Giada's Game-Changing Summer Cooking Tips

Giada On The Beach inspires us to live our best life- and with these summer entertaining tips, you can too!

 
Summer entertaining and cooking is all about one thing: keeping it simple. Giada's latest show, Giada On The Beach, was all about easy-breezy entertaining. We have all the amazing recipes here on the site, but these tips we've picked up from the show are all total game-changers for making summer cooking easier. 
1. Have you ever grilled up some nicely shaped patties, only for them to seize up in the middle and turn into something that looks a bit more like meatballs? The meat tends to ball up toward the middle, so the solution is to make an indentation with your thumb on the middle of the raw burger patty before grilling. Picture-perfect patties!

Caprese Burgers
2. The skinny on grilling veggies: for thin produce, like green beans and snap peas, opt for a grill pan (or a cast iron pan on the grill) rather than cooking directly on the grill, so that you don't lose them through the grates!

Grilled Beans with Parmesan
3. Grating up fresh cheese for burgers? If you use a softer cheese like provolone or cheddar, sometimes you'll find it clogging up the blades. Try freezing the block of cheese for a bit before grating, giving you clean shreds every time. 

Taco Burgers
4. You can take your fall and winter favorites and still cook them all summer long! Dishes that you would normally cook in your oven can be made in the grill at the same temperature. It doesn't make your house hot, gives them smokier flavor, and an overall summery spin. 

Brick Oven-Style Chicken
5. Need a sophisticated brunch in a pinch? Frittatas are a perfect base for almost anything you have in your fridge, from cheeses to meats and veggies to creative fruit. They can be served room-temperature which takes the pressure off! 
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Peach and Bacon Frittata
6. Shake up your iced coffee routine with a shakerato, which is as fun to make as it is to drink! All you need is some cold coffee, and some lemon zest and agave for a seriously refreshing, sunny way to start the day. 

Lemon Shakerato