Summer Fare

For the second time ever, I have made steak on the grill. It’s *OK.* I’ve never been much of a steak eater because the best tasting steak is rare or medium rare steak… and I like it well done because I don’t like eating raw cow. :-p I tried marinating it in mustard and Kens Caesar salad dressing (which is phenomenal stuff). It was palatable.

The nice thing about steaks is that, unlike hamburgers, I don’t have huge shoots of flames erupting from the BBQ from lots of grease. And I hate getting splattered with grease while I grill. :-p With steaks, it’s a little nicer.

This summer has turned out to be a little weird. I am not sure why. Maybe it has to do with the very unusual and extreme weather we’ve been having. From wacky late frosts to flooding to tornadoes, it’s been WEIRD in Upstate New York. We even had a power outage for the first time in a LONG time here. I don’t mind them so much– the sons miss the xbox headset, sure, but I can always cuddle with a nice book in a quiet corner. But I’d really rather not have the tornadoes and floods, thank you.

How’s your summer going?

BBQ, Baby!

Well, after procrastinating for MONTHS, I finally mustered the courage to open the BBQ grill. I got it only last year. It’s a VERY nice grill (well, best one I’ve ever had) and it came in very handy when we had no kitchen during the 2010 kitchen renovation.

In April, we had a vicious windstorm that blew the grill right over! I was afraid of looking inside. I had become rather burned out from fixing things, and didn’t want to face a broken grill. So I procrastinated. But then the weather got very hot and then I got a nice patio set. So I reconsidered. I know! It sounds like something out of the bipolar rehab treatment centers or something, I was up and down so much. :-p

But the grill worked and I had a blast cooking!

The only problem with the grill is the ignitor. It’s that little battery-powered device that, when pressed, ignites the gas. The ignitor ALWAYS dies on me after ONE TIME, for every grill I’ve ever had. I put in a new battery, I check the contacts, everything. What is it with ignitors? They never last more than one time.

SO I have to light the grill by hand, which I hate. :-p

Does your grill ignitor work? Got any suggestions for mine?

My New Grill. YAY!!!

I got a new one!!! Praise the Lord!

It was cheap– on clearance at Lowe’s. They are trying to clear out all their grills, now that summer is almost over. So if you have been looking for a good deal on grills and other summer stuff, now’s the time. I was very pleased with the cost.

Our old grill was far, far gone. I was using it still, even tough I knew it was dangerous. The ignitor doesn’t work, and the burners are tempestuous. I had to light the old thing with a match… and hope that I didn’t blast off my eyebrows when it lit. Came pretty close a few times, lol. :S Designers Fountain Lighting is pretty… fountain gas flames, not so pretty.

Anyway, this new grill is double the size of the old. AND it has a burner on the side!!! We have been without a stove since early May, when we gutted the kitchen. How I wish I’d had this grill during that time.

We still have a few weeks of outdoor cooking before I move back to the kitchen, though. So I’ll get plenty of use out of it.

The ignitor works!! A simple touch of the button!

And the grease pan works!!!! My old grill didn’t have a drip grease pan. Everything slopped into a bucket underneath… when I remembered to put it there, that is. :S

I am so happy with the grill.

Grilling is “OK”

We usually use the grill all summer long every summer, just because I don’t like the oven heating up the house…. but we are grilling more frequently now that I couldn’t use my oven even if I wanted to. I used to LOVE grilled food, but it has kinda lost it’s charm for me. The men love the grilled food, so I do mostly recipes they like. I dislike using the grill, because tiny grease droplets splatter all over me. My glasses are always splattered with the grill grease (YUK), not to mention my face, hair, and clothing. It’s disgusting and I’m practically in need of best acne treatments after a summer in front of the grill. Am I the only one who has grill grease splat problems? I’ve never heard anyone mention it before…

Well, anyway, I’m trying to come up with more ideas than the “hamburgers and hot dogs” stuff for the grill. I tried this teriyaki marinade on the chicken recently.

It was “OK.” I was surprised that it didn’t turn out better– it was Ken’s brand Teriyaki marinade. It was too sweet and not tangy enough. Still, very palatable.

Easy Peasy Spiedies

I love spiedies. They are a cultural dish in the Southern Tier of New York State. All the fairgrounds and regattas offer them… oooo the smell of them would drive us mad.

Spiedies are very easy to make, and they are inexpensive (well, more inexpensive than best wrinkle cream!); I usually buy my meat in bulk when it’s on sale, so that helps cut costs. A bottle of spiedie marinade is about $1.75 here.

Easy Peasy Spiedies
serves 10

3 pounds beef, cut into large cubes
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 yellow pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 white onion, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 cloves elephant garlic, cut into chunks (optional)
1 bottle “Original State Fair” Salamida Spiedies marinade (available at grocery stores, or online at Spiedie.com)
Bamboo or metal skewers

Prepare the ingredients:
In two large plastic zippy bags, distribute the ingredients evenly. Seal the bag. Flip the bag over the coat the contents with the marinade. Place the bags in a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

Prepare for grilling:
Stab the meat and vegetables onto the skewers. Don’t overpack the skewers; I generally add three chunks of beef, four peppers, an onion slice, and a garlic clove. The food will shrink as it cooks, so press the food close together.

Set on the grill and cook on low. My grill is a little exuberant, even on low setting; it took the entire platter only 20 minutes to cook thoroughly.

Serve with flat bread, olive oil or Greek salad dressing, feta cheese, and fresh kale. YUM!!

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