A Long Grilling Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with the start of summer, and the best way to really celebrate is to spend as much time in front of a grill cooking as possible, and of course, to remember those who have served our country. So, that's what we did this weekend.

Saturday we got things started by realizing one of my biggest goals in the field of BBQ: grilling a pizza. We got up that morning and picked up some fresh Basil at the Farmer's Market and then went on to Le Petit to pick up some delicious pizza dough. Darcy and I were having some trouble with the dough, but luckily Pat showed up and put some of his restaurant experience to good use and got our dough ready to go down on the grill.

If you try this at home, be sure you oil your grill well. You don't want the pizza dough to stick to the grill, because then you're not going to get any pizza. I'd also recommend getting the grill really hot on only one side and leaving the other side to cook with indirect heat. That way you can quickly get the dough cooked and then add your toppings, which I would recommend cooking on the grill before you even start thinking about the crust. When the dough is done, move it to the side without charcoal, add your toppings and cheese, close the grill and let that cheese get nice and gooey.

We ended up making 4 kinds of pizza. BBQ Chicken which used BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Corn and Black Beans, A Tomato, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar pizza, A "Salsa pizza" with cilantro, onions, corn, black beans and tomato, and a veggie Italian sausage pizza with Basil. They were all delicious. 

We grilled again on Memorial Day proper, sticking mainly to the usual BBQ fare of Catfish, Buffalo Sirloin Steak, Chicken and Hot Dogs, but experimenting a little bit by making stuffed mushrooms. The idea originated one night when Pat and I decided we should make Jalapeno poppers on the grill someday. One problem, the store was suspiciously out of Jalapenos on Memorial Day, so we picked up mushrooms, bacon, Serrano peppers and a hot red pepper and got to work. 

We sauteed everything together in bacon grease on the stove and then added some bread crumbs and water to make stuffing.

Then we put the mushrooms on the grill and topped each one off with some Romano cheese. They turned out fantastically. Nice and spicy but also really flavorful.

This weekend was really about trying some new things on the grill. I think both pizza and stuffed mushrooms will be included in my BBQ repertoire. It was a good weekend!

Grilling in a Big Way

Nice weather has finally arrived in Missoula. That means more Barbeque in a big way. Don't get me wrong, I don't put away the grill in the winter, but when the weather gets nice I tend to grill way more, pretty much everyday.

This weekend was a great kickoff. On Saturday night we grilled up some kebobs to repay our friends for an awesome campfire the night before. We had red peppers, red onion, mushroom, potatoes and both sirloin AND buffalo kebobs. It was delicious. I also prepared one of my new grill favorites, spicy green beans. I take green beans and add lemon juice, red pepper flakes and garlic, wrap them in aluminum foil and let them steam up on the grill. You can't see them in the picture, because they're kinda boring to look at on the grill, so just enjoy the vibrant colors of all the veggies.

Then on Sunday night, Pat came over and we made sliders. We decided to each season half. I went with an Asian flair and used garlic, ginger, soy sauce, cayanne pepper and my secret ingredient seasame seeds. Pat went with chopped onion, salt, pepper, and a generous amount of Sriracha. We seasoned the buns, toasted them up and topped the burgers with Provalone and lettuce. They were sensational.

All said we had nine burgers to eat, but we finished them all. It took a while, but we got there.

Next weekend is Memorial Day, so the grilling isn't going to stop anytime soon.

My Lonely BBQ

A quick update on being in the apartment alone. I think this picture says it best.

A delicious New York Steak all alone on a grill. I'm not altogether sad, in fact I've been getting a lot done I wouldn't have otherwise. What I am, however, is lonely. I can't wait until my fiance gets home. What have I been keeping myself occupied with in the meantime?

-listening to Arcade Fire - Neon Bible. In spite of the hype they put out an incredible record.
-reading Chuck Palahniuk's new book Rant. Awesome. Fight Club wishes it could be this book.
-watching Run's House on MTV. I don't feel like an explanation is necessary.
-watching rap battles, lots of rap battles. I understand they don't appeal to many people, so I try to get my fix when I'm spending time alone.
-setting up a Linux computer. Still not done, but I think I have the problem narrowed down. Expect a long, boring post about the process of getting this done.
-drinking Sparks. Seriously, did you expect any less?

Graduation Weekend

It was a busy, action packed weekend. Missoula experienced its final throngs of bustling before settling down into the summer. I love all the college kids, but to really get an idea of what the town is all about, you have to spend a summer here. The bars will finally be relaxing, and going out for just one drink will become a real possibility.

