Simply set out toothpicks and let family and guests enjoy a succulent cherry or grape tomato with a dip of flavorful salt.

Choose salts with contrasting colors, flavors and textures (crunchier coarse salt versus fine grain). Here we’ve used:

 
There are many other wonderful choices, from pink Himalayan sea salt to crunchy smoked Maldon sea salt from England, which has unique, pyramid-shaped crystals.

Skewer with ease with the Grillcomb. Photo courtesy Fusionbrands.

You need dexterity to thread foods dead-center onto conventional wood or metal skewers. But the Grillcomb, with its row of individual 18/8 stainless steel teeth, lets you easily slide on chunks of beef, chicken, shrimp and vegetables.

When it comes time to flip, even the most delicate items turn easily without spinning. If you’ve ever watched cherry tomatoes spin and end up on the wrong side, you’ll appreciate this feature.

The grilled food easily slides off the Grillcomb onto the plate; no more burst tomatoes or smashed scallops. Plus:

 
Get a set of two for intimate meals, or load up on Grillcombs for larger parties. Pick up extras for house gifts when you’re invited to a cookout.

A set of two single serving skewers, 12 inches long, is $11.00 at Fusionbrands.com.

MORE GRILLING GEAR

These specialty items can make grilling a breeze:

CORN: If you have trouble flipping corn on the grill, try a corn grilling basket.

FISH: To keep fragile fish from breaking while flipping, use a grilling basket.

POPPERS: How about some jalapeño poppers, easy to make with a chile grilling rack?

SLIDERS: It’s easy to make sliders, mini-burgers, with a slider grilling set.

So serve them as a first course in a trio of three different recipes. Here’s a gourmet deviled eggs concept from Root, a farm-to-table restaurant in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Chef Richard Larcom prepared a delicious appetizer of deviled eggs served three ways, using Pete & Gerry’s Heirloom Eggs.

Chef Larcom’s deviled egg selection includes a his signature deviled egg, a bacon fat and Cheddar deviled egg and the Dare-Deviled Egg, which includes Maine sea urchin, wasabi and a garnish of toasted nori.

MAKE GOURMET DEVILED EGGS

Here’s your opportunity for creative expression—to create your personal trio of gourmet deviled eggs. Some ideas to start you off:

 
TAKE ANOTHER BITE

 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STUFFED EGGS & DEVILED EGGS

Stuffed eggs were a popular dish as far back as the Roman Empire. There are many different recipes for stuffed eggs, but the term “deviled eggs” originated in 18th-century England.

“Deviled” refers to the use of hot spices or condiments in a recipe—paprika, mustard, hot sauce, horseradish, chiles, wasabi, etc.

The recipe comes from Disaronno Originale almond liqueur. The website has a trove of cocktail recipes for almond lovers.

To get the coconut flavor, add flaked coconut as a garnish. Or, if you have coconut liqueur, add 1part to the recipe.

Enjoy this Almond Joy as an after-dinner drink…or drinkable dessert. You can serve an actual piece of Almond Joy or Bounty candy bar, chocolate-covered coconut patty, chocolate chip cookie with almonds and coconut, or a coconut macaroon on the side.

ALMOND JOY COCKTAIL

Ingredients Per Drink

1. Combine amaretto, white chocolate liqueur, fresh cream and a sprinkling of powdered cocoa in a cocktail shaker.

2. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with another sprinkle of cocoa.

TIP: We keep our “garnishing cocoa” in an extra salt shaker, with a piece of plastic wrap between the shaker rim and the cap, to keep it fresh between uses. If you don’t want to keep it in a shaker, use a small sieve to get a fine sprinkle of cocoa on top of the drink.

Find more of our favorite cocktail recipes.
  

The mild-flavored classic whites, the cultivated, smooth, creamy-looking reliables found fresh at every market and—gasp—also sold canned, were sidelined by anyone with pretensions to a fine palate.

Chanterelles, chicken of the woods, creminis, enokis, maitakes, morels, porcinis, portabellas, shiitakes and baskets full of other exotic and lovely fungi provide more flavor, texture and eye appeal (check out all the mushroom varieties in our Mushroom Glossary).

Now, there’s a new reason to take a bite of buttons. Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., Director of Tumor Cell Biology at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, and his team have discovered that Agaricus bisporous, white button mushrooms, are a potential breast cancer and prostate chemopreventive agent. Components in the mushrooms suppress aromatase activity and estrogen biosynthesis (here’s the full article, written for a medical audience).

*Other foods also contain anticarcinogens. For example, pomegranates can inhibit estrogen production and limit breast cancer cell growth. Blueberries may be effective in fighting an aggressive subtype of breast cancer.

So feel free to add white button mushrooms back into your repertoire. Tell critics that they’re a proven anticarcinogen. (It’s likely that other mushrooms are similarly helpful, but they weren’t part of the research study).

Ingredients

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add shallots. Cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and asparagus. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender yet still crisp.

4. Add garlic during last minute of cooking. Sprinkle flour over vegetables. Cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth and simmer 3 to 4 minutes or until sauce thickens.

5. Drain pasta, divide among four plates and top with sauce, cheese and basil.

Makes 4 servings.

Serve with a large green salad topped with sliced raw mushrooms and/or pickled mushrooms.

*Recipe courtesy City of Hope.