“Let’s say, if I cook two pieces of chicken thighs at the same time, when I turn them over to cook the other side, I switch them up.

“The piece that was once closer to the fire now goes away from the fire, and the one that is away now goes closer to the fire. So you cook them even and everyone gets to taste the same thing,” he explains.

Another way to cook food evenly is by pre-heating your grill, just as you would do with an oven, Pat adds.

He also noted, “If you’re taking meat out of the fridge, let it warm up to room temperature first before cooking, so it can adjust better to the heat of the grill.

“That will allow the food to cook with even consistency.”

WHAT CAN BE GRILLED? Meats in general can be cooked over a grill, and so are some types of fruits and vegetables—like pineapple, peaches, onions, and bell peppers.

However, Gina encourages everyone to be creative and explore their inner foodie.

“You know, you can almost cook a whole meal on the grill.

“You can cook your chicken with some asparagus, you can do bacon, you can do corn…you can also grill fruits, like peaches! You can put some homemade ice cream and pine nuts on top of it.”

Surprisingly, Gina even grills her pastries at home.

“Take a pound cake—the ones you can buy in the grocery store—and slather it with some butter so you can get nice grill marks on.

“Serve it with homemade ice cream, some nuts, and fresh fruits and it will be good for entertaining, like a beautiful dessert centerpiece on the table.”

MARINATING. Some grill recipes require marinating to permeate flavor, just like the shrimp and lime kebabs that Pat and Gina made during the demo.

Shrimps that have been shelled and de-veined were marinated for about 1 to1 ½ hours in a mixture of herbs, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, minced fresh basil, Neelys’ Honey Kiss marinade, and lime juice.

Pat reminded the audience never to marinate your seafood in acidic ingredients, like lime juice, for too long.