Fourth of July

Brush thick slices of country-style bread with olive oil and grill until golden, about two minutes per side. Serve alongside steaks. What to drink: Beckmen Vineyards 2000 Syrah, Estate, Santa Ynez Valley, or another light-bodied Syrah.

Buttermilk and lemon juice add some tang; carrots and celery add crunch.

Ripe tomatoes, basil and fresh corn enhance a terrific side dish.

This is the one potato salad that purists dream of-plenty of tangy dressing and just a bit of crunch. Low-fat or nonfat mayonnaise and sour cream can be used.

Dry-rubbed before grilling, the delicious bird is then generously drizzled with a zesty sauce at the table-twice the firepower for twice the fun.

This salad is excellent with burgers and corn on the cob.

We liked fleur de sel or Malden flaked sea salt best in this recipe, though other types work fine. If using coarse sea salt instead of flaked or fine, crush it lightly.

Enriched with a little cream and sugar, jumbo-size refrigerator biscuits become shortcakes worthy of the season's best berries. Since there are more biscuits in the tube than you'll need, you could bake extras at the same time and save them for breakfast the next day.

If you have a gas grill and want great smoky flavor, soak hickory-wood chips in water one hour. Drain well; place chips in a disposable aluminum pie pan directly over flames (or over lava rocks if they are part of the grill's design). Allow chips to begin smoking, then grill vegetables until tender. This recipe is an accompaniment for Spicy Barbecued Rib-Eye Steaks with Smoked Vegetable Salsa .

A creamy fruit filling goes between split Cardamom Biscuits for a beautiful dessert.

This cool salsa is the ideal accompaniment for grilled shrimp.

A quick low-fat, no-cholesterol side dish.

Brush this peppery sauce onto beef, chicken or pork during the last 15 minutes of grilling. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.