Making Dinner with Stella

Anyone that knows me isn't surprised by the idea of me grilling straight through the winter. Most years, I try to grill burgers during the first snowfall. I forget what was going on this year, but grilling dinner wasn't an option that day. That hasn't sat well with me. If you don't do them, they're not traditions.

My last night of league curling was Monday and after leaving the club I stopped by a Hannaford to pick a few more things to have in the house during a blizzard. There was plenty of produce left after the pre-storm grocery store rush. Unless you wanted a banana. Then you were out of luck. The only bananas left were going to be ripe next week. I knew eggs, milk and bread were storm necessities. Bananas are new one for me.

We woke up to everything being closed. Around noon, I looked at a deck rail and it looked like there were about 4 inches. In reality, the wind was blowing the snow off the railing and there was about a foot outside. Off I went for Round 1 on snow blowing. The tent/tarp system I have over the oven didn't look happy about the weather. Hell, even on a nice day, that pop up tent doesn't look that good. It was not meant for this kind of abuse. Hang in there tent. You can do it.

A little after 5, I cleared a spot in the driveway for the grill and lit a chimney of coals. It took a little doing but the coals finally caught.

The nice thing about cooking burgers in crappy weather is that the don't take too much time. It also helps if you can duck into the garage between steps. Dump the hot coals out of the chimney and spread them around, pop the top grate on and give it a few minutes to heat up.

Throw the burgers on.

Flip. When I flip, I also throw a pan on the grill to heat up. Bringing the burgers into the house on a hot pan keeps the burgers hot.

I usually flip again and add the cheese. Once the cheese is on, I put the lid back on the grill. In 20 seconds or less the cheese will be melted.

Dinner is served. Lately I've been using Stewart's buns for burgers. They are the best cheap white bun in my book. If I'm going all out, I'll use a Prinzo's hard roll as a bun.

In the middle of grilling a contract plow truck drove by to clear a neighbor's driveway. I got a "You are out of your freakin' mind" look from the driver. The burgers were good. The look was priceless.

Chicken dinners

Now that I have the pressure cooker and it is easier to make stock, I started buying whole chickens again. I like that I can do this with a half-assed plan. Chicken is chicken. There is no one way it needs to be cooked.

Prior to the Sunday grocery shopping trip, I checked the weather and saw that today was going to be pushing 40 degrees. Perfect winter grilling weather. The report, however didn't say anything about the precipitation was luckily dodged between 5 and 6 this evening. I've grilled in the rain and/or snow before and it isn't that big a deal. The hardest part is trying not to track up the house going in and out. Anyhow, upon seeing a 40 degree Tuesday and knowing that I have more time to get dinner ready on Tuesdays because of gymnastics - grilling was happening.  During the Sunday shopping trip, I picked up two fryers from Fresh Market. When they aren't on sale, two of these chickens will cost about $15. A sale drops the price closer to $11. I like getting two chickens because I get a minimum of three dinners out of them, plus a lunch or two and stock.  Plus, I think the chicken tastes better than buying pre-butchered chicken. Especially boneless breasts. Maybe it's my imagination.

After a little bit of handiwork (I'm actually getting pretty good at this), each chicken is broken down into 2 boneless breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks and I break up the wings. A boning knife helps, but a chefs knife will do. Here's a good video on breaking down a chicken (there are 3 videos in the series - 1, 2 and 3). To make life easier in the future, I also remove the tenderloin from the breast and take out the piece of sinew that runs through them.

The breasts and tenderloins get wrapped up for the future. I'll probably remove the skin before I use the breasts. I leave them on in case I end up grilling them.I used to freeze the wings and save them until I had enough for a wing dinner. Lately I've just been throwing them on the grill.

The carcass and wingtips get packaged to make stock. This can easily get frozen. So can any of the chicken you don't plan to use this week.

Light up a chimney full of charcoal. I've been using Royal Oak lately. Sadly, I have the phone nymber to the Phillips Hardware store on Central in my phone. I also have the product SKU in there too...for easier ordering. There' no shipping charge if you pick it up at the store.

Got my chicken spice rub together. I'll give you a hint: one of the six ingredients is salt.

Apply the rub liberally and go grill.

