Celebrating the New Picnic Shelter

The church picnic shelter was dedicated at the annual homecoming service. It was extra special, since one of our "kids" who grew up in the church came back to preach. Danny did a great job, and it was really terrific to see a local back and sharing memories of the "good old days."

We, of course, had a huge pot luck dinner. Methodists are big on those. The tables were loaded with delicious dishes - some old favorites and a few new treats. It's always hard to decide what to dip up. It's all good, so it's impossible to go wrong.

This is my sister and her husband and little Hannah. The baby, Abigail, must be under the table or something. She's a real rounder, and I won't confess to who she must take after.

If you're looking for good pot luck dishes, then I put my best recipes up at Garden and Hearth. Check Southern Cooking for some of the delicious dishes that you see on the table. That's my dirty rice in the green pot.

Eagle Scout Shelter Finished and Dedicated

WOW! The shelter went up fast. We're all ready to cook out or have picnics now.

This was an Eagle Scout project that my son started with his grandfather (my dad) who died in a traffic accident over the summer. Locke Steele, a close friend of the family, stepped in to make sure this project was completed. He was there every inch of the way, and he spent a lot of time teaching local young men the basics of building. He was my Little Baseball coach when I was a kid. His contributions to the community could never be measured.

We're now looking at adding picnic tables and perhaps a grill. It will be really nice to have a shelter at the church. I really didn't know how my son was going to get such a big project done when my dad passed. I thank Locke as well as all the men and women in town who pitched in and helped out. I'd also like to thank my brother, Matthew, who drove in from Ohio twice to help and to do the landscaping. He brought some of the teen boys who work for him who were also super helpful.

Best Job in the World - Full Time Tailgater

I caught up with Joe yesterday by phone. He had to park the RV before he could chit-chat. He was just as funny as I expected. Anyone who can sell the idea of working professionally in parking lots eating barbecue has to have a good funny bone.

But, hey, it worked. I've gotta give him credit. Very few people get a job doing exactly what they enjoy most.

If you want to read about Joe Cahn and his life as the Commissioner of Tailgating, then see my article at Garden & Hearth.

HPBA Offers Great Tips for Tailgating

HPBA (Hearth, Patio, & Barbecue Association) has teamed up with the commissioner of Tailgating Joe Cahn to provde a host of information to make your tailgating experiences more fun.

The organization conducts surveys, and the 2006 tailgate poll ranked the "wonderful grill smells" as the biggest draw for tailgaters.

If you look to the bottom left of the HPBA web page and click, you'll find:

· Tailgate 101 – Rookie, Intermediate and Veteran Set-up must haves
· Tailgate and Grill-Great Tips – Straight from the Commish
· New Tailgate Poll Results – What Americans think and say about tailgating
· Grilling Clean-Up – Clean-Up as easy as 1,2,3
· Delicious Grilling Recipes – Tailgate-approved recipes

What are you waiting for? You know you want to tailgate like a pro.

Lexington NC Barbecue Festival - October 21, 2006

If you're anywhere near Lexington, NC or if you can road trip it, then don't miss the Lexington Barbecue Festival. It's been featured as one of the 10 best BBQ festivals in the south.

This one is not a contest. It's a hometown day with lots of food, crafts, and games for the kids. Be sure to look for the sand pig sculptures. Those are always neat.

For insider information, see my article on the festival at Yes You Can Grill. One tip I'll toss out is to arrive early. This festival gets bigger every year, and the crowds are huge starting about lunch time.

The official page is also chock full of information on this great southern fun fest.

Budweiser Joins the Barbecue Sauce Bandwagon

Great barbeque cooks have been using all kinds of ingredients in marinades and sauces for years - including beer.

Now Budweiser has come out with a line of sauces for outdoor cooking. In addition to a traditional sauce and a beechwood smoked version, they also have a basting sauce with a mustard base and a sauce just for hot wings.

These sauces are sold in the online Budshop and will soon be available at grocery stores.

If you can't get your hands on a bottle of the sauces just yet, break out some Budweiser and try out my Beer Boiled Shrimp recipe.

These Guys Build Fast - We'll be Eating Outdoors Soon

I couldn't believe how fast this project went up. Locke is one heck of a builder and coordinates all the help so well. We had a whole pack of guys out getting the roof on. They wrapped up around lunch time.

