Watermelon looks like a smiley face to me. That, in itself, makes me want to gobble up a thick slice until the juice runs down my chin.

It's believed watermelons originated in Africa and found their way to Russia and the rest of Europe via China hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Balkans love to pair this fruit with Bulgarian feta cheese while Poles like its rind pickled, and Serbs like to make slatko, or preserves, with its rind.

• All About Watermelons
  
  
• Top Eastern European Watermelon Recipes

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Americans and Aussies ("throw another shrimp on the barbie") don't have the market cornered on barbecuing and grilling. Cooking over an open fire was the first way man prepared his meals, and many of these techniques are still used in Eastern Europe and elsewhere around the world. Consider the continued use of the bogracs kettle in Hungarian cooking, and the outdoor preparation of bigos after a successful hunt in the forests of Poland.

The Balkan peoples (Albanians, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, Bulgarians, Croatians, Greeks, Macedonians, Moldovans, Montenegrans, Romanians, Serbians, Slovenians and Turks) are grillers and spit-roasters extraordinaire as these Serbian recipes attest.

• Serbian Barbecued Shish Kebabs Recipe - Raznjici
• Serbian Grilled Sausages Recipe - Cevapcici
• Serbian Hamburger Recipe Pljeskavica
• Tradition of Spit-Roasting Lamb and Pig

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I always grill far too many chicken breasts at my Memorial Day barbecues. But I do it on purpose. This recipe for Polish Pineapple-Chicken Salad or Salatka z Ananasem i Kurczakiem can be made with broiled, boiled, grilled or baked chicken. I like to use all white meat, but a combination of dark and white can be used. There's a mystery ingredient in this easy main-course salad. Can you guess what it is from the picture?

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Everyone has his favorite picnic salad. I'm partial to Serbian Potato Salad because it's made with vinegar and oil not mayo or sour cream. It goes great with Serbian hamburgers known as "pljeskavica" or Serbian sausages known as "cevapcici."

What's your favorite picnic salad?

© Barbara Rolek licensed to About.com, Inc.