IP's easy side vegetable crowd-pleaser that people don't expect but will immediately love: Grilled Eggplant
Grilled eggplant is an easy thing to make that takes little time to prepare, and little time to cook, and is hard to mess up. It's also healthy, and delicious. If you've had eggplant before and didn't like it, I'll still maintain if you haven't tried this yet, you'll love it. Eggplant is often cooked incorrectly.
You make this when you're making something that requires hot heat (like chicken breasts, steaks, or, like I did tonight, grilled swordfish (see above; that recipe is a winner). There are tons of things you cook on high heat).
Step 1: make your fire in your trusty weber grill. This is one time when lighter fluid is okay (if using a gas grill, skip this step. Just pick whichever side of your grill the wind is coming from, and turn it up to get it real toasty). I like to use lump charcoal, not the old standby briquette because lump charcoal burns HOT. Buy a cheap bag, you don't need gourmet stuff here, it won't help.
Make a good sized pile so that it ends up between an inch and an inch and a half below your cooking grate, soak that mother like you're commuting arson with lighter fluid, and light it. Now you have about 20 minutes to do something else.
2) While your grill is warming up, take an eggplant and starting at the bottom, slice it into quarter to half inch slices, angling it a little like you're carving beef. Put them in a deep stock-pot and liberally throw salt on top. Then, pour water on top, hot from the tap, just enough to make sure all the pieces are floating. Then, find something that fits inside the stock-pot (I use a small plate) and put it on top of the floating pieces, then put something on top of that (I use my teakettle) to weigh it down. The trick is to make sure you're completely submerging the eggplant.
3) Time passes, you cook your entree over the now-ready coals. Your grill should look like this:
4) your entree is done, now you cook your eggplant. Take the whole stockpot outside, water and all. Leaving the grill uncovered, put the eggplant directly above the coals. If you have time, you can pat each piece dry before with a paper towel and brush with olive oil, but it'll still be good without it.
5) give the pieces (again, uncovered) about 4-7 minutes on each side. You'll know it's time to flip them when they get good black grill marks. Once both sides are beautifully scored, you're done. The only tip Id add is to be careful not to overload the grill. Only put as many pieces on at a time as you have room over the coals. It's worth it to do two batches.
6) put all the pieces on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle cracked pepper and parm cheese. Not a lot, just enough so everyone gets some.
Serve. Looks like this (not my picture):