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.

Earth Week, End

It seems our drink choices for tonight were color co-ordinated. I'm just glad this didn't happen on St. Patricks Day.

By the by, I've decided to put the iTunes listening on hiatus until further notice. I'm listening to Tripping Daisy's "Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb" right now and I couldn't be happier. Rules are for fools.

Top 5 Records I Picked Up Today

I got my record collection up to speed today. For the first time in a long while I actually went out and spent a substantial amount of money on some vinyl at my favorite record store in the world, Ear Candy. Here's a look at the cream of the crop:

1. The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines

I can't believe it took me this long to get into King Khan. Reminds me of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in their prime. This will be one of my summer jams.

2. Metal Attack: The Cream of Hard Rock

A limited edition, colored vinyl from Germany circa 1982. Features Motorhead, Judas Priest, Twisted Sister, etc. Plus there's a guy on the front with a screaming shield.

3. Fucked Up - No Epiphany 7"

Awesome band, awesome track. Plus the flip side is a No Age remix of said track. Should be listened to loud to really get the full effect.

4. Josh Martinez - The World Famous Sex Buffet

Josh Martinez is one of my favorite rappers of all time. I was going to wait on this, until I noticed that one of my good friends, Elliot B., produced the last track on the album. 

5. Vile Blue Shades - John Thursday California Adventure

Vile Blue Shades, from Salt Lake City, comes through town on a regular basis. So much so that this album was put out through Wäntage USA. They always put on a great show, and this is the first record I've heard from them that really capture it. My only gripe is that the "mp3" download the album promises is actually a Windows Media Audo download. Laaaaame. 

Egg-celent

On Saturday we dyed some awesome Easter eggs. Using vinegar with the little capsules makes the colors super bright. These are my favorite eggs I made, plus Darcy's adorable little Jeffreys egg.

Our Cat - The Gourmet

This was Jeffreys treat this evening. Yeah, he's ballin'.

Now That's What I Call Breakfast

May I present to you Peppered Bacon and a Garlic, Mushroom, Egg and Cheese Scramble. It was one of my best breakfasts in quite a while.

My Anaconda Don't Want None...

Last weekend, I went to Anaconda for a library conference called Offline. It focuses on computers in libraries, which is pretty much what I do for a living. If you read this blog on a regular basis, you may have noticed a bizarre post Friday. Those were my notes for the presentation I gave at the conference. I was demonstrating how easy it is to convert a Google Doc into a blog post, then I forgot to delete the post. It is gone now, though.

While I was in town, I visited the Washoe Theatre. It's this crazy, authentic building that hasn't really changed since the thirties.

We got a tour from the historian/usher who has been researching the place for ten years or so. It contains one of the last true silver screens in the country. Maybe the last, I was more concerned with getting a decent picture in the dark than I was with listening most of the time.

The lobby was amazing. This couch also looks like my couch, so I thought I would take a picture. The background of the painting was real gold flakes that were "painted" on. Pretty cool.

I wish I could say I stayed and watched a movie, but they were playing Yes Man with Jim Carrey. There was no way I could bring myself to watch that. Even at the ridiculously low price of 4 bucks. So I went with some like-minded librarians to get a drink. I was heckled for choosing to drink Rainer in a can. A decision I stand by.



On the way back to the hotel, I spotted this gem of a store. It was a dollar store called "Justa Dollar," which offered a Lay-Away plan. There must be circumstances I don't fully understand, but it's funny nonetheless.



Well done Anaconda, well done.

Pat's Pills

In my quest to work my camera better, I took my first manual mode picture of a person. This is Pat, taking some America pills to make him more patriotic. Actually, they were some sort of antihistamine, but still, I like the Red, White and Blue.

And what better than to wash it down with a can of Sparks?

Cat-dultry

We played dominoes with our friends Mitch and Melissa tonight. Over the course of the game, I caught this shot of their cat Isabelle.

I know, I know, now Isabelle is the "other" cat on this blog. But I swear, it meant nothing.

Alert But Defiant

Our new camera showed up today! It's not really anything too special, but we've been without a decent camera for quite a while now. I realize I've leaned too heavily on camera presets in the past, so I'm going to try and post at least a few photos a week shooting on manual mode. Here's my first, Jeffreys rocking it "Orange" style. That's alert but defiant, if you didn't know.