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Summertime and the living is easy. Nowhere is that more true than Chicago. Winter is brutal and spring inevitably a wet, cold disappointment, but summer in Chicago is glorious. The days are warm and sunny; every weekend boasts a different festival or special event; and dinner is cooked on the grill and eaten out on the deck. The best Chicago grocery store for all your outdoor cooking and grilling needs? Mariano’s of course!

At the beginning of the summer, my family always makes a list of all the things we want to do before the summer is over. My contributions to the list usually involve food. Baking a pie, going to the pick-your-own farm and hosting friends for a cookout are always on the top of my summer to-do list. My husband’s suggestions usually involve biking, an activity that he and the kids do without me. And the kids’ ideas are inevitably the ones that involve paying top dollar to stand in long lines in the heat. (Think: Six Flags.)

Here is the funny thing about summer though: as much as our summer to-do list is full of special excursions to far-flung places, the summer’s best times are usually the simplest.

A few weeks ago, some friends invited us to their house for a cookout. There were five families there with kids ranging in age from four to eleven. Everyone brought a dessert or side dish and our hosts grilled steaks and kebabs. It was a beautiful early summer night; the all-day threat of rain never materialized. The kids fell into groups roughly by age, playing hide-and-seek and doing cartwheels on the lawn without a screen in sight. The adults lounged on the patio eating the delicious food, drinking the killer daiquiris and marveling at how well the kids were getting along. It was a scene that could have taken place without much difference ten years ago, twenty years ago, even forty years ago. And that, to me, is what is special about summer in Chicago: the simple pleasures of friends, food and just being outdoors after the long months of hibernating in our homes.

I don’t think you can get through a summer in Chicago without hosting or attending a backyard cookout. Like most people, the very next words out of my mouth after I accept an invitation are: “What can I bring?” Every smart host or hostess will accept all offers of help. So what do you bring when your offer of help is eagerly accepted? An ideal cookout dish is one that is easy to prepare, crowd-pleasing and not too perishable in case it has to sit outside for long period of time.

Mariano’s has an amazing cheese counter!

Luckily, the summer is the best time of year to cook. With so much fresh, local produce in season, you can easily find inspiration just by walking through your local Mariano’s. Whether you need to stock up on sandwiches and salads from the prepared foods section for a picnic or find the perfect steak for your cookout, you can find everything you need at Chicago’s best grocery store.

My go-to dish to bring to a picnic or cookout is a simple orzo salad with red onion, pine nuts and basil that pleases kid and adult palates alike and goes with just about any main course. It can also serve as a nice main dish for any vegetarians in the crowd. Because this orzo can be eaten warm or at room temperature, you can make it ahead of time and with no mayonnaise or other ingredients that can spoil, it can sit for hours.

Mariano’s amazing selection of my favorite pasta, De Cecco.

If you are not familiar with orzo, it is a small, rice-shaped pasta. Orzo can be hard to find in regular grocery stores, but fortunately Mariano’s has an extensive selection of international foods. Pop into Mariano’s enormous produce section to find the fresh basil that gives this dish its flavor and then stop by the cheese counter for authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I promise that this dish will be a hit at your next picnic, potluck or cookout. Have a great summer!