This summer we’re experimenting with cooking over a wood fire, basically, cowboy cooking.  We have an old-school backyard barbecue at our house in Tunis and I want to develop some skills this next year in cooking over wood.  My son, Gabe, has an interest in essentially “making fires” so he and I made a start this summer.  This barbecue pit was his design and it turned out to be clever and definitely atmospheric for parties.  

 We have a bounty of dungeness crab for a few weeks in the summer.  Tossing cooked crab halves in a cast iron pan with garlic, lemon, and white wine gives them a nice dressing and a little wood smoke flavor.

  Similarly, halved artichokes roasted in olive oil and lemons, melts them into a ready-made sauce.

Paella is traditionally made on the beaches of Catalan over wood fires, topped with shellfish.  It fits my conditions of a summer entertainment dish that you can make from memory and vary with local ingredients.  Bon Appetit has a great starter recipe.

Good friends who are always happy to sample experimental cooking.