Only In The Parking Lot at Wal Mart

Seriously, are you taking the shed with you to Florida? Or is that the new addition that you have built on to your mobile home/RV? Im just glad I'm not riding behind this guy at 70 mph down the highway.

We Have Lights!

Kids have been all over me to get the lights up. Stil need to add a few touches but we're getting there. Hopefully we'll finish tommorow.

Pictures of Owie & Andersen

Testing Shozu

Looks like a bad picture of 200 chicken wings.

Final Pitch Video and the Pile On!

Tampa Rays Vs Boston Red Sox

Here's a link to the slideshow.

The Last 48 hours.

Some of you noticed that I fell off the earth yesterday. Didn't return phone calls, scattered texts, & no tweets.
Turns out that during the Tampa Rays loss on Saturday I decided that the only way they stood a chance to defeat the dreaded Red Sox was if I was in attendance on Sunday night.
So this is pretty much what happened in chronological order.

Sat. 11:30 pm Rays losing 4-2 in the 8th Game 6
11:35 pm Call Southwest Air to ask if they can get me to Tampa on Sun.
11:37 pm Off hold with Southwest, Friendly voice says yes to Tampa on Sunday but only flight out is 6:40 am. I opt to wait and see if the Rays actually lose. Friendly voice says there are only 4 seats left.
11:40 pm Lovely wife uses precious free flight voucher to secure one of these
11:48 pm Rays lose
12:15 am Charge camera batteries, charge Ipod, Charge phone - make sure I have charge card.
1:00 am In bed, can't sleep
4:30 am Up, no sleep
5:15 am Out the door, headed to RDU
6:00 am Frisked by large TSA worker due to bulky sweatshirt, apparently only hiding a bulky middle aged guy underneath it.
8:45 am Landed in Sunny Florida
9:99 am Call co-worker and break news to him that I will not be making it in tomorrow.
9:45 am start $65 cab ride to Clearwater beach
10:12 am Notice that the Scientologists have decided to own all of downtown Clearwater.
10:25 am End $65 cab ride
12:45 pm First Beer apparently a Guiness at Jerry's beach bar, NFL package on 5 TVs, Sunshine, 85 degrees.
1:10 pm Second beer. See picture in previous blog post.
3:30 pm Call boss to tell her that I won't be at work tomorow, score! Get voicemail and take easy way out.
3:35 pm Damn! Boss returns call. Have to tell her that I "unexpectedly had to leave town"
4:15 pm Cowboys FAIL! But Stephen Jackson scores 3 TDs........Fantasy football kharma is a bitch.
4:30 pm Back to the Beach house for pre game cocktail.
4:35 pm Oops, sat down on a couch and fell asleep immediately.
5:15 pm Wake up, apologize for the drool stain
5:17 pm Resumed making that cocktail
6:00 pm Get in limo, freshen up cocktail. Heading to St. Pete for the game.
7:00 pm Arrive in St Pete, good to see all the old drunks again. Not great seeing the several thousand Red Sox fans
8:07 pm First pitch
8:13 pm Pedroia homers to left, Rays losing already. I'm devastated. I guess a beer might help.......... or taunting Red Sox fans.
9:25 pm Learn that I am sitting next to a young lady named Stormy Daniels. Gotta remeber to google her later.
10:05 pm Rays take lead on Baldelli's single. Taunt Red Sox fans
11:40 pm David Price becomes a star! Champagne showers, celebration abounds. Taunt Red Sox fans as they leave with heads bowed.
12:15 am Back to Limo to watch Sportscenter, and taunt Red Sox fans while in massive trafic jam
12:17 am Good friend reveals that he has "special Celebratory Tequila" stashed in the limo. Celebrations continue abounding.
1:00 am Awesome ride ends back at beach house
1:15 am No way, now a "Special Celebratory Wine" appears.
2:00 am The Blissful sleep of a drunken sailor.
8:00 am Little green man with hammer inside of my head wakes me up. He needs coffee and greasy food to kep from killing me.
11:00 am Little green man finely relents after promised bacon cheeseburger and coke arrive at Chilis to go in the airport
1:00 pm Southwest graciously transports me back to reality.

