Free Sportsman Magazine - magazine subscription

I know some of my readers are true outdoorsmen (and women), so here's a great freebie for everyone who loves the wild life.

Go to Sportsman and fill out a simple form, and you'll start getting a free quarterly magazine. The articles are lively. They also include some recipes.

North Carolina Settles Barbecue Food Fight

Some elementary kids wrote letters to Congressmen in North Carolina requesting that the Lexington Barbecue festival be the "official" BBQ festival of NC. Well, that set some tongues to wagging and articles flying. Barbeque is pretty serious business in NC where everyone minds his, her and everyone elses business (but not in a bad way).

The issue with the que festival request was that there are two styles of BBQ in North Carolina. We've got the tomato based barbecue fans and the vinegar sauce fans. And, minds don't much meet between these two groups.

State leaders did reach a compromise. Politicians are good about those things (sometimes). The Lexington Barbecue Festival will be the "official" Food Festival of North Carolina. See -no mention of barbecue there. But, you head over to the October festival, and I can tell you what you'll be eating. Yep. Barbecue - Lexington style (vinegar). Yum!

And while I was grilling . . .

While I was busy thinking about outdoor cooking, my mom was hard at work making Raggedy Andy and Ann for a family friend.

Mom has made rag dolls as far back as I can remember. My set is in lavendar.

I made one Raggedy Ann, but it took FOREVER. I don't have that much patience. So, I stick with grilling and smoking. It does take time to make great food, but it's not as tedious as trying to get poly-fill in the arms of little doll babies.

Polar Bear Grilling - Pork Loins

Yes! It's cold. And, yes, I am grilling.

Grab a jacket and join the Polar Bear Barbeque Club. It's really not that bad, and the food sure tastes great.

Tonight I'm grilling a pork loin on my small travel Weber. The big Weber is next door, and well . . . you know.

The last time I got a pork loin, my son wanted to know if it was the pig's leg. Guess I need to get him outside and learning more about barbecue. A visit to a farm might be in order too.

If I ever make BBQ pigs leg, I will take pictures and let everyone know.

Mexican on the Grill

Yum. Nachos on the grill are delicious. They only take a couple of minutes to heat. Then, you're ready to eat.

For directions on making Grilled Cheese Nachos, visit Barbeque Master at Garden and Hearth.

I also have a Pica de Gallo recipe that is fabulous with the chips or to serve with any Mexican meal.

Keep checking back. I've been grilling up some great Mexican and Mexican inspired dishes and will continue to post up recipes and directions.

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.