Summertime Grilling

Tom is a big believer in the Seattle tradition of throwing tender chunks of salmon over the coals during the long, warm, northwest summer nights. (Although he still gets the grill going on cold winter evenings too!) A jar of Rub with Love Salmon Rub makes the job extra easy and gives the fish just the right balance of sweet, smoke, and spice. For a little more pizzazz, use a microplane grater to zest some lemon and lime over the salmon when it comes off the grill.

To kick off your evening BBQs, try Shrimp Remoulade on Molasses Toasts. The sweet and spicy molasses butter tastes great on thinly sliced black bread, and everyone loves the creamy, full-flavored shrimp mixture mounded on top. Passing the shrimp toasts with glasses of wine or cocktails will keep everyone happy while you work the grill.

Grilled Cornbread Salad is our twist on classic Italian panzanella. This cornbread recipe is more dense and moist than most - perfect for grilling. You can grill the cornbread and the onions before you grill the salmon. It's fine if the cornbread and onions are room temperature when you toss them into the salad. Serve the grilled salmon alongside the cornbread salad for an incredibly delicious meal.

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Spicy Shrimp Remoulade on Molasses Toasts
Makes 8 servings

Buy cooked shrimp, or poach raw shrimp in a quick court bouillon of water and white wine flavored with a few aromatics until the shrimp are just cooked through.

For the remoulade sauce:
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste
½ teaspoon minced garlic
Kosher salt

For the Molasses Butter:
¾ stick unsalted butter, soft
2 teaspoons molasses
¼ teaspoon chile powder
24 to 30 hors d'oeuvres size rounds or squares cut from thinly sliced pumpernickel bread
1 pound cooked, peeled, and diced shrimp (about ½ -inch dice)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives

To make the remoulade sauce, put the mayonnaise in a bowl. Add the celery, lemon juice, parsley, horseradish, shallot, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire, paprika, Tabasco, and garlic. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to serve.

To make the molasses toasts, preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix together the butter, molasses, and chili powder until smooth, either in a food processor, electric mixer, or by hand. Thinly spread a little molasses butter on each piece of bread. Arrange the bread in a single layer on baking sheets, and bake until the toasts are crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

When you are ready to serve the toasts, put the shrimp in a bowl and combine with enough of the remoulade sauce to coat the shrimp well. Mound a spoonful of shrimp remoulade on each toast. Place the toasts on a large platter, sprinkle the chives over the top and serve.

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Grilled Cornbread Salad, Red Onions, Arugula, and Red Wine Vinaigrette
Makes 8 servings

You can make the corn bread a day ahead, cover it with plastic wrap when completely cool, and leave it at room temperature.

For the cornbread:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup medium-ground yellow cornmeal
½ cup grated jack or cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons(½ stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus a little more for buttering the pan

For the red wine vinaigrette:
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced shallot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2/3 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish the salad:
2 small red onions (about 14 ounces total), peeled and thickly sliced Olive oil for grilling
1 cup loosely packed torn basil leaves
8 cups loosely packed small arugula leaves (or substitute mache, or baby spinach leaves, or a mixture), stems trimmed, washed and dried
½ an English cucumber (about 7 ounces), cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced into half moons
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 ounces (about ¾ cup) good quality black olives, preferably oil cured, pitted or not as you prefer
½ lemon

To make the cornbread, preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter an 8x8 inch baking dish. Combine the flour, cornmeal, cheese, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Melt the butter and stir into the mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake about 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cut the cornbread into quarters and remove them from the pan, using a spatula. Set aside.

To make the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, mustard, shallot, and garlic in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil in a steady stream until the dressing emulsifies. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fire up the grill for medium-hot direct heat. Brush the squares of cornbread with oil and grill on both sides until golden and nicely marked by the grill. Brush the onion slices with oil and grill on both sides until cooked and marked by the grill. Remove the cornbread and the onion from the grill. Cut the grilled cornbread into bite-size cubes and separate the onion into rings. Put the cornbread and onions into a large bowl and set aside.

When you are ready to serve the salad, add the basil, arugula, cucumber, tomatoes, and olives to the bowl. Add as much vinaigrette as needed to coat everything well and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper and squeeze some lemon juice over the salad, then toss again. Serve the salad in a large bowl for guests to serve themselves.

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Spice-Rubbed and Grilled Salmon
Makes 8 servings

Olive oil for brushing
About 5 tablespoons Tom Douglas Rub with Love Salmon Rub
Eight 7-ounce salmon fillets, skin off
1 lime
1 lemon

Fire up the charcoal grill for medium-hot direct heat.

Lightly brush the salmon on both sides with oil. Generously coat the salmon fillets on both sides with the spice rub.

Grill the salmon over direct heat, covered, with the vents open. When the salmon is marked by the grill, use a spatula to flip the fish to the other side and finish cooking. Watch your salmon carefully while you are grilling to be sure the sugar in the rub doesn’t burn. Move the salmon to a cooler part of the grill if necessary. The time it will take to cook the salmon will vary depending on the heat of the grill and the thickness of your fillets, about 9 to 12 minutes total time.

When the salmon is cooked, remove the fillets from the grill and place them on a large platter. Using a microplane or other small grater, zest the lemon and the lime directly over the fillets. Serve.

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