Make Sure Your Grill is Ready

Well, do you ever have one of those days, where you get the grill ready and it is not ready to work for you???? Maybe 1 or 2 of the burners are not working and/or partially working??? It happens and it always seems to happen when you have friends over for a barbecue and you really need it working because everything else is close to being ready and you just need the meat cooked.

So, remember, do a spring cleaning of your grill so you don't have these crisis. If you are like us and your grill is out on a deck, put lots of papers around it and remove the grills and place these on the paper. Brush out the inside, brush along the burners. If you know you have a plugged burner, you can always use a high pressure blower to clean out the plugged hole(s).

If you have one of those trays, remember to take that out and clean out the oil drippings from that as well.

I avoid using any type of chemicals on the grills. Yes, there are lots of products on the market that say they are safe and clean your grills. They may be safe, but I don't always find they clean the grills all that well. What I do, is get a bucket of warm soapy water and with a brush clean the grills as best as I can, rinse off with clean water. Then when I have the inside of the grill all cleaned out, put the grills back in, fire up the barbecue and then let the flame cook off the built up stuff burn off the grills you might not be able to get off with the soapy water and brush. Usually, I leave the grill on for about 20 minutes and before I turn it off, I take a brush and brush off the grills.

And it is always a good idea that after each time you use the grill, let the hot temperature burn off the food fats and sauces before you turn it off (if it is gas). I find that if you have a charcoal barbecue the food build up burns off the grills as it is cooling down.

How the Garden Grows

Well, the garden is doing really good. We had to replant the basil as we had a little cold spell a couple of weeks ago. The tomato's are really growing as well as the zucchini.

We have some blossoms on the vegetables, which always means I'll be seeing the cute little (yeah right) tomato worm soon.

Memorial Day--Get Going

Well, it is Memorial Day today, hopefully, you have gotten started cueing. For those who know me, know I am out there cueing in the snow, rain, thunderstorms, etc, etc. The weather out here in Northern CA is so wierd, we are having a cool wet Memorial Day weekend.

We were up in Reno on Friday and it was snowing pretty good as we were coming over the pass on Saturday. Thank goodness it hadn't started to stick and we have good tires on the BMW as we made it through with no issues.

Back to being at the Grill. Have some new pictures of how the garden is doing and well post those on the next chat.

Now as to the grilling, I am asked so many times, do you favor, charcoal, gas or electric. This is defintely a personal choice. Still believe charcoal (for a more smokey effect) gives the best taste but it takes so long and you have to keep adding the coals. At to Electric, oh my our electric bill would really be high, so I do not recommend this one. So I have been grilling on Gas (for us Propane) since we came back to CA. Now, also being up at about 2k feet addes a little cooking time as well I have found sometimes.

Getting the Garden Started

Well, I have been really bad on not updating. Been busy getting the vegetable garden ready and have planted the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zuchinni and the herbs. We have had unususal spring weather, warm then we get a cold spell. Had to replace a couple of the tomato and herbs, but they now seem to be doing better.

I'll be updating my blog as I have been getting some questions on barbecuing. Have a good day.

Get Ready to Start Grilling

Well, I am now ready to begin this new blog for the "Ladies" in the household who are sometimes the real one behind the family barbecue dinners. Now, I understand not all of us like to grill but there are a good number of us females who do. However, have you ever noticed not one book on the subject of the female who barbecue. Even, the tools for the grill are meant for very large hands. So, I have decided to start this blog, talking about the different type of tools to use, sharing my recipes, use of different marinades, use of spices and anything else I can come up. I will be sharing with you not only Meat recipes but Grilling recipes and tips for Vegetables and Fish. I am also asking you to send to me your comments, questions and your recipes and I'll try them as well.

Sometimes, I am going to share some my non-barbecue recipes like "Pepper Jelly" and some of the different Salas's that I make and have given as gifts.

Please make note, this site is not just for the ladies, but also for the "Grill Man" in the family.

I am going to share with you one of the marinade's that gets rave reviews around our house. Try it and have the person who does your grilling in your family, grill as they normally do.

Tri-Tip Dry/Wet Marinade
4-5 Lb Tri-Tip
1/2 Bottle of Rasberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce (or just plain Chipotle BB
Sauce
Pappy's Dry Seasoning
Barbecue Dry Seasoning

Directions: Sprinkle on fairly heavy the Dry Seasoning's on both sides of the Tri-tip (do not poke holes into the tri-tip). Put the tri-tip into a large Zip lock bag. Let marinade for about 4 hours in the Refrigerator. Add the Chipotle BBQ Sauce to the mixture, return to the refrigerator and marinade over night or 2 days if you wish.

Note: Take the marinated meat out of the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes before you are ready to put on the grill. Have found the meat to be more tender when finished than when I just take out of the refrigerator and put on to the grill. Normally, I apply this rule to steaks, roasts, tri-tip and thich pork chops.

Put the meat on the Grill and grill as you normally do. (In a future blog, I'll provide more information on grill times and such). Usually, I grill the meat under what I wish to have it be. I say this because the meat continues to cook after you take it off the grill until you are ready to slice it. And you always want to wait 2-3 minutes before you slice the meat. If the meat is too rare after you have sliced it, then put it into the microwave for about 20-30 seconds (at a med power level). I recommend this, because your meat will stay juicy and not be dried out.

As always, know the opinion's posted on this blog, our my personal opinions. And know there are very easy ways to use different marinades, spices and other things.

And do always have a little glass of wine with you (or a beer) while you grill. I grill not only in the summer but also in the winter months. It defintely makes the kitchen clean up a lot easier.

Happy Grilling and Hope you Enjoy.