Beyond Burgers

Barbeques are the quintessential summertime gathering, and with good reason: nearly everything good tastes better when you hit it with some fire and smoke.  Granted, your soon-to-be-smoky clothes and hair might not agree with that, but even they should concur that the odor left is well worth it to bite into something delectable and charred.  Though hamburgers and hot dogs are still the first things that most of us think of when it comes to barbequeing and grilling, like most other aspects of life, times have changed for bbq, and many other options now abound.

To address first the hamburgers-and-hot-dogs paradigm, factory farmed products are thankfully taking a back burner to organic and humanely raised ones.  Grass fed ground beef is available at all health food stores, and  some mainstream groceries too.  You work with it the same way you would the grain-fed tragic type, only because it tends to be leaner, it shouldn't be cooked for quite as long.  Grass fed steaks are also readily available, and the same cooking techniques hold true for them: err on the rarer side to avoid toughness.  As for hot dogs, there are several brands now of humanely raised, antibiotic and hormone free, grass fed dogs.  Applegate Farms is the standard go-to, and they're very good.  This brand, slightly more boutique (though still available at large chains like Whole Foods), are even more heavenly:

They also have other size options: 

Now, let's move on from the standards-- and we hope your standards are of the raised, humane variety-- into some foods you may not realize are just perfect for charring up.  

Figs:

Skewered alone or stuffed with goat cheese, figs should be grilled just until they begin to ooze and split. Both the darker black mission and their green Adriatic cousins are equally delicious this way and will compliment entrees of fish or meat.  Alternately, chop them up, add some honey and vinegar, and serve them on toast.   (Photo from Blimpy Girl)

Peaches and nectarines:

You can grill them sliced or halved, and can even use peaches and nectarines that are under ripe provided you bathe them briefly in some simple syrup.  Once done, these make a good salad topper as is, side dish with a vinaigrette, or chop them up and add some onion and fresh herbs for an unusual salsa.  (Photo from  Becky and the Beanstalk)

Octopus:

There's a reason you've been seeing grilled octopus on the menus of cutting-edge restaurants like Michael Voltaggio's Ink LA: it tastes incredible.  Unfortunately, octopus is going to make you work a little bit before the bbq.  You'll need to both tenderize it and marinate it, if not also boil it first.  (Photo from KRRB)

Romaine: 

Caeser salad becomes a different dish completely when served with romaine lettuce that's been charred.  If Caeser dressing isn't your style, try sprinkling the cooked veggie with some blue cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  (Photo from Slashfood)

Pound cake:

Sometimes the best grilled meal can only end with more of the same.  When you just can't get enough of everything being blackened, bust out the pound cake!  Slice it thick-- one inch slices are ideal-- and grill or bbq briefly on both sides.  Top with berries and ice cream and serve, then sit back and enjoy being the talk of barbeque town for days to come.