good veggies for grilling

What's good and not made of meat that can be grilled? 

Radicchio is something I hadn't thought of - just spied it on Nigella Lawson's website. 
Eggplant
Pineapple
Sunchoke slices?  Haven't tried this, but I will. 
Yellow summer squash - crook necks or some such
?

Any good marinade tips?  I don't get any fancier than herbs and oil. 


Dang, only february and I'm imagining Bar-b-ques and the full on bounty of July...

grilled asparagus mmmmmm

hehe.  Must remember to place the spears only one direction on the grill! 

Oh and peppers!  Bell peppers, hot peppers, sweet peppers......I like to blacken their skin all the way off and eat them in strips in salads or pasta or sammiches or....

What's good and not made of meat that can be grilled?

peach/nectarine wedges.  top with some creme freche or sour cream or yogurt.  wow.

alliums are good.
potatoes and sweet potatoes.
mushrooms.  bigger mushrooms are easier.

we've done pizza on the grill a couple times.  works well.

not generally a fan of Whole Foods, but they sell charcoal made from furniture factory scraps for real cheap.  not quite as tasty as mesquite charcoal, but probably more responsible.

I own an issue of Cook's Illustrated that goes into detail (well obviously, it's what they do) about grilled pizza and they made it seem complicated.  It's not?  I want to try it but I'd hate to risk ruining a whole bunch of dough from inexperience. 

it went pretty smoothly for me.  I've just got one of those little portable size Weber charcoal grills.

got things good and hot.
smeared the first side with oil and slapped it on for just a couple minutes until the bottom looked ready.
smeared oil on the top and flipped it over with tongs.
loaded sauce then veggies then cheese and put the top on the grill for a couple minutes.
used the tongs to slide it off onto a plate.

didn't try to make each pizza too big, so they were easier to manage.  there's a sweet spot regarding the thickness of the crust and the consistency of the dough: too thin and it immediately dries out and cracks, too thick and it'll burn before the inside is cooked.  dough on the dry side keeps it from oozing through the grate.  a peel probably would have made the whole thing even easier, but we sure don't have one.  anybody ever make their own peel?

Skewers help, especially with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced or cut veggies.  They also let you mix and match as with a kabob.  If doing kabobs, I find mushrooms to be especially helpful in holding things in place.  They (usually) won't fall off or slide around the stick.

Marinating can help put the heat to the veggies, and add some zest.  Rather than just the dry heat or heat from direct contact with grates, the oil in the marinade will heat up, essentially sauteeing the veggies.  Adds a dimension to flavor and texture.

Italian dressing off the grocery store shelf makes a fine marinade.  For something homemade, start with oil, go from there.  Green onion tops in a blender work especially well, herbs and spices to taste.

Herbs can be steeped in oil.  Try a small amount of oil, 1/2 cup or so.  Put it on the stove to heat up with some fresh rosemary or thyme in there.  The idea is not to cook the herbs, just get them good and warm to draw out the flavor into the oil.  Use this herbal oil as a marinade.

Another use for herbs is to toss them into the fire as you are grilling.  The smoke adds some delightful flavors.

Sweet corn: pull the shucks down, remove the silk, season, pull the shucks back up, and grill.

also radishes, cabbage and broccoli!

i use a marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, various herbs, paprika and sometimes a bit of grainy mustard.

and brussel sprouts! i think we've grilled just about every thing we've grown!