It's time to say goodbye to corn. It's been seven great days of corn recipes and I know we'll all be sad to see it end. But sweet summer corn will be around for at least another month so the end of this series doesn't have to mean the end of corn for any of us (in this hemisphere!).

For this last of my corn recipes I am going to do a corn brulee. It's a corn-sweetened custard with whole kernels topped with spicy candied bacon and served with a very savory tomato sorbet.

Although the custard is made sweet with the infusion of corn, this is not what I'd consider a dessert. In fact I am serving mine as a first course and my brother Grant is pairing this custard with Vouvray.

But before we get to the wine let's recap this madcap week of corn recipes. It's hard for me to pick a favorite, so here they are in reverse chronological order: Fresh Corn & Sun Dried Tomato Angel Hair Pasta, Old Fashioned Corn Chowder, Corn & Zucchini Fritter Stacks with Bacon and Avocado, Seared Scallops with Succotash, Grilled Chicken with Raw Corn & Grilled Bread Salad.

We started with Grilled Corn with Feta & Lime. It's the only on-the-cob recipe I presented this week and I saved its mention for last because I thought I'd end this week of corn with some valuable tips on removing corn from the cob. Of course they sell devices for just such a chore, but I personally don't like to have tools cluttering up my drawers that only have one job in life. So I rely on a chef's knife to get the job done.

If you are a carnivore like me, the very title of the book Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings might be enough to get this book off the shelf and in your hands. Because those four simple words conjure up delectible images. Juicy, dense and oh so smoky... at least they are to Serious Grill Dudes.

Now I may be a carnivore, but I am not a Serious Grill Dude. Which is why I feel that this book by Ray Lampe is just the sort of book I need to get my grill on. In case you did not know it, the author of this book is the very media savvy “Dr. BBQ”. He's a regular guest on the Food Network. He also has his own web site by the same name, judges cook-offs, serves as spokesman for the National Pork Board, and has written six cookbooks. Which I suppose makes him a Serious Grill Dude.

I am not ashamed to admit that this book's simple format and elementary style are perfect for this Aspiring Serious Grill Dude. There is a lot I don't know about cooking meat, espcially on the grill. So before I learn to trot I need to learn to walk (I almost said gallop but I could not find a single horse recipe in this book)...

Welcome to my Summer Kabob Party. This is the first of a weeklong series featuring a different skewered delight every night.

This party started when Natasha at 5 Star Foodie asked me to do a guest blog post for her. Her only request was that I makeover some classic dish as part of her famed makeover series she does monthy at her blog.

I immediately knew I wanted to do a makeover to the ubiquitous backyard shish kabob. They seem perfect for seasonal grilling because the prep can be done in advance. The cooking is so simple even the non-cooks amongst can handle the culinary task. Leaving you time to throw your magic behind some other aspect of the meal.

Kabobs just lend themselves to makeovers too. Because just about anything can grace the skewer and still be considered a kabob, as long as it’s grilled. Meat, shellfish, fruit and vegetables all make terrific kabobs.

So if they are so easy and so versatile, how come so many of today’s backyard kabobs are just plain inedible?