Grilling on Memorial Day – Do it Latin Style

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

I got this great cookbook for my husband for his birthday this month. It is called Latin Grill, Sultry and Simple Food by Rafael Palomino. It is a cookbook full of simple, fresh recipes. The other night my husband made the Grilled Chicken Mini Brochettes with Avocado and a Mango-Honey-Mustard Glaze (incidentally, it’s the recipe pictured on the cover of the book and grilled to perfection in our rendition, as seen in the photo below). I never thought about grilling avocados but it turned out fantastic. Use almost ripened avocados. They seem to ripen to perfection once on the grill. Who knew??? Yum! The recipe turned out to be not too sweet and had the right amount of kick to it. Our teenage son ate four kabobs on his own. Best testimonial for the book: not a single bite of this meal was leftover. And the even our four year daughter liked it.

A lot of the recipes in the book use fresh pineapple, oranges, limes, mango or pomegranates. Yet the use of cumin, balsamic vinegar, mint or soy sauce give the recipes a nice balance. Tonight’s menu? I think the Grilled Portobello Mushroom brushed with a Mint Pesto…

If you have a grill meister in the family, perhaps a dad, this would make a perfect father’s day gift. The Latin Grill cookbook can be purchased on Amazon for under $15. Great gift idea!

You can read more about celebrated chef Rafael Palomino on his website: “Chef Rafael Palomino, born in Bogotá, Colombia and raised in Queens, New York – current resident of Bedford, New York – is in the midst of expanding his restaurant empire!” For a delicious reason, I’d say.

Happy grilling and happy Memorial Day.