Tonights Bedroom

This is where I'll be spending the night tonight. It's awesome inside. I'll post pictures later. Getting excited 3 hours til first pitch.

The Sunday Afternoon View

Here,s the view from Clearwater Beach. Having a couple warm ups before the big game. Staying on a friends boat tonight. Go Rays big game seven in 4 hours.

A Couple of John Deere Fans

There may be no bigger fan of the John Deere franchise than my boy "Owie No". It seems like we can't go to a home depot without taking one for a test drive. Here you see him and Andersen trying out the latest models.
Yep, its a phone picture. Sorry.

Tail-Gating Season Begins!

Tail-Gating Season!
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

This Saturday was the home opener for the once mighty North Carolina State Wolfpack gridiron squad. That means tail-gating season is underway. Robin and I went to the game with Tim, Cynthia and the Weber Q. These awesome rib eyes made some great sandwiches before a much appreciated Wolfpack victory. I'm looking forward to making some really great stuff in the parking lot of the RBC center this year, If you're in the North Lot look us up in space 3587.

Awesome Kababs

Awesome Kababs
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Made some kebabs last weekend. These were especially good because they were made with tenderloin of beef. If you'd like to try them the recipe is here on Stephen Raichlen's Primal Grill site. I am really enjoying this new show from him and so far the recipes that I have tried have been great.

Bronto Pool Party

I never post pictures with me in them but here goes. I had the opportunity to cook for some of my co-workers last weekend. My cohort Jason and I cooked about 70 pieces of chicken for a hungry group of Brontos. In a true tribute to the Weber we used 2 swim club provided kettles that were years old and had obviously sat out in the weather most of their lives. Didn't matter though, we propped them up, lit the fire and it all went brilliantly!

First Time Off The Diving Board

A couple weekends ago we went to Olivia and Gabriella's birthday party at a local pool. Due to some sort of insurance issue we do not have a diving board at our neighborhood pool. So this was the first time Andersen has had a chance to jump off of one. After about 15 seconds of coaxing he was off and running, I think he jumped about 20 times. All I can tell you is that I have not tread water that long in easily 20 years. I was so sore, but it was worth it.

One Last Beach Video

I found this video on my camera. Apparently this video was hiding on my camera. One last video from the summer before it's all gone.

An Amazing Sunset

Here's a video that I shot on Tuesday evening. Dave and I stopped by the Brew Thru for a few "souvenirs" and the overly friendly and possibly self medicated salesman there says "as soon as you pull through look to your right, it's amazing" He was correct and it was.
After about 20 seconds the video is just a waste of bandwidth.

Owie Is All About Surfing

Owie was truly fascinated by all the surfers this week at the beach. If this photo is any indication he has years and years of wave catching ahead of him. Click the image to see the 4th set of photos from the OBX trip. This set includes Owie and Andersen on the boogie boards, some kite flying, a gratis surf pic, our favorite life guard, as well as a wedding right next to our beach spot!

Morgan & Dave Know How to Party

That Morgan certainly knows where the action is. Click this photo for the 3rd set of OBX pictures. They include an awesome NY Strip dinner, beach action, and a trip to the Dairy Queen for Owie!

OBX Photos Set 2

Click on the photo to see the second set of pix from the Outer Banks. Includes some beach photos as well as a trip to Corolla to see the light house at Currituck with Uncle Steve, Sawyer, Dave and Morgan.

This Picture Cracks Me Up

Cooking on the Weber Q in the OBX

Took the Weber Q 220 on vacation with us.  Was able to cook out several times.  Here's a look at Tuesday night's chicken legs.  This was a feast enjoyed by all.  Here's a link to the Flickr spot.

Flying Saucer spotted in Outer Banks

DSCF0426
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

No kidding, we have been passing this saucer on the road to the Ocracoke ferry for several years. It's really a Futuro home from the early 70s. If you've ever been to Tampa it may remind you a little of 2001.
Here's a link to a video about these homes of the future.

