I’ve been trying to come up with something fun to make for my family for the Labor Day holiday this weekend, but haven’t gotten much beyond the old standbys of hamburgers and hot dogs. I hadn’t even thought of doing steak and vegetable skewers, but it’s such an easy and fast meal that I’ve added it to next week’s menu plan!
In the video above, Mike Hedrick, a barbecue expert, does a great job demonstrating how to put skewers together using steak, peppers, squash, zucchini and onions.
I like that you can use pretty much any meat on the skewers — you …read more

I did a dry-rub marinade on a nice cut of beef a few weeks ago and I thought some pork chops would be great too with the same kind of dry marinade. Although I changed a few of the dry ingredients this time around.
INGREDIENTS :
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp sage powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian seasonings
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Put the chops in a marinating container.
Sprinkle each pork chops with the dry-rub. Gently massage the run into the chops. Do this on …read more

This grilled to perfection peppered London broil was a bit spicy but it was good nonetheless. The spicy seasoning matched the acidity from lemon juice. It is definitely perfect for the grilling season.
INGREDIENTS :
London Broil (2-3 pounds)
black pepper
paprika
salt
garlic powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
juice of half lemon
Combine a generous amount of black pepper, paprika, salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice in a bowl. Season the London Broil with the mixture. Marinate for 3-4 hours before grilling or overnight.
Grill each sides of the London Broil depending on how you like your steaks cooked.

What’s on your menu for this 4th of July? Whether you’re planning on keeping things low key at home or are bringing a dish or two for a big get-together, I always think it’s fun to do a little planning ahead of time to bring something that’s both fun and delicious!

I like that the 4th is on a Saturday this year so that we have the whole day to celebrate, instead of just the evening. We’ll be hanging out at home this year, though sadly we don’t have a barbecue at our new house yet (my husband has some big …read more

I grew up in Memphis, which means my appreciation for ribs is in my bone marrow. I spent many-a-summer sizzling at Memphis in May just to catch a sniff of the contestants’ entries in the annual barbecue rib contest.
Memphis’ Rendezvous serves up a great dry rib. Folks from Alabama will argue that Dreamland is the best. I prefer Rendezvous to Dreamland. I especially like eating at Rendezvous restaurant because they give you get a complimentary bowl of Red Beans and Rice and no matter how much you beg they will not give you the recipe.
My ribs are far from award-winning, …read more

When it comes to sumer grilling, I really enjoy creating marinades for the meat to make them flavorful and delicious. Sure I buy marinades from brands like Lawry’s but most of the time I’m actually combining ingredients from my own pantry to make my own. It’s amazing what you could create ouf of all the stuff you already have. Like this Italian and honey mixture I made tonight.
INGREDIENTS :
chicken pieces (quarters, legs or thighs)
1 cup of Italian dressing
1/4 cup of honey
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
water for par-boiling the chicken
Because you are grilling …read more

I have a bag of large shrimp in the freezer and had no idea what to make with it, until now. I wanted to make it for dinner tonight actually but all I could think about was stir-fry which I really didn’t feel like serving everyone. So I held off and decided to wait until I find something different to use shrimp with. This Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Shrimp Kabobs from Kraft Foods sounds pretty delicious to me.
INGREDIENTS :
10 slices OSCAR MAYER Fully Cooked Bacon, cut in half
20 uncooked large shrimp (about 1 lb.), peeled, deveined
2 zucchini, trimmed, cut into …read more

Heather Tyree, over at Epicurious, reported on the best (and silliest) new trends in barbecue and grilling gear according to Bill and Cheryl Jamison.  It seems that pizza, pizza, and more pizza continues to be the top of the list in what outdoor chefs are wanting to cook.

Some new grilling utensils from Cuisinart also topped the list of must haves, which the Jamisons feel are better balance and more user friendly than many of the tools you might already have.
Check out this excellent article to get yourself educated on the up-to-date and the what-can-wait categories!

Our temperature reached a high of 99 today. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get to 104. It’s most definitely grilling weather. Here are a couple of things that I found at Williams-Sonoma today:

Mesh Grill-Top Chef’s Pan
Retails for $49.95
Made of heavy-gauge stainless steel mesh, this pan has a detachable lid, and an extremely generous size. It’s 8 inches high and 12 inches in diameter. This would be a great pan for grilling either vegetables or seafood.  If you are interested in a recipe using the pan, scroll down the shopping page and you will see Roast Chicken with Smoky Potato Salad. 
This looks …read more

One the best parts of summer is grilling. And grilling doesn’t just have to mean burgers and steaks. Seafood is fantastic on the grill too. Red Lobster Senior Executive Chef Michael LaDuke shares his tips for perfectly grilled shrimp and scallops, along with a signature recipe.
Grilling Tips

To grill shrimp, place them on a skewer, one on top of the other. Watch them closely, because they will cook quickly.
To grill scallops, place them on a skewer with the flat side up. This allows them to pick up more flavors from the grill.
If using wooden skewers, soak them overnight in water so …read more