It was a little to dark for outdoor photography at 5:30 this evening. I set up an offset fire in the Weber, put all the chicken on the cooler side and flipped everything after about 10 to 12 minutes. They were out there for about 25 minutes. I checked some pieces with a thermometer to make sure they were done and had to use a flashlight (the joys of winter grilling). Dinner is served.

Tomorrow, I'm on my own with the kids for dinner. I think I'm going to use one breast and the tenderloins to make tacos or quesadillas. Thursday will either be a slightly easier one pan take on chicken parm or chicken Marsala. Whatever is left will probably go into some chicken noodle soup. All plans are subject to change. Like I said, it doesn't matter. It's just boneless breasts of chicken. Except, these are fresher and I believe they will taste better than if I had bought them already off the bone.

Friday Night Dinner Art

I call this series Black Weber Kettle Grill At Night as seen by my crappy phone.

Dinner is served.

First snowfall of the season

and I did what everyone should do during the first snow fall of the season...lit a chimney full of coals and grilled dinner. The view when I got home:

Thawed some of our ground beef and made burgers.

Put them on the grill with a few hot dogs that were leftover in the freezer.

Dinner was good.

Gas V. Charcoal

Earlier today there was a giveaway at the Table Hopping blog for a grilling book. As usual, Steve Barnes asked a question to be answered for entry into the giveaway. Today's question : "Gas or charcoal? Why?" There were 83 comments left as entries to win a grilling cookbook. Being a nerd and a charcoal guy, I had to see how the votes fell. Some people didn't fully commit and reported using both and others said they used gas but preferred charcoal. In the end, about 55% use gas, 40% use charcoal, and 5% use both or didn't really state a preference.

I was surprised that 40% use charcoal. I didn't expect that many pro-charcoal responses. I was thinking more in the 25% range. Well done Capital Region. Here are a few things that might help convert a few more people to lump charcoal.

A chimney full of lit coals is screaming hot. The Ove Glove or welding gloves help out.

Wondering if the brand of lump charcoal you saw in the store is any good? These guys have probably tested and rated it. They have also compiled user ratings as well.

And finally, if you are like me and don't really care for the lump charcoal sold at Home Depot or Lowes (usually Cowboy brand), you can order Royal Oak lump charcoal from Do It Best and it can be shipped to a local hardware store for free. The Phillips Hardware store on Central has handled this for me several times. Very nice people there and it is a good hardware store too.

Now invite someone that uses gas over in the middle of the week and show them how easy it is to use charcoal.

Labor Day Weekend

Back in the day (translation: pre-kids), Labor Day Weekend was a tailgate party. We packed up food for a few days, a portable bar, and along with 10 to 20 friends went off to Mansfield, Massachusetts to eat, drink and see Jimmy Buffett. They were great times. Unfortunately, I listen to a Buffett concert online a few weeks ago and...let's just say you can't go home again.

So now, as a family, we spend more time doing what would have done if we weren't so hung over from 2 days of power tail-gating. And that is the RING OF FIRE!!!! No, not the Johnny Cash song. On the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend at the Great Sacandaga Lake, everyone builds a bonfire. So you can sit along the shore and see fires pop up around the lake. Sporadic fireworks displays pop up all over too. Did I mention there would be adult beverages too?

Our day at the lake usually starts around lunch time. We fired up a homemade grill (remember the father-in-law with all the tools?). Not sure If talked about this grill here or somewhere else, but if you like fried hamburgers this thing kicks ass. You light a 20 lb bag of Kingsford in it. When it gets good and hot, you put the stainless steel cooking surface on. When that is good and hot, the burgers go on. The crust is unbelievable. And as the fat comes out of the burger fries in it. Confit is the only way I can think of describing it. Can you confit a burger? Here's the grill and some burgers and dogs cooking.

Check out this crust...

I also got to test out one of my latest projects. While I will agree that Newcastle is not the best beer in the world, I still like drinking it. And I love those little mini kegs. I wish other beers would start producing them. Wouldn't it be great to have 5 liters of your favorite beer on tap in your fridge? I can handle 5 liters, full kegs...I think I could physically drink one before it went bad, but I am sure I shouldn't. To keep the beer cold lakeside, I made some little ice rings.

