BBQT Mary

March 28, 2008 — 2 Comments

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Behold our very cute, very cold BBQT of the month, Mary. Despite stellar coaching from the veggie dudes – “Like a TIGER. Like a TI-ger” – Mary held strong to smile for the camera while picking up some delicious produce. Ready to dazzle the lens with her fancy shirt, we had to abort Mission: Tank Top as Seattle decided to celebrate March by bucketing down snow. Isn’t it out like a lamb? Mary is no stranger to the grill. In her house, the grill moves for everyone. Mary’s spot is near the kitchen while others move the grill near the beautiful, lake view. Not much of a winter griller, she likes to wait until the pickin’s are fresh and local. Her favorite: Weird Fish. It don’t matter, you can do amazing things with fish. One of her favs involves fresh salmon (not farmed!) topped with the marriage of soy sauce to maple syrup. I do! Seattle’s salmon is so deliciously plentiful while also easy on the pocketbook. Even the local pub will have salmon on the menu next to the club sandwich. Seattle definitely has a culinary g-spot with its access to incredible, local ingredients. Other fishy favs are Halibut (don’t forget, it’s Halibut season NOW!) along with anything you can stick on a stick. Cuz remember, you can kebab damn near anything. This BBQT crusts up the Halibut in a hot, hot pan (yes, on the stove) skin side up. After a nice crust has been established, she’ll pop in on the grill to finish it off with lemon pepper and salt. YUM!

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Fishy Fishy The fish dude

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veggie

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don't forget the flowers

OOoooo Peaches, Baby, Peaches!

March 15, 2008 — 2 Comments

There is something so sexy dare I say sticky about grilled fruit. You don’t really need to do much to them. For this peach madness, Amber and Natasha used:

Peaches
Lemon
Nuts
Fat
Cream
Sugar
Nutmeg, whole nut

Quickly skimming the ingredients list with the fat, sugar and fruit, you can hardly mess this concoction up. A few nectarines were tossed in the mix as peach season has not arrived in the Northwest. Smooching in butter to the nuts is the yummiest way, but a dash of interesting oil would work too. Crème Fraiche was simple to use as a dash of cream, but for those vegans out there, soy whipped cream is tasty as all get out.

The peaches were halved then dripped with lemon juice. Amber tried two ways to cook the peaches, a few on the grill with the rest in a little, foil pouch. For this girl, both peach cooking strategies worked. The right on the grill version took advantage of the whole grill thing while the pouch peach got so steamy hot with a drop your panties aroma.

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While the peaches were making magic, Amber and Natasha mashed the fat into the nuts with some sugar. Crack open the cream, sip your Tangosa while you ready yourself for hot peach action.

Assembly is easy. Hot, halved peach, pop some nut mix in the center with some cream on top. Get your girlfriend to grate some nutmeg on top then bite. A treat so yummy forks quickly became optional. It’s like peach cobbler mobility. To crank up the fun factor, pour the peach juices over the nuts or over the peach itself. Peach juices are perty.

Truly, though, a Zen peach simply heated up on the grill then eaten naked would do the trick. No need to get all fancy with the nuts. Hot fruit done simple will woo your friends leaving more time to mingle.

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amber no fork

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Amber and Natasha Brunch Barbie

March 10, 2008 — 3 Comments

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It was a lovely day at the massage school when Amber bounced on a gym ball. Natasha, appreciating the carefree spirit of Amber’s bouncing, took in the “that looks like a lot of fun” moment. Then in her cute-but-short skirt, Amber took a final bounce ass over tea kettle to land in a pile of giggle. From that moment on, Natasha and Amber have been BFF. As for Girl On Grill Action™, they clearly worked the grill together like they’d done it many times before. Yet this was there first time.

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Peach Surprise, Funky Potato Egg and Tangosas to the table. Oh yes and Natasha’s experimental Egg On Grill which both amazed and surprised us.

Every grill girl starts with something bubbly. This morning it was champagne time. But wait! There is some tangerine juice in the refrigerator … sounds like a Tangosa. Natasha put half champagne half tangerine juice to make a lovely drink for the barbeque brunch. Argyle 2002 was used. Its sweetish flavor lends itself quite nicely to morning mixers.

The Peaches were halfed and lemon juiced. Amber put a few on the grill for shits and giggles while the rest went into a foil pouch. When those puppies were ready, the aroma of hot, steamy peaches was unbelievable. The girls popped on the nutty topping with some cream using only their fingers to enjoy the sweet treat. No forks were used in the eating of these peaches.

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During the peach phase, Natasha did a little egg dance before she popped it on the grill shell and all. Having no idea what would happen when you put an egg on a grill, the girls sipped their Tangosas with heated anticipation. The pure joy of Natasha face when she gently cracked the egg to find a beautiful, soft cooked egg was moving. Would she do it again? Perhaps as a party trick.

