With the Delta variant of COVID-19 surging in my area, we've pretty much battened the hatches back down. I'm deep into producing the upcoming 2021 Holiday Food Guide, always a bit disconcerting to be testing and cooking fabulous feast food when it's August-hot outside, but the results are VERY tasty.

For the recipes this week, I selected two from the newly-released cookbook Five Ingredient Dinners by America's Test Kitchen. They sent me a copy of it earlier this week, and it is loaded with recipes and ideas for fast, tasty meals using five ingredients or less, plus pantry staples like salt and pepper. The grilled fish packets can be customized using whatever you have on hand, and the Grilled Shrimp, Corn, and Avocado salad is something I could easily make and eat once a week. And then I finished the list off with an old-fashioned Cajun recipe for Seafood Boulettes in a zesty tomato sauce.

Enjoy the recipes below, stay safe and healthy, and, as always, let me know what's on your mind. 

Best regards,

Susan Ford, Publisher and Editorial Director
Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

P.S. If you are due to renew your magazine subscription or gift subscriptons we have emailed you a courtesy reminder. Renew Today!

In the Mail:

Grilled Fish and Summer Squash Packets

Excerpted from Five-Ingredient Dinners by America's Test Kitchen, this is a really versatile recipe. They've opted for cod, but any mild fish fillet will work equally well. All you have to do is fry some capers in olive oil, slice tomatoes and squash and toss it in the flavored oil, then divide among foil packets and grill. Assemble the packets in advance, put them on ice, and take them along to grill while tailgating, or on a summer picnic.

Grilled Shrimp, Corn, and Avocado Salad

Also excerpted from Five-Ingredient Dinners by America's Test Kitchen, this is another easy recipe perfect for a nice dinner on a sweltering day. Personally, I prefer to grill the romaine hearts for a few minutes to get a char on them also before chopping.

Seafood Boulettes in Tomato Gravy

This is an old Cajun recipe; serve the savory meatballs over hot cooked rice, grits, or pasta and garnish with sliced green onions, or use them to fill a po'boy.