Grilled Corn

When my friends and I go camping, the food planning comes first. Once we've figured out who's making every appetizer, cocktail, main dish, and dessert, we focus on other details like who's bringing bug spray and how to get where we're going.

So for this week's campfire fiesta, I'm forgoing invitations in favor of a flurry of emails to work out the logistics. September is prime camping time: It's just getting summery in Northern California, while the more scorching regions of the country are cooling off. This Mexican-tinged menu celebrates the last days of Summer by featuring lots of fresh produce.

To start, I'm offering tortilla chips served with a gourmet caramelized black bean "butter" and store-bought pico de gallo. Some chips will inevitably get crushed in transit, so we'll put those into the main dish — tamale chicken packets — which cook over the fire with little effort. I'll also be grilling corn, brushed with lime and feta cheese, and a jicama-mango salad that you can make in advance and assemble on site. To get the recipes, read more

After watching Steven Raichlen's barbecue presentation at the Food and Wine Classic, I knew I had to make his corn. He cooked it with a coconut milk-based coating, but acknowledges that it's tasty on its own, slathered in butter, or doused with a mayo-lime-chili concoction.The only thing he insisted on was grilling it with the husk off. Cooking corn with the husks on only steams the corn, it does not grill it. However the husks do come in handy, to make the corn easier to eat, he turns the husks into handles! To learn how, read more

Grilled corn on the cob is one of summer's great pleasures. Last summer I loved pairing my corn with creamy herb butters, and this summer I've taken to a light coating with lime juice, mayonnaise, chili powder, and feta cheese. The mixture is brushed on the corn after it's char-grilled and the limes provide a zingy freshness. The chili powder gives it a balancing heat, and the feta brings a nice saltiness. Guests are sure to marvel at your ingenuity when you serve this corn paired with burgers, grilled steaks, or BBQ chicken. So take a look at the recipe now, just read more

What's a summer BBQ without some corn on the cob? Of course you can boil it in water, but that depletes that corn of many of its vitamins. Besides, you've already got the grill warmed up for hamburgers and veggie burgers, so why not grill your corn instead?

It's really easy. Here's what to do:

• Soak the corn - in the husk - in water for 20- 30 minutes.
• Then place the soaked corn right onto the grill.
• Turn it every so often, and cook it for about 10-20 minutes, until the outer husk is pretty much burnt. In a sense you are steaming the corn, which is much healthier than boiling it.
• Take it off the grill and let it cool for a few minutes before removing the husk. Enjoy!

Fit's Tips: One medium-sized piece of grilled corn on the cob with a pat of butter has: 155 calories, 3.4g of fat, 29mg of sodium 32g of carbs, 2.3g of fiber, 359mg of potassium, and 4.5g of protein. If you skip the butter, you'll reduce that caloric load by 40 calories as well as get rid of all the fat. Try using lime juice as a butter alternative. Just rub a wedge of lime on the cob and then lightly salt it. Tasty and low fat!!!

I'd love to hear if you have any other grilled corn recipes - so tell me below.

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