It is a pasta pot filled with water. Then another pot is weighted down inside and the whole thing is frozen. A little warm water gets everything out of the molds.

quick check for fit...

and a tapped mini keg ready to spread ice cold joy and happiness to me and my brother-in-law.

and there you have proof my parents didn't waste money on an engineering degree.

One of the other things traditionally served at these Ring Of Fire weekends is clams. Lots of freaking clams. This year, 600 clams. All cooked lakeside on propane burners. Here's the set up:

the clams are cooking in olive oil, garlic and chopped parsely.

bowl after bowl was served. And then you ladle the broth over pasta. Good eatin.

As the sun went down. the fires started getting lit.

It was a good weekend. Kids, extended families and one last summer night at the lake.

Destroying a perfectly good grill

There are a few things I troll Craigslist looking to find on the cheap. The list is pretty much 3 things.

1. a 10 inch wet saw good for bricks (if I have the saw I might as well build the oven)
2. pipe (the cow fence needs mending and pipe makes good posts)
3. and I type in Weber looking for a grill to help push my brother-in-law further into a charcoal grill obsession.

What can I say, I'm an enabler. This week I hit the jackpot. A friend of a friend has a brand new dirt cheap 22.5" Weber grill for my brother-in-law. He won it playing golf. Perfect. But I also saw a $30 used grill that turned out to be located about a mile from my house. Now that would be perfect for making a Firedome. It even sounds exciting. (Photo borrowed from the Weber Cam Blog - hopefully without any offense)

Earlier this afternoon, I picked up some firebrick splits. I'm going to use that as my cooking surface. I'm also going to try and shape the door differently. In brick oven design, the door is close to 63% of the dome height. I'll measure again, but I think it was about 4.5 inches. Hopefully that will be big enough to work with. Things on the to-do list: borrow an angle grinder to cut the door, get some hinges and a some kind of door handle (I think the smaller door will need some help staying open), and get to work destroying a perfectly good grill.

Busy Round here

Haven't posted it a bit. Falling way behind my twice a week goal, but there has been a lot going on. First, we are packing up, getting on a plane and flying to see the big mouse in the middle of Florida. Kids are thrilled. They have wanted to "go to where Mickey Mouse lives" for some time. I'm of the mindset where it is great as a kid, but just so-so as an adult. I'd rather hit a beach or take a cruise. My father loves going. A few years ago, he mentioned wanting to go when the kids were ready. Not sure he remembers saying it, but he said it. While the kids are probably 1 to 2 years younger than I'd like to them to be for this trip (lots of lines and patience required), my dad is going to be 82 this year. We offered my folks the option of coming with us and they took us up on it. My mother says my dad doesn't show it, but he is giddy. Hope he is giddy after 9 days with us in Florida in July. Has to be July - school schedule ruins everything.

Last weekend was Allison's 6th birthday. Usually we bring the kids to pick out a cake. General chaos surrounding the week prevented that. It was the last week of school for both kids - ending on Wednesday for one and Friday morning for the other - and there was shuffling around who was where. I've been going to physical therapy (note to blog readers - don't screw up your shoulder, it is a real hassle getting it back). Throw in planning the trip and there wasn't much free time during the week for cake ordering. On Thursday afternoon, I called the Price Chopper in Latham to order a cake to be picked up around 3:00 on Friday. They said no problem, what do you want. Well, she would like "a rainbow and a big heart and pink and red flowers." The woman on the phone was reluctant to promise they could do that. I told her it was for a 6 year old, their best effort would be fine and I gave them my cell number in case there was a question. No one called and here's what we got (rotated for reasons unknown):

She was very pleased with the cake and everyone liked it. Kudos Latham Price Chopper bakers. On one of my many lunchtime visits to Hannaford, I noticed some Mastrianni pizza dough in a cooler. I was planning to grill and this is one of my favorite ways to cook pizza dough. Let it proof (I left the bag open in my cube for the afternoon), split it in half, roll each piece into a log, cook indirectly with charcoal on the grill. Cool, slice, eat with butter. It is also excellent it grilled clams

I have also been scheming my Indispensable Tool. Here's what I've got so far:

