My Blog

Pizza Payment What a great weekend. Several months ago we had a new 8’ cedar fence installed in our back yard and our beautiful daughter and her boyfriend told us that they would be happy to stain it for us when we were ready. All we would need to do was buy the stain. Of course we jumped at the offer since aside from being an Elementary School Teacher she also has her own landscaping business on the side and has stained many a fence (well...and it would save me a whole lot of money) Well after weeks of delays due to rains (which we desperately needed) they took on the monumental task today. After 9 grueling hours they were finished...and we were very.....very pleased. Seeing how hard they were working I offered up anything they wanted for dinner. Would you believe all they wanted was some of my homemade grilled pizza. You don’t have to ask me twice to fire up the grill. The first was a basic pepperoni pizza with fresh Mozzarella and Asiago cheeses, Garlic, Pepperoni, some Italian seasonings and fresh Basil. The second was pretty much the same except I also added some Ham and Red Bell Pepper. Most of the time I use a pizza stone on the grill which is preheated for about 15 minutes. My particular grill has 4 burners which run top to bottom instead of left to right. I like this configuration better since I can preheat my stone on high heat, then shut down or drastically lower the two middle burners a few minutes prior to putting the pizza on it. This will give you a nice crisp crust without burning. Pecan Smoked Chicken After a couple months of cold wet weather, I couldn’t wait to fire up the smokers again. While I was at the store, I found these two chickens on sale. Nothing like having some smoked chicken on hand for all sorts of dishes from Stir-Fry to Tetrazzini. After a rinse and a little trimming, they were dried and sprayed with a little (canola oil) cooking spray. Each was then liberally coated with a different commercial chicken rub. I trussed them with some special silicone bands (similar to rubber bands). It was much easier and faster then using string. Then onto the smoker with some pecan chunks at a temperature of 250 F. for about 2 1/2 hours. Once I got an internal temp of 165 F they were ready to come off. After they were allowed to cool some, the meat was stripped and I now have the basis for several different meals. Note: Normally I would use what was leftover after stripping the meat and make a nice chicken stock, however because of the seasonings that I used I find the stock turns out much darker and more pungent then what I prefer. “Grilled” Mac & Cheese I have been trying out several new sides lately and came up on this winner. “Grilled Mac & Cheese” is not your kids Kraft Mac & Cheese. This one is amped up to be a REAL comfort food for adults (and kids with a discriminating pallet). Don’t let the name scare you off. Although it can be made in the house and in the oven...it is much more fun to make it outside on the grill. It has several different cheeses including Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Asiago. The grilled Bell Pepper and Jalapeño also helps set it apart from all the rest. If I don’t have fresh Jalapeño on hand I use nacho sliced pickled Jalapeños found in almost any grocery store. Start off with a few and finely dice them. Even people not fond of peppers will enjoy it. I usually use Italian seasoned bread crumbs off the shelf. However in a pinch, simply dry out a couple pieces of bread and pulverize them in your blender, food processor or even by hand in a plastic bag...and add some dry seasoning such as Basil, Oregano, Thyme etc.

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