Summer is here!

Summer is upon us and that means it time to fire up the barbecue grill. Some of my favorite things to cook on the grill are also the easiest; hamburgers, chicken and steak, and while my name may be Dr. Dinnerware, I do like to grill out too!

Hamburgers, chicken and steak are all great straight off the grill with a little salt and pepper added prior to grilling, but there are also so easy things to do to help "jazz" them up and make everyone think you spent the day preparing for the cookout!

Hamburger:

Hamburger is probably the most versatile grill-n meat there is, and jazzing it up is so easy! Rachel Ray has a great recipe for a blue cheese stuffed burger that does not take up a bunch of time to prepare. Trust me when I tell you these babies are delicious! Click here to see Rachel Ray's Big Blue Burger recipe Now!

Chicken:

I never get too fancy with chicken. I simply go to the grocery store and buy a citrus based marinade (usually in the same isle as salad dressing) and after salting, peppering and poking (just take a fork and go to town) the chicken I put it in an appropriately sized piece of Tupperware with a lid, add the marinade, shake and refrigerated for 24 hours. Cooked properly the chicken is guaranteed to be juicy and tasty!

Steak:

For me, with steak it's more of a balancing act. If I'm grilling a top shelf piece of meat I don't do much to it. Just a little salt and pepper and grill it to medium rare and I'm in hog (or I guess cow) heaven! With a more value priced slab of meat I may try a little marinade along with the salt and pepper, but I really don't do much. However, I do try and create more flavors by adding grilled mushrooms or onions to accompany the steak. The cool part about steak is whether it's top shelf or value priced...who is going to complain about being served steak?!?!

OK, I could not call myself "Dr. Dinnerware" if I did not include a few shameless plugs for dinnerware and related items.

When it comes to grilling you will look absolutely smashing flipping and turning your meat (get your mind out of the gutter) using Magppie's totally awesome BBQ set! These utensils are bulky, masculine and beautiful all at the same time. The guys will be fighting over who gets to handle the knife and the women will be complimenting you on your exquisite taste!


Check out Magppie's BBQ tools and other cool stuff!

Now, when it comes time to take your meat off the grill and serve it to your guests you need a manly, big platter to complete the presentation. If you want classic white with an updated look I recommend Villeroy & Boch's Urban Nature serving platter. It's available in 19.5 inch x 10.5 inch and 16.5 inch x 10 inch. Click here to see the entire Villeroy & Boch Urban Nature line.

Now if you want to add a little color to your table check out the new Fiesta dinnerware serving platter.
It's 19.25 inch x 13.25 inch serving area will give you plenty of room for your grilled feast! And you get a choice of 10 different colors to choose from (cobalt, sunflower, shamrock, tangerine, scarlet, peacock, evergreen, ivory, marigold and white). Check out this beast by clicking here!

That's all for now! Be safe, have fun grilling and remember if your heading to a barbecue and you don't know what to take for a gift...get'em a piece of dinnerware, it's guaranteed to put a smile on their face!