Richard Blais is a successful chef, restaurateur, and James Beard-nominated cookbook author, but is perhaps best known for winning the “Top Chef All-Stars” TV competition. He studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and trained at several notable restaurants including French Laundry and Chez Pannisse. Blais has opened several restaurants, and regularly appears as a host and judge on Food Network shows. Now that summer is finally here, more or less, we asked him for tips on outdoor entertaining.  What are you excited about cooking outside right now?  Right now I’m into what’s called a tri-tip steak, or it’s also called Santa Maria steak. It’s a relatively inexpensive cut from the sirloin. It’s really forgiving and it grills excellently. I’ve had this little cooking love affair with it over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been cooking it a lot for my family. It’s a very Southern-Central coast California sort of cut, but relatively new to most other people, so I’m excited to tell people about it.  What about grill fare for vegetarians?  Vegetables on the grill are one of my favorite things. In the dying embers of a grill, when you’re done cooking meat, even if it’s not for the meal you’re having, you can throw on beets or whole onions, and just let them cook really slowly wrapped in foil. You can turn these into sauces or to just have as a vegetable the next day. Carrots are another amazing ingredient for grilling. Just give them a quick boil in some water to start the cooking process, then finish them on grill and toss them in a nice vinaigrette. Carrots have this meaty texture to them, and they pair well with red meat so it’s a great fresh-grilled side to have.  Any quick and easy ways to spice up meat or veggies?  Every time I cook I use some different sort of spice mix. One of the great things about having access to all these wonderful markets right now is that you can buy prepared powdered harissa sauce or a powdered chimichurri, these spice mixes that are already made. Even when I compete on television, one of the tricks up my sleeve is to bring a lot of these spice mixes because you can utilize them quickly. They’re in one bag so you don’t have to spend time with six or seven ingredients.  As far as marinades are concerned, garlic and ginger and scallion will never go out of style, with maybe a little soy sauce and some orange juice. That’s a go-to marinade for me. My theory on marinades in general is that you should use whatever you have that’s almost rotten in your refrigerator. It sounds gross, but marinades can truly be anything, as long as there’s a little spice in there. So if you have the nub of an onion, or some carrots left over, little bits and pieces of things from meals past that are in the fridge but you’re not quite sure you know what to do with them, use them for your marinade. Just be careful with how much acidity you put in your marinade because more acidic ingredients will actually start cooking the protein. That’s OK if you’re marinating for 30 minutes or an hour, but if you’re marinating for 24 hours you might not want to have meat sitting in orange juice.  Any other good grilling tricks for beginners?  I feel like I’m just starting to learn how to master open-fire cooking at home because it can be challenging. One of the things is just managing your time, giving yourself time to start your fire, whether it’s coals or wood. And also being careful not just to utilize the grill. Sometimes I’ll plug in a George Foreman grill outside next to the wood-burning grill to sear some vegetables, or I’ll have a pot on the stove inside. You don’t want to just rely on the grill itself because that one flavor of smoke and charcoal can sort of take over a meal.  Fruits are a great thing to experiment with. You can even make a quick peach crumble at home if you throw peaches on the grill for a couple seconds and then chop those up and throw them in a little pot and top it with some cracked granola. Then you have this quick little cobbler that you can serve for dessert, with a little dollop of whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream on top.  What kid-friendly dishes can you make on a grill, besides the usual hamburgers and hot dogs?  Boneless skinless chicken thighs — because they are near impossible to overcook — marinated in some soy, ginger garlic, scallions, and pineapple juice for an hour or so. Greek yogurt with garlic and dill as a sauce on the side.  And what’s your favorite summer beverage for an outdoor dinner?  A pitcher of liquid nitrogen sangria always works at our house.
Richard Blais on cooking outdoors, how to make a peach cobbler using the grill, his favorite cut of steak right now, and what to cook for kids besides hamburgers and hot dogs.