After cooking in the oven for 3 hours I removed the ribs and placed them into a pan to transport to the smoker. It took some creative arranging but I got all the ribs into the double door smoker and had enough room to add some smoked stuffed jalapenos, but that’s another recipe. I used Charcoal to get the fire going in the firebox and threw hickory chips onto the pile to get some smoke going and then added my soaked hickory chips to a new cast iron smoker box that I picked up at the local Dollar General Store. It seems as if they had a few arrive by mistake and their mistake was my gain. The box worked perfectly and I added a hand full of chips every hour, thus ending my need to make hickory bombs out of wood chips and aluminum foil.

I kept the heat at a constant 225 – 250 degrees by adjusting the damper along with adding 8-10 charcoal briquettes to the firebox every 30-40 minutes. I did have a brief rain shower that required some additional briquettes but the fire stayed close to 200 degrees until the charcoal took off and then I adjusted the damper to offset too much heat.

I rotated the ribs in the smoker to make sure everything cooked evenly and after and additional 4 hours of smoking the ribs were ready to hit the table. I grabbed a large pewter platter and removed the ribs, wrapped them up in foil and took them back to the University for the next day’s lunch crowd. I wanted to see how they stood up to chilling and reheating for the next day and I must say they couldn’t have been more delicious.

The smoke flavor penetrated the meat nicely and was accompanied by some Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. The ribs were portioned into 3-4 rib sections after saucing them and setting the sauce to the ribs in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes. The ribs almost made it to the end of lunch but we ran out before the meal was completed and probably could have used another 20-30 pounds. In all it was great success and I’m looking forward to more smokin’ and grillin’. Stay tuned!

I took the fresh jalapenos and utilizing the jalapeno corer that came with the grill cut the tops off the peppers and had them hollowed out no time. A simple rinse and all the seeds were removed and ready to be stuffed. I started out simple and bought some cream cheese and squeezed the cheese into each opening leaving room at the top for a fresh clove of peeled garlic.

After arranging all the peppers I took several slabs of thick cut sugar cured bacon and layered each strip across the top of the peppers. I didn’t drape the bacon around each pepper but arranged each slice on top with toothpicks to allow the flavor to seep into the peppers to flavor the cheese.

I took the Chile Grill to the smoker and placed them it on top of the ribs that were already smoking and closed the door to allow the smoke to infuse the peppers. The Chile Grill made easy work of the peppers and the pepper corer certainly made the task of cleaning much easier, and the side handles made for easy placement on the smoker.

I left the peppers on the smoker for 3 hours and pulled them off the smoker right before I removed the ribs. The peppers removed easily from the Chile Grill and the cleanup of the Grill was a snap.

The peppers came out nicely smoked, loaded with flavor and the bacon was done just right with a perfect hint of smokiness to complement the creaminess of the jalapeno peppers. The garlic was mellowed by the heat and smoke and gave a subtle sweet tang to the peppers as you bit into them. The first go round with the Chile Grill produced some fantastic stuffed Jalapeno peppers. I’m looking forward to creating some new twists on an old classic and jazzing up the pepper world. Stay Tuned!

The Cuisinart Griddler is a great way to build the perfect panini, grill up some chicken breasts for dinner, fry up some eggs for breakfast and reheat the leftovers from last nights dinner. The Griddler is very easy to use and comes ready to go out of the box with drips cups, a dishwasher safe scraping tool and four plates, to flat and two ridged. The two seperate styles of plates can turn the Griddler into a panini press, open grill, contact grill, or griddle.

The secret to a good panini is to toast the sandwich evenly top to bottom with even grill marks. The floating hinge on the Griddler is perfect for doing just that. When you press down on the top the lid swings into place. If you are building a large dagwood sandwich then you may have to manually adjust the lid to cover the sandwich, perhaps a heavier lid on future models will compensate for the manual adjustment. Even though you have to adjust the lid at times the end result is a perfectly grilled sandwich. Simply adjust the temperature controls to your specific needs and you are off and running!

The open griddle feature self levels the Griddler so you can cook bacon on one side and eggs on the other without combining them together on the same side. Every breakfast item is a snap from grilled ham to french toast, just remove the ridged plates and lock in the flat plates and you are ready to go. The easiest part of all is the fast clean up due to the high quality dishwasher safe non stick cooking plates. Food slides right off and if by chance some cheese or egg gets stuck on the plate, simply scrape it off with the dishwasher safe scraping tool or by placing in the dishwasher.

It’s more versatile than a George Foreman Grill and is just as healthy by draining the grease away from your food, channeling it into the included grease drip cups. The convenient cord storage is great and keeps the cord out of the way and makes storage easy. If you’re looking for a multi-purpose panini grill that’s easy to cleanup then this is the item for you.

