Turkey? In June?

Perhaps it seems like a madcap, crazy thing to those of you who eat turkey only at Thanksgiving or in dynamited and pressed form in a sandwich, but My Beloved and I love turkey all year 'round. One of our favorite ways to prepare it, since we are only two in the house (not counting the ever-eager Cora), is to put half a free-range turkey breast on the kettle grill and let the charcoal do its magic.

Before committing it to the flames, I place the turkey on a square of tripled aluminum foil folded to the size of the breast, just to protect the bottom from the full blaze of the heat. I usually smear or sprinkle stuff on the skin - this time, some olive oil, a sprinkling of garlic powder and a dusting of rubbed sage, plus pepper, of course. I slide the foil-backed breast onto the grill and clap on the cover.

As the smoke swirls out the holes in the lid, I prep whatever veggies we are eating that day - in this case two of our fresh Pezzini Farms artichokes steamed - set the table, pour the beverage and by the time I'm finished, so is the turkey. It takes about 40-45 minutes for a large one at roughly 300 degrees (our Weber has a thermometer built in to the lid). You'll know when it's ready if the juice runs clear when pierced in the thickest part; be sure to check often toward the end of the cooking as it's a small window between "perfect and juicy" and "white and dry."

We serve it with cranberry sauce even though it's summer; call us nutty, but we think this is a summer meal fit for a king.