06/13/2026
I don’t cook at home very often anymore — my husband’s spaghetti sauce is a cure-all, and sitting down to eat food someone else made is a luxury I’ve taken for granted in the past.
But every now and again I get the itch to create from home. And it’s usually during grilling season.
What I love most about this kind of backyard cooking, serving, and eating is the simplicity of it.
I love a composed dish, that’s plated like fussy art, just as much as the next food nerd, but there’s something wildly feminine about how whole foods come together into a bright and bold tapestry when you grill.
I don’t know if I just love serving everything together on one big platter, avoiding the mess of indoor cooking, or the call to leave some loose ends untied when it comes to dinner service, but I adore the natural roughness that grill recipes lend themselves to.
Anyhow, when chef Matthew F. Smith has bigass whole prawns in the case, you don’t ask questions. You cook.
And if it’s summer? You grill.
Pictured:
(AGS safe) grilled prawns & artichokes - lemon & pink peppercorn seasoning, olive oil, chives, oregano, lemon balm, bread crumbs, vegan lemon pepper aioli; upstream fish co.
Peach panzanella salad:
Farris Fruit Market
MO tomatoes, MO peaches,
mint, shallot, green onion,
olive oil, stale bread croutons
