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.

Massive Wrap Up (Part 1)

It's been a little bit since I've updated. I'm waaaaaay behind in posting reviews of what I've been listening to, so I'm going to give each artist a bite-sized wrap up so I can feel up to date.

Blondie - All of Deborah "Don't call me Debbie" Harry's tracks are fantastic. Not taking anything away from the rest of the group, but she's really the shining star. Plus, she released the first ever rap song to reach mainstream America in "Rapture." Even their strange album, "Curse of Blondie" is surprisingly listenable.

The Blood Brothers - Awful. Why do I have crap like this on my computer? Maybe a better question, why don't I delete crap like this? I'm not sure, my go to answer is always, "space is cheap," which is true.

The Bloodhound Gang - Embarrassing. I'll admit to getting some juvenile kicks out of "One Fierce Beer Coaster" when I was in middle school. But why do I have their new album? Even I'll never know.

Blueprint - 1988 is a pretty solid Hip-hop album. It reminds me of, well, 1988. It has the Boom-Bap feel and his lyrics are pretty good. I'm still trying to remember who knocked him out for selling him a used beat at Scribble Jam years ago. Anyone?

Blurum 13 - I got their first album because it featured production by Kid Koala and DJ Vadim, but think that Killah Platapus might be one of the most slept on rappers in history. Look him up! (You might not find anything though...)

...to be continued

Two Things I Don't Trust Without Cords: Phones and Marionettes

The title of this post was from the movie "The Rocker" which I expected to hate, but strangely didn't. As a sign of my old(ish) age, I identified with Riann Wilson's character and hated the kids. Although, I would expect everyone my age, and also everyone who watches the Office, to do the same.

I have a new phone. It is much, much sleeker than my old phone. I never thought I'd see the day when I had a phone this fancy, but then again, I never thought I'd see the day that I would turn my back on Myspace. I must have outgrown it. I did post more than 500 blogs there, but that's all in the past now. So, I am officially moving my Top 5 blog here to blogspot.

Top 5 Reasons My New Phone is Awesome (when compared to my old phone)

1. I can receive and SEND text messages (and see who they're from!).
2. Crossing the State line no longer means I'm without a phone.
3. This phone takes pictures and I can listen to music on it.
4. It looks cool. Seriously, look at that handsome, sliding wünderphone up there.
5. I could someday use it for email. Someday. When I have lots and lots of spare cash.

Oh, and while writing this post I came up with the name for my (now, since I came up with the name) inevitable heavy metal side project:

ALT-0252

Confused? Just open a blank document, hold down the alt key and type 0252 and see what happens.

Hey Dude Ranch

I only wish this post focused on Hey Dude. Instead, it's a return to my iTunes library, where I listened to Blink-182's Dude Ranch. It was the only album from the band I've owned, or even listened to fully. I have to say it has it's moments. Songs like Josie and Dammit are still pretty listenable. I like the fact that at this point, the band still pretty much sucked. The vocals are terrible, the instrumentation is rudimentary at best, and for that reason it really becomes punk rock.

Even though I don't think I would or could stomach listening to the album as a whole again, I'll always be OK with hearing a single track here and there while the iTunes is set on shuffle.