Get a Head Start on Summer Cooking

Ah, summer.

It's not here quite yet, but it's hard not to get antsy once Memorial Day rolls around. As the temperatures heat up and the sun gets brighter, many of us will begin to plan summertime cookouts and barbeques.

To help you get a start, we've compiled a number of recipes to tempt your palate. Got ones of your own you'd like to share? E-mail them to us.

Hoping to grill some great-tasting meats? Take some advice from the guys over at Frank's Meat Market and start out with a good cut of ribeye or beef tenderloin for kabobs. Italian sausages or sausage patties are also good on the grill. John's Meat Market's also got all the grub you'd need for a good meal. No matter what you choose to grill, Nick Losavio says the key is to "watch it."

"Some people want it well done, some people want it rare," he told Patch previously. "A lot of people slow cook it. You can broil it, but it's not as good, in my opinion."

Good side dishes can make any get-together shine. Try creamy olive and tomato pasta salad or test out these poolside snacks. , and cheesy cornbread also sound delicious.

Got a hankering for seafood? Nothing sounds fresher than plank-grilled halibut topped with a pineapple blueberry salsa. Or try Florence Ravioli's

Need a nice drink to kick back with? A margarita made from scratch sounds mighty nice. Or, be adventurous and try mixing the perfect martini. 

And finally, no cookout is complete without some tasty treat to top it all off. Here's a homemade ice cream recipe passed down from my family to you.

Fresh Fruit Ice Cream

6 cups milk

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 cups crushes peaches, strawberries or other fruit

Chill all ingredients, then pour into ice cream maker and proceed according to machine's instructions.

And if you're too lazy to do all the barbequing yourself, don't forget that Stage House Restaurant in downtown Scotch Plains offers free BBQ Fridays throughout the summer. Eat what you want, pay what you want, and get a gift certificate for that amount. For more details, go here. Also stop by Portusa BBQ for Portuguese charcoal barbeque.

Cheers to the days of kicking back, cooling off and enjoying the long summer days.