For many Minnesotans, nothing says summer quite like a cookout (fried cheese curds on a stick notwithstanding). Hamburgers and brats straight off the grill, homemade potato salad and watermelon juice dripping down your chin -- this is the quintessence of summer.

In southwestern Russia, where I've been exploring local food culture since September, cooking over the coals is also a treasured pastime. You won't find anyone flipping burgers, though. Grilling here means shashlyk (pronounced shush-LEEK).

Essentially the Russian word for shish kebab, shashlyk is beloved across the country not only for its pure deliciousness, but also for the state of mind that accompanies it. While shashlyk are roasted throughout the year -- I've savored them cooked over the embers of an autumn bonfire, on an open grill in the snow or even in the fireplace at a friend's home -- they remain a symbol of the dog days of summer, when city dwellers escape to their dachas and the whole country takes a collective breather.

The first bite of a succulent kebab never fails to bring with it the stress-free, feelin'-good attitude that defines picnic season.

To prepare shashlyk, well-marbled, juicy hunks of pork or lamb are marinated for several hours with any number of combinations of spices, herbs, vegetables and tenderizing agents, depending on the chef's fancy. A basic spice mixture might include salt, black pepper, coriander, sweet paprika, allspice, nutmeg, mustard seeds and ground red chile pepper.

The meat is then threaded onto heavy metal skewers, usually alternating with onion wedges and possibly other vegetables such as chopped tomato, eggplant and bell pepper. They are finally blackened over the smoking coals of a dying fire.

Accompaniments vary by regional tastes. In southern Russia, where influences from those living in and beyond the nearby Caucasus Mountains maintain a strong presence in everyday life, you're likely to come across shashlyk rolled up burrito-style in thin sheets of unleavened Armenian lavash, or piled on a plate next to chewy wedges of Ossetian flatbread (a thicky, chewy bread in the pita and naan family, though without the pocket that pita has) and bunches of fresh cilantro and watercress.

Some people like adding extra punch with horseradish ketchup, Georgian sour plum sauce, or a pungent vegetable purée of smoked eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, herbs and spices. Wherever you are in Russia, though, shashlyk and a good time always go hand in hand.

Jenny Holm, a Minnetonka native, has been in Krasnodar, Russia, studying on a Fulbright scholarship.