Barbecue Master Blogging for Sears "Grilling is Happiness"

Check out the Sears "Grilling is Happiness" Blog

I'll really excited to be part of the Sears "Grilling is Happiness" project. It's a summer project featuring some of the top bloggers in grilling and barbecue.

For those of you who know me in person or have been following my Barbecue Master blog for some time, you'll know that I'm just a girl with a grill (well - a lot of them at this point) who just wanted to help others with outdoor cooking. While I do write professionally, most of that work is fairly technical (and would likely bore most of my people to tears). The grilling and then blog and Yes You Can Grill web site were just my passions and a chance to let my hair down and just talk and share about grilling.

I live in a town of 820 people in a small house (which I'm thankful to have) and have two sons. The guys have always loved for me to grill. I just kept at it and started helping others as I nailed grilling skills and recipes. Then I thought it would be a good idea to post my barbecue tips and recipes online. If a friend or neighbor wanted to know about something, then I figured others out there did too.

With no connections or plans to be in the culinary field, Barbecue Master started off slow. I wasn't expecting a flood of visitors. It was just nice to have the information all in one spot in case someone asked how to do or make something on the grill or smoker.

Over time, people began to find me and pass the word and my link. I was contracted to write a couple of grill test articles for a national magazine and to cover North Carolina barbecue for the hotel books in the RTP area. No problem. These are things I know well and care deeply about. That's not work. That's just sharing the barbecue love.

This year Sears got in touch. As always  I was happy to have a chance to share what I've learned about cooking outdoors. Plus, I saw that Sears pulled some grilling and barbecue bloggers that I know and admire. They really have a top notch line up for "Grilling is Happiness." It makes me feel good that I'm in that company, and it also makes me really appreciate people out there who have dropped by Barbecue Master and told friends. It amazes me when I see over 60,000 people visiting my site on the stats last month (and the BBQ season really hasn't kicked into full gear yet) when this is just a relaxed place where I unwind in the evenings.

People still ask me what I sell or if I want to be a chef or if I'll cater a barbecue event. I have a job I love teaching at Catawba College. That's what I do for a living - help young people learn how to write and share their passions just as I do mine. That's my mission. Grilling and writing are what I do when I have some free time. It really is great to find that I'm helping others doing that, and it is a real honor to be included in the Sears grilling blog this year.

Thanks to Sears for looking around and giving a thumbs up (and a voice) to someone who cranks up the grill almost every night for the sheer joy and thanks again to my family and friends for the support all these years and to all my quiet readers who drop by and hopfully find what they need to rock their grill.

Play With Your Food and Friends at Food Buzz

I found a fun new online food site called Food Buzz.

I stumbled on Food Buzz when I Googled my name. Lord yes, I must be vain. They had found my Barbecue Master blog and had it on a news feed. That was a nice surprise. I never know where I might show up online.

The site must be really new as it still has "beta" up at the top.

The idea, from the best I can gather, is that this is a place for foodies of all types to hang out. There are barbecue and grill types but also every other type of food you can imagine. In addition, they have restaurant reviews by state with members giving ratings and overviews.

When you sign up, you can fill out a profile page. That includes a photo and quote and some details depending on what you feel comfortable sharing.

Then you can share reviews, recipes, photos and news.

Food Buzz is a community site, so you can add friends and rate and add feeds from other members. All your activities are listed like on some of the networking spaces like My Space.

I must confess that I don't have it all figured out just yet. There are a lot of options, and I've never played at a social networking site. I am enjoying adding some information and ideas and seeing what everyone is buzzing about as far as food and cooking.

If you're a foodie, check out Food Buzz. You'll find lots of people with common interests and get loads of new information and ideas. You can just look around or join up and join in the fun.

What! Don't These Look Like Barbecue Hands?

My friend Amy posted these interesting barbecue ribs at Viewpoints. She was writing about one of her favorite BBQ sauses - Sweet Baby Rays. When I clicked to read her review and saw the ribs, my first thought was, "Did someone barbecue some hands?" Well, maybe it's just me, but those look like hands. Fat hands true. But hands.

I had visions of Jeffrey Dahmer. He murdered young boys and even ate them. Real sicko. But, of course, my buddy Amy would not be putting up hands barbecued on the grill. So I looked some more, but these are still different from the ribs they sell around here. Meatier. I'll have to see if I can round up some of these ribs. They really do look good.

I asked Amy if I could share the barbecue hands here at Barbecue Master. She said that would be fine but to make sure that everyone knew that Melissa Beartrix captured this interesting photo. Melissa is an Aussie and takes some way cool photos.

That's my interesting barbecue note of the day. Barbecue hands that are really barbecue ribs. Well, they're a barbecue rib roast to be more exact. But, they still make me laugh when I see them.

Texas Toast on the Barbecue Grill

One really easy food we cook on the grill is Texas Toast. Texas Toast is sold in the freezer section at the grocery store. It yummy baked as indicated on the package, but we like it even better with a smoky grilled taste.

If you need extra help or tips on making Texas Toast on the grill, see my article at Barbecue Master. I post all our favorite family grill recipes there at Garden & Hearth.

Texas Toast goes great with steak, chicken or seafood. It only takes a couple of minutes, so it can go on the grill while the meat rests and the flavors settle.