Perfect summer meal by the pool

Ahhh.... Warm night, cooking on the grill under a shaded pergola on the deck.... dipping in the pool in between turning over the chicken.. ahhh... I love summer.

So here is my menu from tonight's dinner: Chicken grilled to tender perfection, baby red potato salad left over from a previous dinner, and my favorite salad ever- Jo's Amazing Salad. Add some ice cold beverages from the cooler and the company of family and friends. What more could you ask for?

I seasoned the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder and my own seasoning blend (any seasoning salt will do though). I heat the grill, then turn it low so as to not burn the chicken. Grill until you have a nice golden crust, rotating the pieces to cook them evenly. When the crust is how you like it, turn off the center of the grill and place the chicken in the middle where there are no flames. Continue cooking, checking chicken often until done through. By keeping the end burners on you are basically "baking" the chicken to finish it.

The Baby Red Potato Salad is made by washing the potatoes and cubing them into bite sized pieces. Boil until tender. Drain, rinse with cold water and cool.  Meanwhile, slice & fry about 1/2 pound or so of bacon until crisp. Slice a couple bunches of green onion.  Toss together onions, bacon, potato and a good quality ranch dressing such as Marzetti.  Chill. This is a quick and easy salad that is always received well.

Jo's Amazing Salad is basically whatever greens you choose: romaine, baby spinach, red leaf lettuce etc., Add fresh sliced strawberries, sugared slivered almonds and a creamy red wine vinaigrette dressing and you'll be purring. I never get tired of this salad.

Great salads are one of the things I love about summer. Fall and winter are all about soups and home made breads, but summer is all about delicious salads, fresh fruits and light desserts. Speaking of light desserts, I think I'll have a dish of my home-made sorbet.