Saturday, I went to my friend and former roommate Sienna's graduation. She got a psychology degree with a minor in Fine Arts.

Her ceremony was quite a bit longer and more formal than my History graduation was. It took about an hour, but I was glad I went. She sat through the main ceremony when I graduated, so I owed her.

Then it was off to a plethora of Graduation BBQs, I wore flip flops all day long for the first time in as long as I can remember.

But don't worry, I put shorts on before I left the house. I'm not one to wear long pants and flip flops. Although I don socks and sandals when I BBQ, and I make no excuses.

The parties were fun, but I had to head into work at six, so I settled on two glasses of sangria, and then moved on to water. I hosted a night of music at the library. I initially dreaded going, but it turned out to be really fun. 63 kids ended up coming out. Wes from Riddlin Que opened it up and made up songs as he went along. Then the Sherlocks played their noisy rock. They were a bit hampered by technical difficulties, but came out on top. Then the Basic Practicalities played and impressed the hell out of me. I saw them when they were called Happy Unit Gang about two years ago, and they have come leaps and bounds since then. They are going places for sure.

Then some well deserved rest, and off to Hot Fuzz today. Go see this movie! It was super fun and well edited. I thought it was funnier and smarter than Blades of Glory (which I've seen twice) in terms of comedies this year. Totally worth the $7.50.

My Ultra Cool New Grill

Sorry. I've been busy. Really, I have. What with work and all the grilling I've been doing lately, not to mention my new gig of spinning records at the Palace, I haven't had time to post a blog. But never fear, I'm back again. My parents dropped off a great new BBQ Grill for my birthday a little more than a week ago. We set it up in the backyard, and my grilling has taken off to a new dimension. Check it out:

Jeffreys overseeing the construction of the grill.
And the new guy all ready to get this fire started.
How about an action shot?
I'm still thinking up a good name for him. Any suggestions?

The Great Hickory Smoke Experiment

I'm always looking for new tricks on the barbecue, so tonight I tried out hickory smoking my food. It turned out OK...I think I'll do better tomorrow though. The trick is to soak the hickory chips in water before using them for about an hour. It makes the chips smoke more, and give the food more flavor.Then I lit the grill and waited for the coals to be ready.

Then I added the hickory chips. Next time I'm going to add way more. I think if I cover the coals completely it will smoke longer and get more flavor into the food.

I threw on the food and let 'er smoke!

The food turned out great, but next time I'll add just a few more hickory chips.

Rainy Spring Break BBQ

I've totally come down with BBQ fever this year already. And not even a rainy day will ruin it, I mean, c'mon, its spring break. So we got together some awesome ingredients and started marinating. We had Garlic Pork, Lemon Pepper Shrimp and Mushrooms, Red Wine Mushrooms and Garlic, Salt and Pepper Asparagus.We got everything on skewers and I fired up the grill. I use Matchlight, because it is by far the best charcoal in existence. Then we got to grilling.

Our grill is tiny and I had to monitor it constantly to keep the food from burning. I do like the multi level grill, so things like asparagus don't burn while I cook meat. And yes, I wore socks and sandals because I kept coming in and out of the house to check on the food. I think it turned out pretty darn good. While we were cooking, our friend Candice showed up, so she joined us in downing the grub.

Then it was off to watch a mediocre House, although there were a few awesome scenes.

St. Patrick's Day Means BBQ?

The weather has been incredible in Missoula. I'm already leaving the house in a T-shirt. So, what better than a parade and the first BBQ of the season?

First the parade:


And, one picture of a little boy patiently waiting for his candy:


Then it was off to Arriba! for some Nachos and Margaritas. Oh and one Irish Car Bomb...because it was St. Patrick's Day after all. 3/5 of the Victory Smokes managed to make it out, which is pretty damn impressive.

Then, since it was light and we were still hungry, we went to pick up some booze (Sparks Plus, PBR and Wine) and some meat (New York Steak, T-Bone, Chicken, and Boca Burgers) and got busy with a little BBQ action.


Then Mike and I wandered the streets of Missoula to submit a demo CD to get into Totalfest, the big music festival in town. We were late with our submission, so we figured we would go to the listening party and drop our CD off in person. We didn't make it. But, luckily the listening party was today, and we got our CD in. And we got tons of exercise walking around for the better part of 2 hours.

Enough for one day? I think so.