Fresh summer sweet corn and peaches are all you need for a truly perfect summertime meal

Get out of the kitchen and let the grill handle it all: the main, the side . . . and even the dessert, too

By Bibi Hutchings

Columnist

Published June 8, 2023 2:00PM (EDT)

Grilling Corn and Peaches (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)
Grilling Corn and Peaches (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

In "Bibi's Gulf Coast Kitchen," columnist Bibi Hutchings takes you on a culinary journey across the coastal south. Come for the great food writing, stay for the delicious recipes.

I often gloat about living where I do, for many reasons, but this time of year it is because I am covered up with farmers' markets and fresh produce.

Around Memorial Day or a little after, the early summer fruits and vegetables start coming in and here in Baldwin County, Alabama, we are blessed with plenty: corn, tomatoes, yellow squash, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, okra, watermelon, cantaloupe, peas, green beans, eggplant, snap beans  and that's only just a sampling.

And Chilton County, as in Chilton County peaches, is only about three hours north, so those mouthwatering jewels are here too. 

From small, unmanned road side stands at the edge of a yard where you serve yourself and put your money in a honor system cash box to family-owned, multi-generation, large commercial farms with markets on site, there is a munificence of fresh local produce available on just about every corner.

I especially look forward to the sweet corn. If you've never bitten into a fresh-shucked, piping hot, butter-drenched ear of Silver Queen (my all time favorite), Devotional or Silver King corn, you haven't lived. In perfect rows, the small, almost white kernels, filled with creamy milky juice makes the best creamed corn you ever tasted, but eaten straight from the cob prepared simply with butter and a dusting of salt and pepper is mighty hard to beat.

I doubt my mother or my grandmothers would have approved, but I like to add fresh lime juice and even a bit of lime zest to the butter, salt and pepper combination that I slather on corn. Butter really is a must, but a little coconut oil mixed in can add another layer of flavor if, like me, you enjoy changing things up now and again. You can even go a step further with some ground cumin and a light sprinkling of cayenne if you want to add fresh corn on the cob to your Taco Tuesdays.

In a pinch, I wrap a fresh-shucked ear in a wet paper towel and microwave it until it is too hot to handle. Plate it with butter, salt and pepper — and that's it. It is delicious.

But there are better ways — or as my mother would say, more civilized ways — to prepare it. My mom and grandmothers boiled it in a big pot of salted water. As I am generally only cooking for two, I changed their method a bit by using a large covered skillet filled just halfway with salted water. 

I place the shucked ears inside and turn them a few times as they steam-boil. Once they are piping hot, I drain off the water and add butter to the pan, along with the aforementioned optional fresh lime juice and allow the corn to marinate while I finish up another dish or set the table.

With all the fruit coming in, dessert is a breeze. Strawberries in the spring, peaches in the summer and fresh figs in July are what I believe make the world go around. These three summer fruits make me so happy and grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream on a balmy summer evening is so good that it can bring about a near spiritual experience.   


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Grilling brings out the sweetness and caramelizes the natural sugars in the peaches. If your peaches are perfectly ripe and sweet, you need only a little oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill as you cook them. If you have sub-par peaches — peaches that are hard or just not sweet enough — grilling them with a little sweetener, as I mention in the recipe options below, will take them to new heights. 

As summer really comes on, the weather gets warmer and the air more humid, our gas grill becomes my best friend. There is nothing worse than heating the house up on a hot summer day when you don't have to and grilling my entire meal outside is a great way to avoid doing just that.

Whether you are going all veggie or are creating your meal around fish, fowl or what have you, if executed with care, you can have everything ready at the right time — and stay out of the kitchen, too. 

Grilled Corn on the Cob
Prep Time
05 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes 

Ingredients

Fresh sweet corn, shucked and cleaned

Oil (not butter)

 

Directions

  1. Prepare your grill, making sure the grates are clean. Aim for 1 to 2 ears of corn per person.

  2. Rub corn with oil and place on medium-high heat for about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the ears several times during the grilling.

  3. Remove from grill to serving platter with lots of butter and slices of lime.

 

Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Ice Cream
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes 

Ingredients

Fresh firm (not over-ripe) peaches, washed, halved and pitted.

Oil (not butter)

Vanilla ice cream 

Optional: toasted pecans or walnuts, ginger snap or amaretto cookie crumbs and/or honey

 

Directions

  1. Set your grill to medium heat.

  2. Wash and dry peaches then cut them in half lengthwise, along the seam. Gently twist to separate the halves from the pit. Remove the pit. Aim to serve about 1 to 2 peach halves per person. 

  3. Oil the cut side of the peaches well and place directly on the grill and lower lid. 

  4. Brush oil on the skin side of the peach halves while they are cooking and using tongs flip them over after 3-4 minutes.

  5. If you are adding sweetener and flavors, add it after you flip the halves and the cavity from the pit is facing up.

  6. Generously brush sweetened mixture into the top of the peach half and cook an additional 3-4 minutes with lid closed.

  7. Remove from grill to serving plate. The skins are easy to remove once cooked. Simple pinch together and discard once they are cool enough to handle. 

  8. Serve with ice cream as they are or with optional toasted nuts, ginger snap crumbs or amaretto cookie crumbs and a drizzle of honey. 


Cook's Notes

Options for taking it up a notch: If you have peak of the season peaches, you don't need anything more, but if you would like to add more, here are a few suggestions:

Add sweetness and more complex flavor by adding molasses, maple syrup, honey or brown sugar mixed with a little vanilla and/or bourbon and a pinch of salt.


By Bibi Hutchings

Bibi Hutchings, a lifelong Southerner, lives along a quiet coastal Alabama bay with her cat, Zulu, and husband, Tom. She writes about the magical way food evokes memories, instantly bringing you back to the people, places and experiences of your life. Her stories take you all around the South and are accompanied with tried-and-true recipes that are destined to become a part of your memory-making as you share them with your friends and family.         

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