Say Yes to a Grill Fest on The Fourth of July<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The summer holidays are all about family and food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter that they\u2019re on a culinary adventure every day, Charlie and Kathleen Schaffer view holidays as time to share food with friends and family. And even though they\u2019ve been together for 15 years, the couple is always trying to impress each other with their culinary prowess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They come by this tradition honestly as both Charlie and Kathleen are from families that treated holidays like the Fourth of July as sacred social sharing time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kathleen and her four siblings could be found racing from pool-to-picnic table all day long, enjoying grilled hamburgers and produce fresh from their mother\u2019s garden and from neighboring farms in country Pennsylvania. Dishes like fresh corn, soaked in water and then grilled in the husks and garden-ripened tomatoes, simply dressed with basil, pickled red onions and vinaigrette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe swam until our eyes burned, were sticky from eating watermelon and eventually peeled off our bathing suits to fall into bed, exhausted from the endless food all day long,\u201d she shares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charlie\u2019s roots in the South meant there was always barbecue on the grill and fried chicken on the table, made the Southern way — \u201cBrined in buttermilk,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, the menu reflects healthy options and the best fresh produce California has to offer, but one thing is the same — the grill is the center of attention. It starts with the first course — a charred romaine salad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCharlie takes tender romaine hearts and slathers them with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and oregano and places them cut side down on the grill,\u201d Kathleen explains. \u201cIt makes the most delicious salad.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Schaffers advocate using the grill for everything. Some of their favorites include grilled cauliflower steaks served with a chimichurri sauce, endive and radicchio grilled to remove the bitterness, even red cabbage, grilled and served with a delicious miso vinaigrette or hemp miso dressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grilling doesn\u2019t stop with dessert. Stone fruit — plums, peaches and nectarines — are perfect for the grill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCut them in half, brush them with olive or coconut oil and grill until there\u2019s a nice char,\u201d Charlie explains. \u201cBrush them with a little melted butter and cinnamon sugar. You could serve them with ice cream or macerated cherries or berries as a sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s heaven,\u201d Kathleen chimes in, \u201cand better than a cobbler, especially with the smoky and sweet combination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s the most local of locally sourced produce that takes a starring role at the Schaffer\u2019s home grill fests — guavas grown in the backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a guava tree that yields about 100 pounds of pink guava each year,\u201d\u00a0Kathleen says.\u00a0\u201cWe use the fruit to make jams, jellies and the most delicious guava barbecue sauce,\u201dwhich is served with chicken.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s spectacular and we get to enjoy it year-round.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Charlie and Kathleen Schaffer view holidays as a time to share food with friends and family, and July 4 is no exception!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holidays","tag-schaffer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n