Right out of the bottle this sauce hits you with spiced up flavor mirrored with a wonderfully rich tasting mouth-feel. It’s not watered down like store bottled ketchup nor is it as sweet as many familiar brands on the market. A simple scan of the ingredients shows that the lineup is entirely organic and gluten-free, starting with organic tomato puree and finishing with hickory smoke flavor. “Wholemato Organic Ketchups… have been certified as Low-Glycemic for Diabetics by the Glycemic Research Institute due to their remarkable low score on the glycemic index.” It’s also nice to see that the ketchup is packaged in a solid glass bottle and not the familiar plastic tub that many have come to recognize.

By itself the sauce has excellent body, and can stand on its own against many BBQ sauces. The chili peppers give the ketchup a nice spicy bite while the agave nectar gives a subtle sweetness that lingers on the tongue to help offset too much heat. The aroma of the ketchup when first opened smells of freshed smoked tomato sauce, done over a low fire for hours. I highly recommend this sauce for those that love ketchup with an added kick. It has loads of fresh tasting flavor that goes well with ribs, burgers, chicken and pork.

The suggested retail price for the ketchup is $5.49, and is available at Whole Foods Markets and many other chains and independent retailers across the United States. Wholemato is a family run business that cares about its products and the health of their customers by supporting sustainable organic agriculture.

I decided upon some fresh chicken thigh/leg quarters and a separate package of thighs. I built a fire in the fire box utilizing charcoal briquettes and stuffed some paper underneath to get the fire going. In prepping the chicken I took six pepper blend, cajun seasoning, ground black pepper, salt free steak seasoning, cayenne, paprika, and a few other herbs and spices that looked appealing and blended them together to rub on the yard bird. I laid out the cleaned pieces of chicken on a platter and generously rubbed the seasoning into the skin on both sides and then left them to sit for about 30 minutes before taking them to the grill.

While the smoker was getting up to temp I went inside and made three hickory smoke bombs. I took hickory wood chips and double wrapped them in heavy duty aluminum foil and then poked several holes into the package. I then took one more piece of foil to wrap loosely around each bomb and set them aside.

When the grill reached an internal temperature of 250 degrees I set the dampers to allow proper ventilation and added the chicken to the grates to get them SMOKIN! The entire process took around 4 hours and I added the smoke bombs every 1/2 hour starting about 30 minutes into the cooking process. To keep the fire at a constant 250 degrees I added about 8-10 briquettes to the fire every 30 minutes and followed the old adage - “if ya lookin, ya ain’t cookin!” and kept the lid closed during most of the smoking. I had to rotate a few smaller pieces further away from the fire box about and hour into the cooking process and again 2 hours later.

The smoke bombs worked perfectly and added some wonderful hickory smoke through out the smoker and the chicken cooked up perfect. I checked the far side away from the firebox to ensure that the internal temperature had reached 165 degrees and removed the chicken after confirming the correct temperature had been met. As soon as my 2 and 3 year old daughters saw me entering the house with the chicken they both were arguing over who would get the first piece. As it ended up I had to give each of them meat pulled from two thighs to keep them from grabbing chicken of each others plate! Both exclaimed that they loved the chicken and that’s quite a compliment coming from two of the most finicky eaters I have to please. I took their squeals of delight and singing to mean that I put together a flavorful combination on the trial run of the smoker/grill. This was soon confirmed at the 4th of July family picnic when the chicken was devoured along with several comments as to the juiciness and excellent flavor of the meat.

Stay tuned for upcoming SMOKIN! pork and beef recipes cooked on the Char-Broil Smoker/Grill.

As for the apron, it’s quite colorful and has been very durable. The stitching is first rate with clips for adjustments around the neck line. The only drawback is that the banner material is very stiff, and it takes some tricky maneuvering to sit down while wearing the apron. Once you wear it awhile, the material begins to flex and becomes a little more comfortable to wear. The main advantage is that the vinyl material is very easy to clean and everything spilled on it wipes right off. In addition, the pockets in front are quite large and capable of holding a variety of grilling tools, towels or an extra beverage of choice if the need arises. All in all, this apron is a quality product that can be purchased online at www.bazurashop.com for $24.95 plus shipping.

“Unlike most third world factory workers toiling away in sweatshops, these women are entrepreneurs and shareholders…they work for themselves and have a positive impact on their community and, at the same time, they encourage environmentalism.” quoted from Larry Duprey, the founder of Bazura Biz.

Pick one up today and help these ladies out.

