What do you love about cooking?  Making something that other people enjoy and that brings them together.  It is also one of the few things that really utilizes all of our senses. What is better then that?
              -Chef Mario Scordato, The Chopping Block 
 
Summer is quickly coming to an end and each day Eleanora and I are working to cram in all the fun we can before the school year starts. We have filled our days with typical summertime fun these past two weeks- bike riding, swimming, visits to the zoo, farmers' markets and even an outing to an amusement park!  Because our days are filled with fun and usually end later than they should, dinner needs to be easy!  This is when I fire up the grill!
 
Living in Chicago, the grilling season can be cut short due to weather that can become quite unpredictable, sadly starting in October. This summer, I have been trying to make the most of our grill while the weather is great. After a full day of fun this past Wednesday, which started at the Green City Farmers' Market and ended at the Wilmette Swimming Pool, Eleanora asked me to make her latest favorite dinner – Lemon Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki Sauce with Pita Bread.  Luckily, I picked up some cucumbers at the farmer’s market during our morning visit! (Eleanora learned how to make this great recipe while watching a cooking demonstration at a small grocery store in Wisconsin  - I'll add the recipe on our Recipes page).

This is a great recipe and I plan to include it in my cookbook, but I really loved the night we spent together enjoying this simple dinner– it was a late night summer dinner that Matt, and I savored with Eleanora outside on our deck as the sun quickly slipped out of the sky and the cicadas sang the night away. This may have been one of my favorite nights of the summer!  The three of us got to sit down together and savor  the summer night.  Just as Chef Mario Scordato says… “Making something that other people enjoy and that brings them together…..What is better then that?”  I agree - what is better than that?
 
If you are looking to add to your list of favorite summer nights, check out Grill Master, Chef Mario’s upcoming Grill Class: Backyard BBQ at the Chopping Block in Lincoln Square this coming Wednesday, August 23rd from 6pm-9pm.  He will be sure to share some great grilling methods but he hopes "to make something other people enjoy and that brings them together. "

​The Chopping Block is an awesome cooking school located in Lincoln Square (my personal favorite) and in The Merchandise Mart with an outstanding group of chefs that offer a wide range of classes. If you can’t make the upcoming Grill Class offered by Chef Mario, look for upcoming grill classes at www.thechoppingblock.com/who-we-are. This is one of my favorite places to learn new ideas to test out in my own kitchen!!