The Jersey Shore: Grills and Italian Ice.

Okay, not what you're thinking.

At the end of July, I spent a few days in Lavallette, NJ with Nick's family. Born on the East Coast and raised in the Midwest (just like me), he spent a few summer vacations in the house his grandparents owned. Lavallette is an adorable town on a strip of peninsula so thin that you can see the bay side from the ocean side. Two main drags run down the center of the peninsula and branch off into little cul-de-sacs at every single block, just a few hundred feet apart. The result: no house is more than a leisurely stroll from the boardwalk that runs the full length of the beach. (Also a plus, there was guaranteed to be an ice cream truck parked at the end of a cul-de-sac, less than 1000 feet away -- you could literally hear one truck's music while standing at another.) The houses are a sweet mix of old-school beach bungalows with that charming, ocean-worn, shingled-look, and more mainland-looking two-story houses with wraparound porches and gingerbread trim.

After a day of gorging ourselves on frozen novelties (Dreamsicles, Dove bars, Italian ices, and ice cream sandwiches galore) and beach snacks, our dinners were all outside on our beach house deck, which was outfitted with a huge outdoor table and chairs, as well as an enormous gas grill. We couldn't have asked for better weather: warm, breezy nights were perfect for grilling outside.

Pictured above: Grilled thick-cut pork chops with grilled peaches, potato "chips," and balsamic-marinated asparagus. (Hint: serve with beer.)

Now that I've finally gotten more comfortable grilling, I feel confident offering these few tips (which, I've found, apply every bit as much to grilling as stovetop cooking):

1. Start with a smoking hot grill: you may turn it down to adjust the cooking temperature, but the whole point of a grill is those gorgeous grill marks that provide both flavor and visual appeal.
2. If you're grilling multiple items, know when each dish should go on (so it all comes out evenly in the end/nothing is overcooked).
3. Resist the temptation to poke, prod, and lift the corner (just to see if it's done) -- you'll ruin the beautiful grill marks! It'll come off easily when it's ready, unless it needs a teensy bit of sliding action (along the grill slats -- don't lift, slide).
4. Asparagus is really yummy if you put it down where pork has just been cooked. Just sayin'.

It was a spectacular vacation, a great way to (begin to) say farewell to summer.