Photo courtesy of The Bazura Shop,

I loaded it up with ice, utilizing bagged ice from a local grocery store mixed with ice from my refrigerator ice maker and looked at the instructions to see which drink I wanted to make. I then choose from four preprogrammed drink cycles; margaritas, daiquiris, slides, (mudslides) or smoothies, and then decided whether I wanted one, two or three drink settings. I then flipped the automatic Shave-N-Blend switch, and the machine automatically mixed the right proportion of ice with ingredients and timed it just right. If you decide at the end of the drink cycle that you need more ice or blending simply flip the switch to blend or shave to add what you so desire. I followed the instructions denoting exact amounts of liquids per drink as written in the included recipe book and the first batch of Margaritas came out perfectly.

It is truly a four step machine, add ice, select your drink and size, add your favorite mix, and flip the automatic Shave-n-Blend switch and within seconds your favorite concoction will be ready. The great part about this machine is that if you get guests that prefer thicker or thinner drinks simply flip the switch to blend a little more ice or just blend without adding ice. It’s just that simple, and best of all if you leave the ice sit in the ice bin for an extended period of time the melting runoff collects in a clear reservoir located on the back of the machine. No more thin flavored soupy Margaritas or watered down Mudslides!

The varieties of drinks are endless but the cleanup is not. The glass-blending jar has a unique retro look that lends itself to easy stability when in use with a large glass handle and drip free spout. It’s also great for simply shaving ice for snow cones and adding your favorite syrup and finishing off with a spoon. No matter what the size of your party this machine stands up to mountains of blending action. As long as you have ice to blend and mix to add the Fiji FCM will consistently churn out the proper Margarita, Daiquiri, Mudslide or Smoothie.

When you’ve mastered the Fiji FCM your friends will be asking you to be the Frozen Drink Master at their next party and with the FCM Carrying Bag you can take your machine on the road. The bag is made of water repellent canvas and designed to transport and store the Fiji FCM with straps that hold the pitcher in place during transportation. Simply slide your lost shaker of salt and fresh limes in the side pocket, grasp the nylon carrying handles and head to Margaritaville. You and your friends will have a blast using the Fiji FCM, so get one today, blend up a drink or two and hang on!

Upon opening the bag the wonderful aroma of Spicy Chipotle exploded through the air. The chips were crisp and flavorful bite after bite and the deep BBQ color mirrored with the exquisite smokiness of the Chipotle certainly lent itself to a eating more than a serving at one sitting. Even after savoring several chips, the heat index didn’t rise above a nice even burn and they left a pleasant spiciness on the palate. These chips are truly the flavor of summer and should be enjoyed at every outdoor BBQ. Once opened you will have a hard time putting down the bag until they are all gone.

“In launching the new flavor, Kettle Foods has partnered with Death Valley Natural History Association (DVNHA) to support its “Death Valley ROCKS” program and its mission of bringing city kids to the park to experience the natural world. The company will donate $1 to DVNHA for every Facebook user who downloads a special Death Valley temperature gauge that monitors the desert heat. The first 5 fans to notify Kettle Foods when the gauge reaches the fiery temperature of 120 degrees win free chips for a year. Fans can visit www.kettlefoods.com to find out more about the Facebook application and how to help Kettle Foods in its support of the DVNHA.”

You can get a bag or three of these wonderful chips for $2.99 - $3.29 at Cost Plus World Market and online at www.buykettlechips.com. Your taste buds will thank you!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• 3 T. fresh lime juice
• 2 T. fresh OJ
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. citrus grill seasoning
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1-1/2 tsp. kosher sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 4 lobster tails (8 to 10 oz. each)

Preheat a gas grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grate or spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Using a large chef knife, split the lobster tails lengthwise. Whisk the melted butter and olive oil together in a small bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice, orange juice, smoked paprika, minced garlic, citrus seasoning, salt and pepper.

Brush the meat on the lobster tail halves with the marinade. Let stand for about 3 to 5 minutes, then place the lobster tail halves, meaty side down, on the preheated grill. Grill for about 10 to 12 minutes, turning after about 5 or 6 minutes, and basting the lobster meat with the remaining marinade. The lobster tails are done when the meat is opaque.

Photo courtesy of The Food Network.

Spread chipotle aioli evenly on the top and bottom piece of sliced ciabatta bread.

Arrange cheese, and meats on one slice – starting with cheese and ending with cheese so the meat is in the middle. Add the onions and top with bread and brush with EVOO. You can add sliced tomatoes or a spicy relish if you desire!

Preheat your grill on low heat and spray or brush your grates with EVOO and place the sandwich on the top rack of your grill - preferably the warming rack.

Close the grill and allow to cook for approximately 2 minutes per side., flipping just once. Remove from grill and slice on the bias and serve with bread and butter pickles and your favorite pasta salad.

If you enjoy fresh tomatoes and lettuce just add them after the sandwich is done grilling.

Enjoy!