Man Oh Man, What A Pan!
June 11, 2004

Boys need toys, so you might enjoy knowing about a great gift idea for Father’s Day. I spotted it a few weeks ago at Linen's 'n Things in the grilling section. It’s a 12" steel skillet that is latticed so you can grill food without losing precious product to the underbelly of your grill. Veggies are a snap to cook; I was so stoked by this $14.99 pan that I dispensed with meat skewers altogether and cooked lamb chunks in it, the meat was perfectly grilled and the marinade nicely caramelized. Clean up was easy: I sprayed the pan with oven spray and left it out overnight. A quick swish in the sink, and the pan was ready for my next goodie-grilled peaches marinated in butter, rum and cinnamon for ice cream topping. I could go on, but suffice it to say that this pan will do for your Dad’s grill what Big Bertha has done for his golf game. Go out and get one today!

Grilled Panzanella Salad
Panzanella (pahn-zah-NEHL-lah) a rustic Italian bread salad originally created to use up leftover bread.

- 1 each red, yellow, and orange bell pepper
- 2 Vidalia onions, 1 zucchini squash, 1 yellow squash
- 4 cups grape tomatoes, 2 cups pearl onions
- 3 cups French or Italian bread, ripped into chunks
- 1 cup, or less, olive oil; kosher salt & fresh pepper
- 2 fists of arugula greens, 1 cup basil leaves

Slice peppers into strips, peel and slice onions into eight wedges. Cut squash into 1 inch chunks. Combine vegetables and toss with one third cup of olive oil.  Set aside for the grill. Remove outer layer of pearl onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the pearl onions with the grape tomatoes in one third cup of olive oil. Pour onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes, shaking the sheet a few times during cooking. On a separate cooking sheet, place olive oil coated bread chunks into the oven at the 20 minute mark.

Fire up the grill and set the 12" stainless steel skillet on the grill rack, close the grill top.

After 2 minutes, open and cover the pan handle with a protective mitt; toss in the pepper mixture. Sauté the veggies by shaking the pan and turning them often, they should be lightly charred and glossy. Assemble the salad by placing grilled veggies and roasted veggies in a large serving bowl, adding all of the juices.  Sprinkle generously with kosher salt, fresh pepper, and a dash or two of olive oil. With clean hands, lightly toss in the arugula and basil. Top with the croutons.

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008