Grill with the fishes

Let's take advantage of the heat wave by cooking outside! That would probably be a good option in 1959, before air conditioning was as common and the year Betty Crocker's Guide to Easy Entertaining was published.

Honestly, the recipes in the "Barbecues" chapter don't look too terrible for the most part. I picked the book because I mostly love Peter Spier's illustrations. A mid-July weekend seems like the perfect time to kick back and enjoy whimsical illustrations, like twin Poseidons lining up to grill rock lobster tails.

Or of fish themselves getting into the grilling.

Come on! You've got to love fish in tiny chef's hats, tending their underwater fires (even if you're not really sure how that would work, exactly).

You may have noticed that I qualified my love of the illustrations with "mostly" since it would not be the '50s without a dose of racism....

The lamb shish-kabobs absolutely do not need the turban-clad and sword-wielding men as an illustration.

I know, I know, this was supposed to be a fun summer post, so I'll end with my favorite picture (and probably the most questionable recipe in the lot, assuming the seafood recipes are at least passably good since I have not even a smidgen of seafood expertise).

It's summer, so one would imagine grilling up some fresh sweet corn (or zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) might be a great way to get a smoky, savory veggie side. But you know what? If you can get an adorable little penguin to stand on a bag of charcoal to grill frozen vegetables in a foil pack, I am sooooo there!

Whatever you have going on this weekend, I hope it's at least half as exciting as watching a penguin grill veggies!