For Fourth of July grilling, you want a recipe that’s reliably delicious and unfussy, something you can cook with one hand while holding a drink in the other. But, let’s be honest: A touch of something extra makes the holiday meal truly memorable, like a dusting of hot Controne pepper from Campania over a juicy watermelon salad, or a red wine marinade for succulent grilled lamb chops. Chef Tony Mantuano of Chicago’s celebrated Spiaggia restaurant shares tips on making these flavorful dishes.

Mantuano was raised in an Italian-American community in Kenosha, Wis., surrounded, in his words, “by a devotion to culture and food products.” His grandparents operated the Mantuano Food Shop, where his uncles also worked, and he vividly recalls his grandmother’s cooking and grandfather’s garden.