I will need a few days to put it together. I am going to try and use this JB Weld instead of a real welder. I'm trying to design a tool that anyone can make, and not everyone has a friend that can weld. I do, so if this doesn't work they way I hope, I might have to call in a favor. So here's the plan: The long silver bar is threaded on one end. I will be able to attach thing with a nut there. The silver bar also slides tightly into the longer black bar. I drilled two holes in one end of the black bar so far (hopefully that is it).  The 3 little screw to the left of the JB Weld have 2 nuts on them. Tonight, I used the JB weld to weld the 2 nuts together without being welded to the screw. I made a few extras, hopefully 2 work. These welded nuts will get welded over the holes in the black bar. Got it so far? On the plate are 2 thumb screws. They will go through the nuts and tighten on the silver bar. This way, the length is adjustable. The black bar gets JB Welded to the hing. The hinge gets screwed to the center of a boar (not in the picture). The board gets attached to the lazy susan hardware in the bag near the hinge. Ta-da.

Hope it works. I picked up some artsy fartsy OO flour. I've got to start working on homemade pizza dough.

Not sure if I'll be back until after the 4th. Got some beer, fireworks, and our first CSA delivery in the near future.

Memorial Day Weekend Sausage

In an effort to "get my head out of the wood fired oven," I wanted to make some sausage. I made the trip out to Henry's Meats in Waterford. Nice store. It was pretty busy so I didn't waste the counter person's time asking questions. I'll save those for another visit when the store is less busy. I liked the market. Had a nice feel to it. There were a number of specialty sandwiches available and they sounded good. Unfortunately, there was a lot going on that day and I didn't get to spend the amount of time in the store that the place deserves. I bought about 7 pounds of bone in pork butt and a few pork chops for the grill later in the day. I broke the pork but down into 1 inch cubes. When I was done trimming, I had about 5.5 pounds of pork. I divided it into 2 bags - one for sweet Italian sausage, the other for a kielbasa.

Thursday night, I seasoned the meat for the kielbasa - salt, pepper, garlic, and marjoram. On Friday, after everyone went to bed, I got to work. It was a little after 9:00 - and yes this is about as exciting as my Fridays get. I seasoned the meat for the Italian sausage - salt pepper and toasted fennel seeds. Then I rinsed out casings. Ground the Italian seasoned meat and stuffed it into casing. I over stuffed a few and cracked the casing. Nothing major, just a little less pretty. Cleaned that up and ground the kielbasa meat. Once it was ground, I fried a little and tasted it. It was pretty good. So some water gets added to the meat and it gets whipped with the paddle attachment of a mixer for a minute or two. Then I stuffed it into casings. I left myself enough casing on to tie it into a ring. Looked like you could buy it in a store. My older daughter has started taking digital pictures of the occasional rabbit that hops through the yard. On Friday night, I had no idea where the camera was, so instead of pictures of grinding pork and stuffing sausage, I'll offer you this:

At 10:50, I was almost done cleaning up. Not bad time - I think the cold beer I was nursing helped. I was at the sink with just a few more things to clean and then...the lights went out and I heard a pop. Shit. I got some candles and finished cleaning up. Moved the sausage I had just made to the chest freezer - I wasn't losing those. The lights came back on around 7:30 the next morning and I was glad I had put the sausage in the freezer. They had a slight freeze, but were not frozen solid. And later in the weekend, they hit the grill.

They all came out pretty good. I will definitely be making that kielbasa again. In the end, I still think Cardona's has the best pork butts and I will find my way to Henry's again.

"Marshmallows, chocolate and crackers are yummy!"

Well, the weather was in the mid 30s today. No wind. Perfect time for winter grilling. I had some steaks and zucchini. The steaks got some gray salt before going on the grill. The zucchini was grilled plain and got tossed into a quick vinaigrette.



Instead of cutting all the air to the coals when I am done cooking, I sometimes leave the vent open a little. The temperature drops while we eat, but the heat comes back quickly when the lid comes off. Once the coals are fired up...the marshmallows come out.




We made a bunch of smores. After her first smore, my oldest daughter imparted these words of wisdom, "Marshmallows, chocolate and crackers are yummy!" It was a good time.