Tag: grilling

“H” outdid herself this year (Adam took this photo).

I never posted about Father’s Day, which was very low key. Adam caught up on hours of video games, did some DIY stuff, and requested Chicken Paprikash for dinner. But I’m pretty thrilled with his gift, this monogrammed steak branding iron from The Prairie Forge in Wyoming. I played phone tag for a few days to place my order (there is no online ordering at this working ranch and iron forge), and Cate could not have been sweeter. They had this brand and the accompanying branded board to me within two weeks.

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So the 4th has come and gone. Here’s what we did:

Adam grilled in this festive hat I bought for him.

Maggie enjoyed his grilling skillz.

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Today was my sorority alumnae group’s Lobster Bake, and we had such a lovely time. A handful of the women I knew from the Manhattan chapter of our alumnae organization, but mostly today was full of brand new faces. And they were great, I jumped right in and felt like I’d known them forever. And, of course, anytime our friend Audrey is involved in an event the food is amazing and plentiful. She is from Maine, so we had some serious lobster. And I finally got to show off my cake. I wasn’t thrilled with the lettering, but I’m still learning and the lobster was the fun part. Here are some photos.

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apple-glazed bbq ribsWe’re having another party the last weekend in August, so in addition to planning out my dessert table I’ve also been hunting for something to grill with a little more pizazz than burgers and dogs. Adam was up for the challenge, so this week I tried this rib recipe from the June 2009 issue of Food and Wine.

They were good, but not perfect. The rub was delicious, the cider mixture gave great flavor, and we had enough BBQ sauce from our spree at Big Apple BBQ in June that we had tons of great sauce for the glaze. But they weren’t the meatiest ribs, and they were a little dry. I’d get hits of absolute perfection, but it wasn’t perfect throughout. So I’m thinking of trying beef instead of pork, and possibly a different cut of rib.

Apple-Glazed Barbecued Baby Back Ribs (from June 2009 Food and Wine)

  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons garlic salt
  • 4 teaspoons pure ancho chile powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • 1/4 cup apple jelly, melted
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 racks baby back ribs (about 4 pounds total)
  • 1 cup prepared barbecue sauce

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navy aqua dessert tableToday was the day, and the cookout went off without a hitch. Here was the menu:

Hot Dogs
Hamburgers
Homemade macaroni and cheese (I’ll post that recipe another day)
My two salsas
Veggie kebabs (squash, onion, and bell pepper marinated with salt, pepper, cumin, and lime juice)
Grilled corn on the cob

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I took a break from blogging this weekend to enjoy the first one I’ve had in more than a month without any big plans. I love plans as much as the next gal, but relaxing at home and just puttering around has been a great and much needed change. One of those weekends where I actually did pretty much everything I wanted. I worked on the quilt, cooked, read, had brunch with my mother and went fabric shopping, looked through magazines that had been piling up since winter, went for an Indian Head Massage for some migraine relief, watched the Netflix movie that’s been lying around here since April, finished another audio book, shopped some summer sales online, made a new playlist for my commute, and topped it off with Adam and I playing with the grill for dinner tonight. Even my relaxation is busy. But it’s the first weekend in ages where I don’t have the Sunday Night Blues because I did so much fun and productive stuff.

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When I came home from work on Monday, there was a grill on the couch. Adam took the day off to spend with his mother and stepfather, who have been staying with us this week. And he decided the time was finally right for a grill, so there it was. On my couch. At least, the main grill section was. The cabinet and various accessory pieces were strewn around the living room in boxes, waiting to be assembled.

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I’ve been writing a lot of food posts lately, has anyone else noticed? Anything to avoid working on the Crete Quilt, which is starting to become my albatross. Not quite sure my skill level is up to the task yet, so I’m distracting myself with other things.

Like these! That is the best crust I have ever gotten on a piece of beef. Who cares if I filled the entire house with smoke that made Adam choke a little? I got used to it. Is it my fault I chose to make these indoors in the middle of an atrocious heat wave that meant opening windows let out all the precious air conditioning? It’s fire and meat, the smoke just builds character.

Last Christmas I gave Adam a copy of Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill. We’d just moved into the house the month before, and I was imagining a summer filled with cookouts and a novelty apron for Adam. That summer is upon us, but since we’re still trying to figure out our backyard layout I jumped the gun and did some inside grilling. Despite nearly burning the house down, these were perhaps the best steaks I’ve ever made. And I make a lot of red meat.

Behold! The magic glaze ingredients.

For the Glaze (this is for 4 steaks, I halved everything):

6 tbs Dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey (I was out of honey and used 2 big tbs of molasses)
2 tbs prepared horseradish, drained
6 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (Of course I had plenty of fresh mint and molasses on hand but no honey. Who runs out of honey??)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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