A Cuban Sandwich. Have you ever had one? They're great tasting and simple to prepare. You'll like this one. My friend Rebecca Becker from Steaks and Stuff at Roots Market was telling me about her family trip to Florida this past winter and that she ate something new, a Cuban S......

Cinco de Mayo is not, as many believe, Mexican Independence Day. Rather, it celebrates the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over French forces at the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. In the United States, as I understand it, the day is set aside to celebrate Mexican heritage and pride. Fortun......

Different cultures around the globe have their own traditions for Easter dinner, but here in the USA ham is the traditional fare. In the early days meat was slaughtered in the fall and, because of the lack of refrigeration, fresh pork not consumed during the winter and before Lent was cured ......

If you have an aversion to tuna, it might stem from your childhood, when your mother opened a can to make tuna salad. It doesn't have the most pleasant smell, and it certainly isn't the stuff of fond childhood memories. Not so with fresh tuna. If it has an offensive odor, it's not fresh. ......

  I needed a bit of a twist for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday (Saturday, March 17). A few weeks ago one of the food vendors at York Central Market was telling me about a fundraiser for last year's St. Patrick's Day parade in York, where local restaurants and bars were challe......

Ham loaf is a staple here in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, but it is not as well-known elsewhere in the nation. It's mainly a Pennsylvania Dutch thing, as evidenced by the fact that just about any PA Dutch cookbook you pick up will include it among the recipes. There are plenty of recipes arou......

  Come on, guys. Stretch yourself a bit and prepare a great Valentine's Day dinner for your sweetie. A classic meal can be made with reasonable expense and not too much effort, and you'll be a hero. I would consider the following a restaurant-class dinner, and hopefully she......

  A few weeks ago I made Steak Au Poivre, a French-style steak coated with ground black pepper that is beloved by the French people. Well, the Italians have a steak that is equally adored by their people, Bistecca Fiorentina, which originated in Tuscany. The Italians are known f......

When I was a kid, my friends and I spent a lot of time in "the woods." Growing up in the north end of Columbia was great, as we could reach the river or Chickies Rock and the surrounding wooded areas in five or 10 minutes. One of the things we often tried to do was cook a meal as part of our adve......

You might ask, "How can you grill sauerkraut?" Well ... I actually baked it on the grill, with very good results. The real star, though, was the pork. Now I'll tell you, I have tried preparing pork and sauerkraut many ways over the years, and I always come back to the way a former co-worker ......

Ah, Christmas morning. You just want to open presents and take it easy. But wait a minute. Your stomach's starting to rumble. You need to eat but probably don't want to get into a big kitchen mess. After all, this is a day to relax. OK, here's the solution: Dig out your George Forema......

Ah, Steak au Poivre. I didn't even know how to say it until a few days ago. I saw this dish on many menus when I was in France back in March, but as with many other items I had seen, I didn't order it. Many I had at least heard of, but I guess I just wasn't fully prepared for my visit. I ......

Wherever my wife and I go, people are kind enough to mention this column and like to talk a little bit about it. Some offer suggestions, which I welcome and really like. So as we're working our way through Root's Market on a Tuesday evening, we bump into Bill and Barb Koehler. Barb said s......

Ahh ... autumn. With apples everywhere. As long as I can remember, whenever I thought of autumn, I thought of apples. I remember Sunday afternoon drives with the kids and the highlight being a stop at an orchard to purchase, and immediately eat, crisp local apples. As I am writing this,......

  In my search for ideas for this column, sometimes a dish will be right under my nose and I won't see it. For example, my wife, Judy, has been making a stuffed meatloaf for 25 or 30 years. It's a recipe that was given to her by her brother, Ron Haug. I never really thought much......

  I have eaten Chicken Marsala many times over the years, and as with other dishes I've eaten, one question persisted: "How do they make that sauce?" It's difficult to get the depth of flavor at home that you get at a good restaurant, but I think you'll be pleased with this reci......

  Who doesn't like Coney Island hot dogs? Well ... my wife, Judy, for one. They are a tad spicy, and that's not her thing, but it is for a lot of folks. My guess is that many people think of what I know as a Coney Dog as just a chili dog, available at roadside stands and conveni......

I've had my eye on fresh halibut for quite some time. It's always one of the premier fish items on restaurant menus and one of the priciest items at seafood markets. I wanted to see what the big deal was, so I purchased a piece that was a little less than a pound and almost had to se......

  Coffee on grilled meat? If you're not a coffee drinker, don't be turned off by the possibility. The taste is rather pleasant when combined with the other ingredients in a rub. A nice rub, along with a homemade bourbon sauce and some well-chosen sides, make for a scrumptious me......