We hope to add picnic tables and maybe a grill soon.

The shelter is being dedicated at the end of the month. My dad who died in a truck accident this summer will be honored. He helped get the project started. Thankfully, Locke and a lot of young men in town pitched in and made sure that the shelter was built.

Boy Scout Eagle Project - Picnic Shelter

We love to grill out at our church, but there are days when it rains or when the sun is really intense.

Long ago, we did have a shelter. It was down in the woods and a pretty good hike. Over the years, the shelter fell down. Some of us got older too.

So, my son decided to make a picnic shelter for the church for his Eagle Scout project. Locke (who also happened to be my Little League Coach when I was a kid) is a builder, and he was kind enough to help, since I am not a builder.

Here is the shelter starting to go up.

boneless skinless chicken breasts on the grill

Life is so much more convenient now. I know my Grandma used to have to go out in the back yard and kill a chicken to have chicken for dinner. I suppose I might be a vegetarian if I had to get that close to my food.

One really handy, more-recent offering is the packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. OK. They've been around for a while, but I'm mentally walking back in time with Grandma. But, seriously it's really nice to grab meat at the grocery or out of the freezer ready to cook right up.

I've found that some friends have problems with these chicken pieces on the grill. The boneless breasts usually don't have the skin and fat which does mean they take a little thought. But, once you get the basics down, they are both quick and easy. They are also low in fat and much healthier than the beef that I do adore on the grill.

Tips on Making Delicious Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Top off that barbecue grilled steak with some peanut butter fudge. YUM!

We had grilled steak last night using my favorite barbecue steak recipe. I started making steak this way back in college which I must say is quite a few years back though I won't say how many. Really, I'm just too lazy to do the math. Let's just say that I was at NC State when they won the basketball national championship in 1983 under Valvano. In any case, everyone thought my steak rocked back then, and they still do.

I decided to get lazy and just tossed the charcoal in the grill. After throwing dry grass and paper towels on the charcoals with lots of lighter fluid (ugh), I remembered why I recommend using barbecue chimney starter - an inexpensive and very handy grill accessory. Next time I grill (which will be soon I'm sure), I'll do it right and not dink around for over a half hour getting the fire going.

We hadn't had anything homemade sweet in a while, since it's been hot. My air conditioner does not do the trick when the temps hit the 90s (F). My boys were at the begging stage. Since fudge is a stovetop dish and pretty quick, I decided to make a pan of my Easy Southern Peanut Butter Fudge. That did stay in the house and not outside in the heat, but it sure was a nice treat after our grilled meal. In fact, the whole pan was gone in two days, and I only had two little pieces. My kids go wild for this fudge, and it's always a favorite at pot luck meals. No one would ever guess it's so quick and easy to make.

Barbecue Ice Cream - Now that's just GROSS!

I love to keep up with what is going on in the barbecue world. The Washington Post just posted an article about Barbecue Ice Cream. That, I think, is taking it too far. Ice cream is wonderful. Barbecue is delicious. But, some things just weren't meant to be mixed. I will only guess that this is just a publicity stunt. I just don't see folks lining up to eat BBQ ice cream.

If you do want some great ice cream, then check out my home churned recipe. You can make that in the old fashioned crank ice cream makers or in the new electric which are much less labor intensive. My family has tried many recipes over the years, and this one is the one we keep coming back to. It's a basic vanilla, but you can dress it up with fresh fruits or other additions. I don't think you'll find a better base recipe. It's really yummy!

Heinz - Design Your Own Bottle Label

If you have a barbecue person to buy a gift for or if you want a unique barbecue warming present, then visit Heinz online. You can customize a bottle of ketchup or mustard in the mini or full size and surprise someone special.

This is a new program that kicked off two days ago. Right now, you can get free shipping on your order if you spread the word. Check details on the page about that.

Be sure to read the fine print. They can't put star names or ball teams on bottles or the name of restaurants. I'm sure that's all legal stuff. Also, they're not going to put anything really naughty on the bottle. Hey, it's a family company. There are other places to go get something racy.

I thought this was a cute idea. If you have a big ketchup fan in the family, brighten his or her day with a bottle that says something personal.

I don't know if I would have experimented with Dutch Oven pit cooking if my boys hadn't joined Scouts. The grill and smoker are usually fine for home cooking, but you've got more variety and can do larger quantities with Dutch Oven over an open fire. It's also just plain fun. It didn't take me long to get with the program.