Off to the Outer Banks

DSCF0096
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Just got back from a week at the Outer Banks. Stayed at a lovely house in Kill Devil Hills called the OBXtasea. First time we have used Shoreline Preferred properties and were very impressed. This photo is of Andersen and Owen making it over the dunes to the beach for the first time on the trip on Saturday afternoon.

Orange and Saffron Rotisserie Chicken=Grill Porn

Food Shots 07-27-08 Grilling 010
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

If you saw the earlier useless video you know what this is about. After the birthday party I cooked a chicken. It was my first try with the rotis device on the new Weber. This recipe is from Weber's Big Book of Grilling. The results were good. I hate trying to marinade a whole chicken, it's always a pain.

Birthday Cake for Owie

Owen is finally old enough to get it. He loves the attention.

Andersen & Owen's Birthday Bash

Had a party for Andersen and Owen(5th & 3rd) today ay Pump It Up at Brier Creek. Lot's of kids appearing to have a pretty good time. Also a very good lookin and intelligent adult crowd if I do say so myself........

Ribs

Food Shots 07-27-08 Grilling 005
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Made ribs Saturday night. It was hardly an inspired effort. I cooked them on the gas grill, They were just okay.

Catching Up

Food Shots 07-27-08 Grilling 004
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

I have been slacking. Here is last Saturdays Barbecue chicken. Got the recipe from a Weber EMAIL ! See email marketing does work.
This recipe is called "Triple Play Chicken" and can be found at www.webernation.com if you're a member. The rub and sauce are great. They both involve lemon and brown sugar, a couple of my favorites.

Useless Rotisserie Video

Useless Rotisserie Video
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

This may be the most useless video to ever hit the web. A complete waste of bandwidth. But I have never added a video to my Flickr account and I just wanted to see how it looked.

Andersen Loves Pizza

Food Shots 07-13-08 Pan Pizza 014
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

If there is one thing Andersen loves it's Pizza. So my plan for today was to spend a few minutes with Anders and let him help make his own pizza. We made a couple of pepperoni pan pizzas using the recipe featured in this season's America's Test Kitchen. I made the dough and then shaped it an added the sauce. He applied the cheese and pepperoni. They came out great and all of us enjoyed it for lunch.
Click on the image for a couple more photos.

The Support Of Friends

So I did manage to drag out the grills and cook a ton of stuff on the 4th. Really, I did. It's just that I forgot to record it for prosperity. Somewhere in the middle of cooking 2 Butts, One shoulder, 3 Chickens, 5 racks of Babybacks, and countless sausages etc. all at the same time.....there just wasn't time.
Anyway, this is where the support of friends comes in. My ex boss(best one ever) just recently purchased his first Weber kettle. Let me tell you, it's always great to hear a good "coming of age" story. He cooked his first beer can chicken this weekend and apparently it was a huge success. He was kind enough to supply me with this grill porn for posting.

Sunday Kabobs

Grilling Shots 06-29-08 Landscaper Shots 053
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Made kabobs for the family today.
Angus Top Sirloin courtesy of the Harris Teeter.
Marinade recipe courtesy of Alton Brown.

New Pixar !!

Call me a geek (pause) but I think I look forward to the latest Pixar releases more than Andersen,
Anyway, Andersen and I went to the early morning Saturday showing of WALL E and enjoyed it immensely.
Even though there is no dialogue in the first 45 minutes I found it fascinating.
I'm no movie reviewer so here are a few; local paper, The Village Voice & The LA Times.

Anders & Owen Go To The DBAP

Took the boys to the Durham Bulls game yesterday afternoon.
It was a first for both of them. I took Andersen a couple of weeks ago
but we left after a 2hour rain delay. So this time the whole family
went and right on schedule.....rain. Andersen was great, after I told
him we needed to leave our seats and go under the stands during the
storm he said, "Daddy, every time we come here it rains and we don't
get to see the game. I am not leaving." It was priceless.