Local tomatoes are plentiful right now in supermarkets, roadside farm stands and home gardens. I decided to take advantage of this bounty and make tomato soup on the grill. You can use any of the many tomato varieties available. I use Romas, as they are easy to handle and have a meaty flesh ......

For as long as I have been grilling, I have wanted to grill lobster tails, but never have, possibly because it was so cost prohibitive. I didn't want to chance ruining such an expensive piece of food. After shopping around, I found that a half-pound tail runs about 10 bucks. Combined with other s......

I love taking a great, flavorful dish that has always stood on its own and adapting it to the grill. Infusing an already savory recipe with a little bit of smoky flavor can't be beat. I've been wanting to try lasagna on the grill for a long time, and it just so happened I had some homemade s......

For quite a while, my wife, Judy, has been urging me to make turkey on the grill. On a recent trip to Root's Country Market & Auction, I spied some great-looking boneless and skinless turkey breasts at Sensenig Poultry stand. I picked a breast that was a little more than 2 pounds, a......

  Rolled, stuffed meat. Most cultures have their version of this dish. Among the more recognizable are the French roulade and the Italian braciola. I've been wanting to try a grilled braciola for some time. I started with three pieces of top round, about 1 1/4 pounds total, slic......

  Chicken wings are everywhere. They're probably as much a part of standard bar and pub fare as the cheeseburger. We all know chicken is a great grill item, usually breasts, thighs and legs. So why not try grilling wings? Wings have a lot of surface area relative to the amount o......

Kebabs are a great tasting, reasonably simple, summertime grill treat. And it's up to your own imagination what you include with them. Moreover, they're easy to assemble ahead of time, and when you're ready to cook, you just pop them on the grill. I chose seafood as part of this recipe,......

A few weeks ago my wife and I visited the Big Apple. For dinner we went to Junior's, which is famous for its cheesecake but also serves great meals and sandwiches. Junior's was started in 1950 in Brooklyn, N.Y., by a businessman and a master baker and now has four sites. We ate at the one in Time......

When I was a teenager, I lived with an aunt and uncle who had a tradition of taking some of the Easter ham and incorporating it into a huge breakfast Easter morning. I guess you could call it pre-leftovers. I always liked that idea. As I was trying to decide what to make that would use the h......

Recently I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Paris. Despite what you might have heard about the French, I did not encounter any rudeness or disdain toward us Americans. On the contrary, I found the French people to be very helpful despite the fact that we spoke very little of their language......

We are truly blessed to have so many local and regional producers of meat products, and if you are fond of the local ham, this column is for you. Ham slices, purchased out of the meat case or prepackaged, are absolutely wonderful on the grill. They're easy to handle, require minimal cooki......

  When it comes to ribs, there's a variety of cuts, and everyone's got a favorite. If you're dining at a rib joint, it's mostly baby back ribs. Less often they'll serve beef short ribs, which I wrote about recently. I guess I like all varieties, but the one I find to be the......

OK, fellas. So you plan to make a nice dinner Monday for your sweetie. Isn't that what guys do on Valentine's Day? Maybe you just take her out. But if you plan a dinner, consider doing it on the grill. I have a grilled dessert for you that would be a nice finish to the meal. Pou......

I'm not really fond of most Tex-Mex dishes or other foodstuffs used south of the border, but there are two items I really like: any variety of hot pepper and any kind of fajita. So why not try them on the grill? It's still cold out, so I'm back indoors at my panini grill. Flank steak......

  One of the many things I love in this life is grilling outdoors. Music playing, a glass of wine, a nice breeze, plenty of light left in the day ... you get the picture. When I did the cooking for this particular column it was WAY below freezing and the wind was enough to blow me an......

  There is nothing quite like a creamy baked seafood dish. With every bite it's like, UMMM. I decided to try to do one on the grill, hoping to add some additional nuances that you most likely could not achieve in a house oven. My impetus for this is a Sicilian restaurant loc......

  Do I have a treat for you, especially if you are a fan of Southern-style pulled pork. This recipe takes time but it is not that labor-intensive. The hardest part is pulling and shredding the meat but, to ease the burden, you can be sampling as you go. Start with a whole, bone ......

  I love fish, especially when it's grilled. The only problem is that a lot of varieties do not stand up well to grilling. Sure, you can wrap it in foil and cook it on the grill grates but you are not really getting that direct contact that creates the great grill marks and carmeliza......

  People keep telling me, "Do a desert." The truth of the matter is, I'm not much of a sweets eater but I've finally caved in. In my search for "just the right thing," I came across one that is very grill-worthy and pleasing to the eye and palate. This was actually a lot of fun,......