As a the big time cook in our group, I decided to buy my own Dutch Oven. Then, the boys and I put up cinder blocks to create a small pit in our yard. We later expanded that to hold two dutch ovens. It's nice to be able to start a dessert while the main meal is cooking. This whole project was very low tech and nothing fancy. Another Scout family simply used a tractor rim for a pit in the yard. You just need something to contain the fire and centralize the heat.

Since the guys in our group like to fish and dutch oven cook, I experimented with some ideas for doing fresh fish in the DO. The easiest recipe I came up with was to just put the fresh fish in the dutch oven, pour a bottle or two (depending on the amount of fish) of Italain dressing (the spicy Italian type--oil not creamy) over the fish, close the lid, and let it cook.The only thing you've got to watch here is that you need to make sure the fish is cooked through. It should flake and look very white when done.

This dish is a bit messy, but it's outdoors or should be if doing Dutch Oven. It works well for any fresh caught stream fish. The spices give it a mild kick but not enough to turn off the picky eaters. Some of the kids were not used to seeing bones in fish, but if you've been a fresh fish eater, you can quickly show someone how to get the bones out. It's rather a rite of passage for the big outdoor types.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Corn is at peak season here. A local favorite is Silver Queen. It's a sweet white corn. If you can find that type, give it a try. Most any of the yellow or sweet yellow corn in the grocery are fine for eating. You'll find more varieties if you hit a farmer's market.

One of our favorite ways to serve fresh corn (besides boiling it up in a pot) is to toss it on the grill. There are two methods to Grill Corn on the Cob. I cover the basics at Yes You Can Grill where I work on the Barbeque Master space. My tips will have you turning out perfect grilled corn every time.

Pot Luck - the next best thing to barbecue

My youngest son is at Boy Scout camp this week. Wednesday is always family night. Parents, siblings, and friends always show up with favorite foods. My kid is a healthy eater. He wanted green beans, tomatoes, melon, mashed potatoes and gravy. Other kids wanted fried chicken from home, homemade rolls, brownies and other "comfort" foods. Needless to say, it was a great meal.

After the pot luck, the leaders had a big splash contest. I'm not sure if our troop leader made the biggest splash in the water, but he did make the biggest costume splash. He dressed up as a mermaid as you can see above. Well, perhaps that's a merman costume. The camp counselors are all dressed in the pirate theme as you can see.

It was a fun evening and brought back memories. My brothers went to the same camp years ago, and we always went to family night. Both brothers worked as camp counselors at various times, so that was a lot of Wednesday night visits.

If you're headed to a pot luck or just need side dishes for your barbeque, then I have started a list of Grilled and Chilled recipes at Garden and Hearth.

And the Sqaush Came In - Grill and Home Recipes

Squash are some hearty plants. And, there are loads of varieties. Any summer squash can be used in a squash recipe, so don't skip over a recipe just because it says zucchini and you have yellow squash or patty pan or another type. As long as they're summer squash (thinner skinned and in season in mid summer), then you're fine.

To grill sqaush, just cut in in long slices about 1/2 inch thick longways. Brush with oil. Add any seasonings you want. Toss the strips on the grill. Turn when they have black marks and cook the other side. Time varies depending on the heat of the grill and whether you like squash kind of crunchy or softer. Play around with it and see what you like.

There are more complex squash recipes for the grill. I'll share some of them later. That should get you started and with different sprinkle seasonings, you can get a variety of tastes.

If you still have loads of squash (and most people who grow it do), then check out my zucchini and squash recipes at Southern Cooking.

The Greatest Barbeque Tips in the World by Van Rijk

"The Greatest Barbeque Tips in the World" by Raymond Van Rijk of New Zealand turned out to be a neat little pocket guide. It's a perfect beginner manual on the basics of grilling, and it's a nice reference even for seasoned BBQ cooks.

Do note that the book is not a cookbook. It does have a few recipes in the back, but it is packed with general information and tips just as stated in the title. Once a reader understands how to do all the nitty gritty, then it's quite easy to expand and add different seasonings and sauces and such and make new meals out of basic dishes. Here you learn how to grill various meats, fish, and vegetables.