After an hour delay the sun broke through and the boys finally got to
see a little baseball. Then Owen treated us to a display of eating
that would have a lesser man on the floor in pain. He consumed a kids
hotdog, a sprite, nearly half of a funnel cake, a cup of Goodbberry's
frozen custard, and then topped that off with several mouthfuls of his
brother's cotton candy.

Rib Chops In The Rain

Grilling Shots 06-21-08 010
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

This was not a great grilling weekend. It started raining about 4pm
on Saturday and rained most of the evening. I was able to find a 30
minute dry window about 6pm to grill these Molasses brined pork rib
chops. The recipe was from Mastering The Grill. I was not that
impressed with it. There just didn't seem to be enough salt in the
mixture for it to actuall be called(and work like) a brine. The
recipe also did not call for salt and pepper seasoning post brine
before grilling.
I also made a roasted corn salsa with grilled cord, diced red onion, a
diced red pepper, and crumbled bacon. No idea where that recipe came from. Might be from an old Williams & Sonoma grilling book. Anyway, that salsa is a family favorite that we have been making for years.It goes great with any cook-out.

Something New

Grilling Shots 06-15-08 013
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Yep, pizza on the grill. Had never tried it before.
Used an herb crust recipe from Cook's Illustrated and made a nice rosemary and garlic crust. Topped 2 with diced tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and grilled chicken. The other 2 are a little more conventional (for the kids), they have a small amount of jarred sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil and pepperoni. I was very happy with the results and I'm looking forward to doing it again with a focus on a wider variety of toppings. I'm taking requests and suggestions.

Nice Butt Crack Owie

Phone Shots Shots 06-15-08 108
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Owie certainly loves the pool.
But seeing this reminds me of the guy that came over to the house to fix the garbage disposal.
C'mon buddy, pull them up!

Yesterday's Food Porn

Phone Shots Shots 06-15-08 115
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Angus strips courtesy of Harris Teeter!
All I can say is that I love the new grill that the family got me for Father's Day.
Look at those grill marks. Restaurant quality.
Apologize for the poor photography - Camera Phone Picture.
Doing something new on the grill today. Check blog to see how it comes out.

Shamelessly Proud

Anders and Owen 05-22-08 066
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

That's my boy!
Andersen graduated from Pre-School last week.
I can't help it, he can be so cute when he's not disagreeing with me.
I just can't believe that he'll be starting kindergarten in less than 5 weeks.

Chicken On Saturday

chickens
Originally uploaded by The Grill Maestro

Long time no blog,eh? I have a new job and have not had a chance to post anything lately. The news of the weekend is a new Weber Summit found it's way to my garage. More on that a picture of the new addition later. Anyway, here are 2 Empire Farms Kosher birds "beer canned" on the weber kettle. Both were rubbed with Mike Mills Magic dust. The one on the left was glazrd with a KC style sauce for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

A Mike Hampton Sighting

Doesn't happen often. And you have to be quick to see it. He lasted 3+ innings. Looked like a bad Hammy.

First Bulls Day Game

Toasty warm 50 degrees and the Bulls give up an 8 spot to Scranton WB. Looks like it's going to be 2 dogs and back to the office.
Ps That is certainly not my beer in the picture.

Kuwata retires after one year in majors

A legend in Japan retired yesterday in Bradenton. He looked better than most Pirates pitchers to me in Spring Training. The story is here.

Question of The Day

For more of these head on over to Star Trek Inspirational Posters.

My Visit To The Pit

A friend and I visited Ed Mitchells Pit last night to sample the barbecue.

We sat at the bar which is unusual because most BBQ joints in North Carolina don't serve alcohol. Once we got the attention of the bartender we ordered a couple of my favorite Carolina Pale Ales. What can I say? I love this beer and pairing it with BBQ cannot possibly be a bad thing.

I had not eaten anything that day except for a bucket of day-old popcorn at Horton Hears a Who so I immediately went for the smoked wings as an appetizer. The bartender didn't ask about "the three sauce choices" so I got my wings plain. They weren't bad, decent size and pretty good smoky flavor.

