A Perfect Summer Cookout

On Sunday we had my partner’s mom over for a socially distant dinner and we had a quintessential summer cookout. Most people probably expect that I’m going to say grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, but I’ve got an entirely different menu and one that you have to definitely check out! Plus, after it was all said and done, I thought of a dessert to go with it for a perfect summer cookout!

I found a recipe for Rosemary-Mustard Pork With Peaches on the Food Network website. Pork tenderloin is an easy meat to cook and can be dressed up to seem much fancier than it really is. Peaches are in season right now, so that was easy. And I just recently got a jar of mustard from a local brewery back home and was eager to try that out as well! The sauce calls for white wine, so I used a sauvignon blanc, and then we drank it for dinner too.

With the grilled pork tenderloin (make sure not to overcook it!) I found a recipe for grilled, savory sweet potatoes. This recipe can be made to your specifications and although ours were a little spicier than I was expecting, they were really good! Depending on how hot your grill is, keep an eye on them. Mine were definitely closer to mashed sweet potatoes when I pulled them from the grill. And the butter burned a lot. Next time, I might just use olive oil (a higher smoking point) and make sure to keep them on indirect heat for most of their cooking time.

And finally, I grabbed a quick marinated tomato salad recipe. This one is from Food Network, but there are hundreds of recipes out there. I kind of just threw in what I had and did a quick salad before we ate.

So that was our dinner. As I finished up my plate after both my first and second helping, I thought of the perfect dessert! Something super quick and easy would be grilled peaches with a balsamic glaze. And of course, a little vanilla ice cream to go with it! And sure enough, Taste of Home has a delicious looking recipe!

So there you have it – a perfect summer cookout (and a little fancy that some burgers and dogs!). Let me know if you try and of these recipes and what your thoughts were! I’d love to hear from you!