To Grill or Not to Grill

Today is a glorious day in the land of North Fork New York. The digital thermometer is telling me that the external temperature is 84 degrees. It's sunny and clear with blue skies reaching over the water as far as the eye can see...and it's only April 7th.

I've been dealing with a constant sense of urgency the last few days with this unexpected summer-like weather. We have been cleaning up the yard, painting the fences and borders to the garden beds and, just last night, I transplanted my pansies and daffodils to the great outdoors. It's hard to remind myself that it's only April, which brings me to my dinner dilemma. All of a sudden I feel that I need to grill everything!

We ate our leftovers for two days until we couldn't look at ham or pasta any longer. This morning, as I stood in front of the open freezer, I battled with myself over what to cook on the barbecue when I realized that it is not a horrible thing to cook inside on a beautiful evening. (We can absolutely dine at the picnic table.) Especially after eating all of the rich meats that we did over the weekend. It's just not necessary to eat a hamburger or grilled sausage just because it's t-shirt weather. So, here is the menu for this exceptional Wednesday:

• Turkey meatballs seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin. Using a pinch of red pepper flakes and a garlic clove in olive oil, I'll brown them in a pan as I do my Italian meatballs.
• Sliced yellow squash and zucchini tossed with mushrooms in a white wine and lemon juice saute.
  
• Potatoes, diced and seasoned with butter and rosemary. Baked until crispy.
  

I'll be pairing a white blend with bold citrus notes of lemon and apple that will complement the vegetables and the spiciness of the turkey meatballs. I believe that it will be a relaxing evening. We'll take it while we can as tomorrow's forecast is for rain and the gym will be on my agenda.

Cheers to this weather and a perfect start to spring!