For the egg dish, the girls worked out a little foil boat for the eggs to cook in. Natasha put a layer of potatoes on the bottom and popped the eggs on top. This dish took a while to get its magic going on. In the end it tasted a tad bit bland. Thankfully there was some pico de gallo salsa to zest it up to make for a DELICIOUS funky frittata of sorts.

Amber and Natasha had a blast with brunch grilling. Who knew it would be so easy as well as tasty. In true Grill On Grill Action™ form, these gals could go all night. Both were scavenging about the house to find other things to try on the grill. Bananas, pecans what have you all thrown to the grill god to for some yummy food experimentation.

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nutmeg grinding bringing friends together

Simple Pots

March 5, 2008 — 2 Comments

Fingerling Potatoes

Maggie Used:
Fingerling Potatoes
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

With a pile of fingerlings, who needs fancy? Step aside and enjoy their true flavor. After the pots were scrubbed, cleaned and halved, Maggie popped them in a large piece of foil that would act as a snuggy bed for them to do their magic. Before she closed and crimped the edges, she whipped out the extra virgin olive oil to slather up the potatoes. Adding the two secret herbs and spices, salt and pepper, chopped garlic was added. Crimp the foil into a pouch and it’s grill time. Depending on the heat of the coals, by the time it takes to polish off two glasses of champagne and catch up with the latest American Idol scandal (that guy had gay stripper written all over him. Hot, baby, hot!), check the fingerlings as they are most likely close to done. These simply prepared pots with the smoke of the grill were a total hit. Heated up the next day in Mrs. Microwave Yo, they still had that amazing flavor. I’ve also prepared the pots with an oil mister, which lightly kissed the fingerlings with oil, still resulting in divine potatage yet forgiving to the waistline. I’ve tried two oil misters. The first was the Misto Gourmet. This is a fancy, sleek little number that got me all hot and bothered with its fancy spray. The romance ended a few weeks later when the light spray quickly turned to a steady piss of olive oil. The new mister, the RSVP Endurance (condom or oil mister?), seems to be consistent and reliable, but we’re still in the honeymoon phase.

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Maggie Mags, A Chook and PBR Up the Wazoo

February 26, 2008 — Leave a comment

Maggie, fierce business woman and chef extraordinaire, up in the Seattle area on a business trip carved out some time to pop over and whip up some grub on the grill. Lucky for us, she brought the house down with her chicken and potatoes. Rounded out with some Romanesque Broccoli to tick off the “yes I ate my greens today” box.

She used:
Two Chickens, Organic
Beer or Pabst Blue Ribbon
Onion
Lemon
Beer Probes, Anal
Fingerling Potatoes
Romanesque Broccoli
Tim Tams!! … while you wait
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic
Wine with a cockerel on it for fun factor
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Maggie slickered the chickens up with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. She also used some lemon to squidge on both outside and inside the chook. The chicken was fluffed and ready for what rectal pleasures lie ahead. The beer probe was quite simple to prep. Find the right PBR to pop in the beer hole. Sample a few to make sure you have the right flavor and bubblage. Maggie brought over a case of PBR to broaden her selection. Once the beer was opened, sipped and in, she popped on the chicken … and giggled profusely. Stick an onion down the neck and it’s ready for the grill. Maggie lifted off the top grill of the barbeque and got right in there with the charcoal. She made a ring of charcoal so the chicken could sit comfortably in the middle then put the lid on. Off she went to prep the fingerlings.Again, the fingerlings were left to do their thing with the help of salt, pepper, garlic and some extra virgin olive oil. Mags popped those in a snuggy, foil wrap and placed them next to the chicken. Which left time for a little Tim Tam break. Nothing wets the appetite like the sweet, chocolaty forplay of a Tim Tam. Cuz enough is just never enough. Okay, Romanesque Broccoli time. A bit tricky and Maggie would say that she’d like to give it another try. The end result was a bit dry and came out with brown tips. No matter, the broccoli was but a mere bit part to the spectacular that was chook and pots. Maggie did a quick meat temp check on the two beauties (chicken is 165˚F internal) and the dinner was done. Girrrl / Boyee / what have you, let me tell you me, that chicken was moist, hot and deeelicious. Maggie was so convincing with her tale of how good chicken made this way was, but for us skeptics, you have to taste it to believe it. I’m not into novelty, deep fried poultry type cooking, but seriously, the chicken was amazing and that’s not the PBR talking. The chicken was perfect. The potatoes … don’t get me started on the potatoes. They were also amazing with their barbeque, smoky flavor, fluffy on the inside, firm on the outside texture. Yum yum. Maggie did it all. From charcoal to mouthful she put out a meal simple to construct and powerful in flavor and HOT oh so hot.

