It’s been a while since I’ve actually cooked anything substantial. Sure I’ve grilled up some chicken and drenched it in buffalo sauce, stuffed it in tortillas with veggies and called it tacos for dinner. I’ve made burgers (actually I showed Adam how to) and salads. I’ve utilized leftovers from numerous nights out (is it just me, or do you also eat out more in the summer months?). And then there was of course the DC vacation. In short, I missed some real cooking. And yesterday’s trip to the farmers market during lunch, gave me just the kick in the butt I needed to get back into the kitchen and whip up something good!
This corn was picked that morning!! Look at these juicy kernels!!
Dinner is served!
We ate out on the patio. I love summer nights!!!
On the menu (see links to recipes):
- Grilled Pacific ocean perch (it’s nice and firm and grilled up beautifully just in a few minutes)
- Fresh pesto from the Sweet Basil cookbook
(aka the best pesto in the world!!)
- Arugula and zucchini carpaccio salad
- Grilled corn with bacon butter and cotija cheese
This salad was spectacular! I loved the spicy arugula paired with the lemon drizzled zucchini disks and shaved Asiago! Going on my favorite recipes list 
We had a hard time making the bacon bits stick to the corn (I think I didn’t use enough butter to that much bacon and didn’t cut it up finely enough) and then the cheese didn’t really want to stay on the corn because it wasn’t wet enough… but we made it work. One delicious smoky, cheesy, corn-y (lol) bite at a time. [Edited to add: Jessica let me know that if you chop the bacon into teeny tiny pieces, it works great... so go ahead, make it! 
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Fresh, tangy, cheesy, buttery… so many textures and flavors. This was the perfect summer feast!
My kitchen is full of dirty dishes, which is a sure sign I’m finally back to what I love
Wow. Everything looks so fresh and amazing! I love summer corn. I still need to try that cheese on the corn and I’m looking up that pesto recipe!!!
We have been eating so many meals from the grill lately but eating them indoors in the air conditioning because we don’t have patio furniture yet. I can’t see how big it is but your table looks pretty…mind sharing where you got it from?
We got it at Crate & Barrel last year. It’s coffee table sized
So glad you liked the salad! It is one of my favorites too
Ohh emm gee… you had me at bacon.
all of it looks amazing! love your patio table.
I want to come hang out on your patio, and use your grill! Good job with the photos and awesome food.
This looks like the perfect summer dinner. It made me wish I had the ingredients on hand for my own dinner tonight.
Looks like an awesome dinner! What great photos!
wow. everything looks incredible, and i love that you ate outside
fabulous!!
What a lovely, summery meal! And yes, I do feel like I eat out more often in the summer too!
What lovely summer eats – the corn on the cob is making my mouth water!
[...] and it’s even better on the grill! Yup, I grilled our pizzas on Saturday [apparently I was in a grilling mood this [...]