Well I guess it's time to revisit an old friend: grilled pizza. I wrote about it almost five years ago and it's still the topic that is mentioned most often when people see me. I've gained loads of experience in that five years and have come up with other ways to grill pizza. The original te......

  Rain, rain go away...well, I was forced to grill inside again, but you know what? It was a real pleasure. This time I used a George Foreman grill, one that I had purchased a few years ago on a recommendation but hardly ever use. This is a little different from most of the ones I've......

  With all of the rain we've had recently I was forced indoors to grill. This is not a bad thing. With many tools available, you can be quite successful at it. Grill pans, with raised ridges, can be found in a range of shapes, size and price. The heavier, the better. I use a "St......

Ribs of any kind are a natural for the grill, but polenta and romaine lettuce? I was a little skeptical until a few weeks ago when I had a seafood dinner in Boston and one of the sides was grilled polenta. Wow, I thought, I can do this. And grilled lettuce? My daughter, Sherri, has been tell......

  I'm always looking for ways to add layers of flavor to any dish and, especially, to already proven ones. I'm not interested in changing the dish but just want to make it better whenever possible. Grilling is a natural for adding unique layers of flavor. Now...I am, as are most......

The ubiquitous salmon — it has been a favorite of gastronomes for centuries and is considered by some to be one of the ocean's great natural delicacies. Because of its abundance, it is readily available. With its rich character, it can stand up well to spices and herbs, although some chefs bel...

Most people equate wood plank grilling with salmon and cedar but the truth is, you can use just about any hardwood — and each one imparts its own smoky essence to whatever food you're grilling. Grilling planks can be purchased at specialty and gourmet food shops and recently I'......

With farmers markets and roadside stands brimming with locally grown produce, now is a great time to take advantage of fresh produce and support our local farmers. For the last few years, my favorite dish to share has been grilled local veggies and I've recently added grilled sausage to ......

Spatchcock, hardly an everyday word, is a fowl that is split and broiled. In this case, it is grilled under a brick. The brick presses down on the split chicken and helps to develop a crispy skin and a juicy interior while cooking the leg, thigh and breast meat at the same rate. I used a 3 1/2-po......

Summer has come to an end, vacations are over, and the kids are back at school. Now maybe we can find the extra time to do the things we wanted to do all summer but were way too busy.Getting a bit away from traditional grilling, I figured out a way to achieve some really good, southern-sty......

Baltimore Pit Beef: How many people from our area really know about this? My guess is they've seen or experienced pit beef at a local carnival or maybe at Boog Powell's World Famous Pit Beef at Camden Yards or even on the boardwalk at Ocean City, Md.The real origins of this simple ......

Braciole … I had heard of it but had never eaten it. I had seen it on menus at Italian restaurants and, quite frankly, had only a vague idea of what it is.While doing research for this column, I came across a grilled version of braciole (beef roll) and it looked quite appetizing. I ......

Monkfish, also known as "Poor man's lobster," is a fish that is not always available in our local stores. Part of the reason is the cost ($10-$12 per pound), and our local fish stores cannot always get it from their suppliers.I tried five different places: Three simply didn&#......

Want to "wow" the crowd but still manage to keep it simple for your Memorial Day cookout? Try grilling appetizers … lots of them.They can be used as such or as your entire meal and the variations are up to your imagination. There is some prep work involved but this can be ......

Apple season is upon us. What better time to grill them than when they are as fresh as you can get them? If you like baked apples, you'll love grilled apples, and if you are not a fan, you just might become one. The simplicity of this recipe belies the spectacular results.I used four l......

Most people think of tuna as the canned variety with a very fishy smell that permeates through the entire house when opened. Fresh tuna is not like that at all but, rather, has a nice fresh smell and a firm meaty texture.A lot of restaurants will not serve tuna beyond rare as it starts to ......

Chicken leg quarters … what a great value! They are meaty, inexpensive, and they grill easily and are available in any supermarket. The leg quarter consists of the leg and thigh, so you end up with both white and dark meat, and there's enough of it to satisfy most appetites....

OK, here's one for you vegetarians and you meat lovers. Admittedly, there are not many vegetarian dishes that will satisfy a carnivorous craving, but this dish, a portobello cheese steak, might just be the breakthrough you've been waiting for. (Well, most likely, you weren't ......

Editor's note: Our seasonal columnist, Bill Clark, returns today with advice and ideas for your grilling season. His column will appear monthly through September.Some time ago, I ran into an old buddy, Greg Keim, and he suggested I write a column on beef short ribs. I've a......