We both ordered combination plates so we could sample both the chopped whole hog as well as the baby back ribs. I also ordered both the candied yams and mash potatoes wit gravy as my 2 sides. I know it seems like an odd pairing but they looked like the two most important side dishes and I wanted to get the full experience.

The plates arrived quickly and looked pretty good. My major complaint is that the side dishes were in separate dishes yet the cole slaw was thrown right into the middle of the plate between the ribs and chopped pork. Those of you that know me already know my distaste for cole slaw; I really don't like most of them. But this cole slaw was extra extra runny and quickly started to take over my plate. I immediately grabbed my orange slice garnish as well as my friends and had to create two damn-like barriers to stop this overly hydrated slaw from ruining the rest of the plate. I may be mistaken but doesn't this mean that the cabbage in the slaw was not properly rung out and dried? Anyway, if there was ever a side dish that cried out for its own cup/dish this would be it.

The pork was excellent; it was chopped but was still a touch coarse. It came to the table already sauced with Ed's eastern sauce. It had a little zing to it which is something I really enjoy in pork BBQ. The ribs looked a little different to me. They lacked any of the "bark" that you would see in a Corky’s (Memphis) type rib. I ordered them dry so I could really get a taste for them. They did have a smoke ring to them but they fell right off the bone kind of like a Friday's or Chili's prepared rib. I suspect that they may have been baked or steamed as well as smoked. I really like a smoked rib with a little chew to it so these were a little different to me.

That being said, the ribs did have an excellent flavor and I would not hesitate to tell you that they were much better than what you would get at the two chain restaurants mentioned above.

The bartender let us know that the side orders are homemade. I have to tell you that I was not disappointed in the least with either of my choices. Both were excellent. The sweet potatoes were syrupy sweet and the mashed potatoes seemed to be mashed by hand as opposed to the "whipped" potatoes you so often get nowadays.

All in all I would say that another visit to The Pit is definitely in order. True, it's pricey for BBQ but it's a restaurant not a shack. They offer quite a few wines as well as beers. There are also other items on the menu for people that you may bring who just don't appreciate North Carolina Barbecue. This alone makes it a great place to take clients from other areas that are looking to try "indigenous cuisine".

The service could have been a little better and the slaw will be avoided from now on but I will go back.

Non Traditional Easter Dinner

So, after the big culdesac egg hunt I busted out my 14 year old Weber performer and made fajitas for the neighborhood. Andersen couldn't get enough.

Crying Shame

 

The Ruritans Can Cook!

One of the great things about living here are the fund raising BBQs. When someone mentions one to me my first question is always "Are they cookin' or catering?" I assure you that the Ruritans of Lynn's Crossroads are cooking. They do this every 6 months and I always try to bring as many people as I can.
Last time out I checked out their smoking house and they informed me that they had cooked 1500 lbs of pork shoulder and 500 chickens.

New Barbecue In Town !

Okay, we have a new Barbecue place in downtown Raleigh.
The Pit is brought to you by Ed Mitchell.
Ed has been written up in Mike Mills book as well as several others. I'm sure he'd consider himself a celebrity but around here he's maybe more of an enigma.
Here's a blog posting/review.
And here's a story from the News & Observer about Ed and the new restaurant.
I'm going to go by there and check it out this weekend. I'll give you my opinion on Monday.

Snapshots of The Pirates vs Blue Jays

Front Row Again!

Last day. Question:Can you eat an italian sausage everyday on vacation? We'll let you know.

Baseball Food Porn Double Feature

 

Hard to believe so much good stuff could come out of one ballpark. First, The Cheesy Coney Dog and second, the Cincy Au Jus dipped roast beef on a kaiser. I myself only ate the roast beef. Steve ate both the dog and the beef. He said it was a cleansing experience ...... This is the "Cohen Brothers Produced" of BB Food Porn.

Baseball Food Porn Double Feature

 

Photos from Sarasota - Astros vs. Reds

Lightning Roll Islanders

Vinny with the hat trick. He's my favorite non Cane.