Summer is here! Do you know what you will bring to the next BBQ?
If your go-to dish is needing a switch-up or if you are feeling less-than-inspired in the kitchen these days, no worries! The MIT Recreation Staff has pooled together their collective culinary strengths and shared 5 of their own time-tested summer recipes, perfect for your next BBQ or picnic!
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Ross is from an Italian household where BBQ mean “Bring Big Quantities.” This dish is his go-to for starting off any back yard party. Why? “All the little cousins love them and it’s a nice way to kick the hunger while the main course of GRILL food is waiting to be put on,” he says. For bonus points, start with your own home-made marinara.
| Ingredients |
| 2 medium Italian eggplants, cut lengthwise into 10 (1/4-inch thick) slices (21 oz total when sliced) |
| kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste |
| 1 1/2 cups quick marinara sauce |
| 1 large egg |
| 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese |
| 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving |
| 8 oz frozen spinach, heated through and squeezed well |
| 1 garlic clove, minced |
| 1 cup (4 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella |
| Instructions |
| 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim eggplants and slice lengthwise (with a mandolin) into slices 1/4 inch thick. 10 slices total. |
| 2. To remove excess moisture and bitterness, sprinkle eggplant slices with salt. Let sit 10-15 minutes, then pat dry with a towel. |
| 3. Season eggplant with a little more salt and pepper, then arrange on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover tightly with foil and bake until eggplant is tender and pliable but NOT fully cooked, about 8 to 10 minutes. |
| 4. Spread 1/4 cup marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. |
| 5. In a medium bowl, beat the egg then mix in with ricotta, Pecorino Romano, spinach, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. |
| 6. Pat eggplant dry with paper towels. Dividing the ricotta-spinach mixture (about 2 generous tablespoons each) evenly and spoon onto one end of each eggplant slice, spreading to cover. Starting at the short end, roll up slices and arrange them each seam side down in the prepared dish. |
| 7. Top with remaining marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese and tightly cover with foil. |
| 8. Bake until the eggplant is very tender, about 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving with additional Pecorino Romano if desired. |
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Esther has made this perfect BBQ main dish many times, but she never stops perfecting the recipe. Like so many great recipes, this one comes from Family:
“My father was known everywhere he went for his cooking (I can’t go anywhere in my hometown without running into someone who has a story about Glen bringing them food). His jerk chicken was always my personal favorite, so I started making jerk chicken wings because it made me feel closer to him. I guess you could say I have a personal or emotional connection to this dish.”
| Ingredients |
| Jerk Seasoning (Esther’s is a trade secret, but you can buy jerk seasoning mix in stores) |
| Browning Sauce |
| Chicken Wings |
| Instructions: |
| 1. Clean the chicken with vinegar and hot water. |
| 2. Season the chicken and add a modest amount of browning sauce (enough to give the chicken some color). |
| 3. Refrigerate overnight, letting the chicken marinate. |
| 4. Cook at 400° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until done. |
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Katrina’s fiancé is the BBQ chief in her household, so while she herself hasn’t made this salad, she HAS eaten it about a thousand times. They bring this dish to Football parties and of course, for the Summer BBQ!
| Ingredients: |
| Pasta (to make this recipe gluten free, choose a gluten free pasta) |
| Italian dressing |
| Broccoli |
| Carrots |
| Peppers |
| Instructions: |
| 1. Cut and cook broccoli, carrots, and peppers. |
| 2. Cook pasta. |
| 3. Mix pasta and cooked veggies, add as much Italian dressing as desired. |
| 4. Cool and serve! |
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Deanna discovered this Paula Dean recipe when she went in search of a non-cake, non-ice-cream birthday food for a friend in undergrad. It came out great, but maybe a little too great…
“I almost hesitate to make Fruit Pizza now because at almost every picnic, I am assigned desserts. Though I have quite a few desserts that I can and love to make, I never really get a chance to make anything else because everyone requests Fruit Pizza, once they have had it.”
A fruit pizza request comes in at least once every summer these days, and all other desert recipes wait in line. Check out the link to the recipe on the food network below. One thing to note – Deanna doesn’t always make its with the fancy chocolate drizzle, but it hasn’t damped it popularity one bit.
Go to the Recipe
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Tim and his wife were inspired to make these brownies after trying them in a Caribbean restaurant in Hudson, WI called San Pedro Café. Their first attempt didn’t go exactly as expected though…
“The original instructions we used, required us to boil the habanero peppers. While I was cutting the lawn, my wife was making the brownies. When I finished the lawn, all I could hear was coughing coming from inside the house. I opened the door, and was immediately pepper sprayed. My wife was over the sink coughing uncontrollably, the dogs ran outside, and all the windows were opened and fans running. Boiling the habanero peppers accidentally released the capsaicin into the air, and pepper sprayed our home.”
Thankfully, Tim found a non-boiling version of the recipe and no longer needs to worry about detoxing the kitchen. They have made it dozens of times since.
| Ingredients: |
| 1¼ cups (5 oz) cake flour |
| ½ teaspoon salt |
| ¾ teaspoon baking powder |
| 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (preferably Mexican or “true” cinnamon) |
| 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped |
| 6 ounces (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1″ chunks |
| 1 Habanero pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced |
| 1½ cups (12 oz) granulated sugar |
| 4 eggs |
| 1 tablespoon vanilla extract |
| 1 cup Chocolate Ganache |
| Instructions: |
| Prep the pan |
| 1. Butter a 13×9 inch baking pan and line with either parchment or foil. |
| 2. Preheat oven to 325°F (300°F for convection ovens) |
| Make the batter |
| 1. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon, set aside. |
| 2. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave in 30 second increments (stirring between) until all the chocolate is melted. |
| 3. Stir the minced Habanero and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. |
| 4. Add the granulated sugar to the chocolate mixture, stir to combine. |
| 5. Add the eggs, two at a time and stir until combined. |
| 6. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined. |
| 7. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. |
| 8. Bake until the brownies puff up a bit and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (about 25-30 minutes). |
| 9. Cool in the pan to room temperature. |
| 10. Spread the ganache evenly over the brownies. |
| 11. Refrigerate until the ganache is set and the brownies are firm. |
| 12. Use the parchment paper to lift the brownies out of the pan onto a cutting board. |
| 13. Cut into 48 squares (for clean edges wipe the knife with a damp cloth between cuts). |
We hope you find these fun Summer BBQ recipes as good as we do, but whatever you decide to bring to your summer parties – enjoy the outside, stay healthy and have fun!
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