you planned on cooking a small turkey, it can be spatchcocked or butterflied and cooked on the grill as well. As for those veggies, put them in foil packets next to the meat. It's an easy fuss-free way of cooking them during an early heat wave. Add butter or olive oil along with herbs and spices to the packets. Again this may be better than what you originally had planned.A grilled dinner leads into a grilled dessert. It's never too early for s'mores. Some stores are already pushing the components so take advantage of that. Try something fun, like subbing in dark chocolate for milk  chocolate or chocolate graham crackers for the regular. You can also have grilled fruit kabobs, using apple and pineapple chunks along with grapes.

Don't let a heat wave leave you hot and bothered. Be cool - and keep your lunches and dinners the same way. It'll be a breeze to make - and to eat.