Some of the chapters here include "Buying a Barbeque," "Fuel and Starters," and "Useful Checklists." There are 14 chapters in all covering about everything you could think to ask about grilling.

I'm pretty rough on books. If a book isn't worth buying, then I'm the first to say. This one makes the grade. Just don't expect it to be a cookbook. You learn how to cook on the grill which can be a bit complicated when starting out. I read the little book from cover to cover last night, and I found everything to be spot on. I even picked up a few new ideas myself, and I've been grilling for over 30 years.

If you need a nice how-to grilling guide that isn't confusing and so full of extras that you can't find what you need or want, then this one is very good. It also has cute cartoons sprinkled throughout. So, you get a little humor as an extra bonus.

Barbecue from "Across the Pond"

I just got a copy of "The Greatest Barbeque Tips in the World" in my mailbox today. Linda sent that over from London. She works with some other women with Passionate Media. They juggle families and kids and scratch that book/writing itch, and my hat is off to them. My fellows are up bigger now, but I sure remember what it was like to have little ones on my hip when writing.

I'm looking forward to digging in on the book before I go to sleep tonight. I love books and especially cooking books.

Unfortunately, a lot of BBQ books out there are pretty lame. "The Barbecue Bible" by Raichlen is quite popular, but I found it to be a jumble. I shifted gears and went with something "down home." Ruby Ann's Trailer Park barbecue book was just silly. I really hated that I put my money out for that one.

"Peace, Love and Barbecue" is a winner, but it's much more about smoking than grilling. If you do want to smoke up some meat, then give that one a look. The info is terrific, and the stories are wonderful. That one gets a big thumbs up.

I'll keep reading que books and let everyone know what I think. I hate to waste money on books that sit on the shelf, and I know others do too. On the other hand, a great book can help tons when you're out in the yard and trying to cook up some good grub.

Do you make the best grilled hamburgers ever?

If you think your grilled hamburger recipe is the max, then visit Sutter where they are having a burger contest with a $50,000 prize for first place.

Sutter is a wine company, so you'll have to sign in as age 21 or over first. Then, click around. You'll see the contest details.

They have a traditional meat category and one for alternative burgers.

Be sure to read the tips and hints. It's easy to get bumped from a contest for little things like not sending the information in the right format.

I do think my grilled hamburgers would be hard to beat. But, they are put together with very basic items that you probably have on hand. Contest winning burgers are usually more complex as far as the ingredients. If you do want a super burger though and don't want to spend loads of time, try out my recipe. They sure fly off the grill here.

Do You Want to Be a Food Writer?

I never fancied myself a food writer though I did, over the years, put together a few pieces with recipes included. I also posted a few favorite family dishes at Epinions.com in the Writer's Corner.

Last year, I noticed that Garden & Hearth was looking for some new micro editors. They listed a number of topics. Most were rather general. One was quite specific--Barbecue Master. That one jumped out at me, since we cook outside all the time. I filled out the application, and that's how I got started writing about barbecue and food.

I'm sure a lot of onliners love to cook and eat and toy with the idea of writing about food. It's a fun topic, and it gives you an excuse to eat more. Gotta love that.

A good way to get started is with a blog. I actually did things in reverse order. I started writing about BBQ for Garden & Hearth and then pitched some other micro site ideas. In that list was Southern Cooking, and Kim (the site owner) liked that idea. At about the same time, I was picked up by Suite 101 to cover Southern Cuisine.

Writing articles is a bit more structured. If you're trying to get started in that market, then a good spot to visit is Absolute Write Water Cooler forums. A lot of writers gather there and share ideas, tips, and market leads. I think that's where I found the Garden & Hearth and Suite 101 openings.

If you want to get your feet wet first, then a blog is a good idea. It's less structured. You can write about food and anything else going on in your life. There are no deadlines. It's very relaxed.

Another good thing about blogs is that there are spaces online (like here at blogger.com) where you just grab a template and fill in the blanks. It can seem a little daunting to start with, but it's really easy once you get the hang of it. There is a forum space at Absolute Write Water Cooler where you can lurk or jump in and get help with blogging. Ted (one of the regulars) also has great tips for blogging at Cobwebs of the Mind.

If you're visiting here and thinking, "Hey, I could do this," then give it a whirl. If you get a food space going, then let me know. I always enjoy hearing what others are saying about good eats.