Holiday Weekend Dinner Plans

Two things are likely to dominate this weekend: heat and grilling. Since there will be plenty of grilling ahead and today's supposed to be the hottest day of the weekend, think I'll go radical and skip cooking altogether, doing my favorite wraps instead (especially since tortillas left over from last week's sirloin in tomato cilantro sauce are begging to be used). Mark Bittman is well known for his series of 101 ideas for quick cooking (his new one on grilling has been making the news this week), and one of his earlier ones, 101 20-minute dishes for inspired picnics, is still one of my favorites. For tonight, we'll do number two on that list, the pesto chicken rolls. It works well with sliced chicken from the deli instead of grilled cutlets, and its combination with prepared pesto, sundried tomatoes, and arugula is truly inspired.

Then we'll break out the grill or smoker. I'm feeling a little guilty about my current plan, which is kind of high on the saturated fat front twice this weekend. Salmon might get substituted one night if the guilt persists, but until then, I'm looking at doing ribs and steaks. So for Saturday, with boneless country style ribs $2.49/lb at Sunflower, some of those will hit the smoker (or maybe just the covered grill, which is a lot simpler). To lighten up the meal while staying with the mood, we'll have vegetable slaw from Bon Appetit on the side.

To take a break between meaty grillings, we'll then be looking for something vegetarian, or nearly so. Since tonight's chicken wraps will use only a small amount of pesto, the rest of the container would be well used in a pasta dish, such as zucchini, corn, and basil fusilli with bacon from Gourmet, going very, very light on the bacon.

For the Monday holiday, technically the 5th (is it heresy to have pasta on the 4th?), we'll be back to the grill, planning on steaks from either of the sales at Sprouts or Sunflower. We'll turn to Bittman's 101 picnic list again to find a side to lighten things up. His very first idea on the list, beet salad, is a super fresh and easy one, and organic beets are $1.50 a bunch at Sunflower. Who knew that raw beets are actually so delicious?

That will get us through the long holiday weekend. Unless I substitute salmon for either the ribs or the steaks, I'll be looking for some healthier options for the rest of the week to compensate for the weekend's indulgences.