FN Dish – Food Network Blog: Go behind-the-scenes at Food Network featuring your favorite chefs, shows, recipes, events and more.

Just because you’re taking a break from meat on Mondays doesn’t mean you have to ignore your grill. Fire up your barbecue and try Giada’s hearty, fresh grilled mushrooms stuffed with tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic and basil. Serve it with a citrus-packed grilled zucchini salad to make it a meal.

Get the recipes »

There will be plenty of hot dogs and hamburgers going around this Fourth of July weekend, so prepare something different that’s great for entertaining or even a regular weeknight meal. Sirloin steak is seasoned with salt, pepper and chopped mint and seared to your preferred cooking temperature. Serve it with a salad of chard, tomatoes, crumbled feta and croutons for a complete meal ready in 35 minutes.

Editor’s Note: If you’re feeding a crowd and looking to keep costs down, try an inexpensive cut of meat like flank or skirt steak.

Get the recipe: Seared Steak With Chard Salad

Browse more of Food Network’s 4th of July recipes or visit Grilling Central.

You’ve likely had them scrambled, over easy, poached, fried and sunny side up. But have you ever had Eggs in Purgatory? How about mixed with spaghetti or cooked inside a bell pepper? Check out our straightforward and creative egg recipes below and embrace the endless possibilities that lie within these thin white shells.

Food Network Magazine’s deceptively simple recipe for Eggs in Purgatory (pictured above) takes just minutes to cook and only requires three ingredients: pasta sauce (store bought is a-ok!), Parmesan cheese and eggs. To make this indulgent breakfast a substantial lunch option, slide the saucy eggs onto thick-cut toasted ciabatta bread and top with more grated Parmesan.

Celebrate everything you love about omelets without the hassle of flipping them by making Food.com’s recipe for Eggs in Bell Peppers. Just pour whisked eggs into boiled peppers, top with vegetables and bake until the peppers are softened and the eggs are firm.

Find more egg recipes after the jump »

This summer, Food Network’s Grilling Central is packed with recipes for the entire family’s taste buds, boasting the best in burgers, dogs, chicken and more all season long. But with so many recipes, where do you start? Each Friday, FN Dish is giving you a complete menu that will cook up in 30 minutes or less. This weekend, skip the meat and poultry and try grilling seafood like salmon or shrimp:

Main Dish: Giada’s Grilled Salmon With Citrus Salsa Verde
Side Dish: Lemon-Parsley Asparagus
Dessert: Strawberry Shortcakes
Drink: Mama’s Little Helper

Planning on making one of these dishes? Snap a photo and post it on Food Network’s Facebook wall.

The seventh season of Food Network Star is in full swing and the writers on the Star blog are dishing. This week, Melissa d’Arabian shares insights for the finalists, including great advice like having a few dessert recipes up your sleeve. If you missed last week’s episode, catch up with this recap or watch the latest exit interview.

• Melissa’s Insight: Four Rules for Finalists
• Star Commentary: Bake or Be Baked
• Listen to Duff: Dudes Can Bake, Too!
• Week 3 – Done.

Watch an all-new episode: Sunday, June 26 at 9 p.m. Eastern/ 8 p.m. Central

I suspect, like most of us, a day off is rarely a day away from food or cooking. This was the exact case for me when a day off last week turned into a crazy barbecuing day.

I was offered the opportunity to do a pig roast on a “competition-style” pit. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. The other players involved included my in-laws, who are far removed from the world of food. Since they weren’t enthused at the thought of the work involved in breaking down a whole hog, we decided to BBQ six full-sized pork butts.

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Plenty of people have a tough time taking pumpkin seeds seriously.

Fair enough. Americans unfamiliar with (or lacking a taste for) Hispanic foods generally only encounter them in the glop you scrape out of jack-o’-lanterns.

But roasted, hulled pumpkin seeds (properly known as pepitas) are a delicious, nutty backbone of many Mexican dishes and well worth getting to know.

And thanks to the popularity of Hispanic foods, they are easy to find. Trader Joe’s alone sells several varieties — raw, roasted, salted and plain, among others.

Pepitas resemble long, narrow teardrops and are greenish in color (because their hard, white hulls have been removed). Don’t buy regular “snacking” pumpkin seeds still in their hulls.

Get the recipe for Grilled Flank Steak With Pepita-Cilantro Sauce »

Celebrate summer this weekend with an easy blueberry crumble from Food Network Magazine that only takes 15 minutes to prep. Toss fresh blueberries with sugar, almonds, flour and lemon juice in a bowl and crumble a mixture of cornmeal and brown sugar on top. Baked in the oven for 45 minutes, it comes out bubbly and golden brown.

Take it one step further: Let it sit 10 minutes and then add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Get the recipe: Blueberry Crumble With Cornmeal-Almond Topping

Browse more of Food Network’s dessert recipes in Grilling Central.

• Fried Kool-Aid a Fair Hit, Creator Says [Sign On San Diego]
• Hitting the Links with Celebrity Chefs Morimoto and Ming Tsai [Food Republic]
• 4 Places You Shouldn’t Store Wine [YumSugar]
• Pie for Breakfast: Yogurt Parfait Pie [Cooking With My Kid]
• Yes, There Are Pesticides on Organic Lettuce [GOOD]

Photo: ktreb, Flick

We’re teaming up with food and garden bloggers to host Summer Fest 2011, a season-long garden party. In coming weeks, we’ll feature favorite garden-to-table recipes and tips to help you enjoy the bounty, whether you’re harvesting your own goodies or buying them fresh from the market. Today, we’re exploring eggplant.

A quick search on the Internet for eggplant recipes will quickly result in one Parmigiana recipe after another. While I can’t help but love that fried, cheesy dish — especially Alex Guarnaschelli’s version — there are numerous recipes that feature this purple, pear-shaped berry in lighter ways, especially on the grill, which will keep your kitchen cool during the summer months.

Read on for grilled eggplant recipes »