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two chooks, side by side, but they are one

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Lynda and The Herd

February 15, 2008 — Leave a comment

Lynda whipped up a feast to satisfy all types of gastronomique pleasures. Pork, lamb, beef, chook and goodness even crab! This grilling extravaganza is affectionately referred to as The Herd Platter. Basically take your meaty goodness and marinate it in whatever strikes your fancy boat floating and you’re half way there.

Shopping List:

Beef
Pork chops
Lamb cutlets
Weiners
Chicken pieces
Crab … real crab not K-rab
Potatoes, cute and little
Spring mix lettuce
Avocado
Red and Yellow Bell Peppers
Eggplant
Carrots
Onions
Fresh Herbs (pronounced Her – bs in Aussie)

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And with every herd you need some veg and dessert to round out the fun. Lynda created the most amazing grilled veggie salad. Grilled peaches for dessert and even Zoe the dog was snuggling in for a little ciesta post feast.

All this made on a grill that fell off the back of a truck to travel 110 km down a major Australian freeway. Definitely our fastest grill by far on our Girl On Grill Action adventure.

All the meat was cooked in stages with the beef arriving last to the party. Lay out everything on the table with some fresh, whole wheat pita and your Herd Platter will not disappoint.

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The Australian bush view from this site was astounding. The weather hot, the cicadas loud and the smell of the herd mingling and sizzling was mouth watering. A great lazy day to yap, giggle and chow down on amazing food. The hot grilled vegetables on the cold salad was an amazing experience of sensory explosion only to collapse into a sweet pool of hot peaches and cool cream. The Herd platter is definitely worth repeating. When you do, plan a day of it, there’s plenty to prepare, plenty to eat and a whole lot of loving conversation to have while you work your way through.

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australian bush

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Tracy, BBQT

February 5, 2008 — Leave a comment

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Classy lady Tracy has stepped up from down under to be our second BBQT of the month. Sure she’s from America, but she holds strong by putting her own prawn on the bahbee in the beautiful city of Sydney. Tongs in hand (okay ice cube tongs thanks Opera Bar!), Tracy can lay on her Girl On Grill Aciton ™ like nobody’s bidness. Tracy uses simple, high quality ingredients, hot heat of the grill, two secret herbs and spices then lets the natural flavors shine. One of her favorite recipes is a prawn and calamari salad with lemon and orange dressing from one of her well used grilling cookbooks. A quick little diddy that takes oil and citrus with a little zest, dash of sugar and a wee bit of garlic to smother on some yummy, grilled seafood. Add a little fresh herbs for a cunning entrée.

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Sweet, Yummy Duck Breast

January 29, 2008 — 2 Comments

A united blend of spice, sweet and moist with fun texture that leaves boredom to no tongue.

You Need:
Duck Breast
Sweety, goopy stuff (Emily used a jammy marmelaide)
A little salt and pepper

skin side down

Rub some of that sweet goodness on the duck breasts. Place them skin side to the grill and cover. When they shrink up and brown and are firm to touch, pull them off.

goopy sweet and raw

oooOooooooo nice duck

Dessert Tamales

January 1, 2008 — 1 Comment

Delicate, sweet goodness all snug in its own little wrapper.

You Need:
Masa … the ol’ “golden cornflour”
Dates
Azuki Beans (sweetened red beans)
Banana Leaves
Buttah

masa masa mixture

The masa part:
Quite simple really. Pop some masa in a bowl, like a cup or so. It’s like making pancakes with Bisquick, you add melted butter until the consistency is compactable were you to make a tamale. Add the azuki beans.

The wrapper part:
The banana leaves are long, long LONG. Carefully tear them into squares, they’re just wrappers so no need to be particular.

banana leaf and emily

The tamale part:
Grab a hand full of masa mix, stick a date surprise in the center. Grab some more masa mix to form a cute, little, rectanglish thingo. Pop that down in the center of the banana leaf square and wrap ‘er up. Usually pull one side over, tuck in the bums and roll to the other side. A tamale is born. So cute and impressive.

middle wrap. huh-huh huh huh it's like a jungle tuck in the bums

Pop that on the grill for a bit and flip once. You want it to be steamy warm. Good job. Grab some champagne, girlfriend.

Emily, Duck!

December 14, 2007 — 1 Comment

This is Emily

Sure it’s a tit freezing day in Seattle. Sure finding charcoal amongst candy canes, fruitcake and brass plated golf tees can be trying. But leave it to Emily, our master chef of the day, to wrangle the crowds scouting out banana leaves, choice duck breast and put out a 3-D cookie with style.

Girl On Grill Action done in cookie medium

Shopping List:
Duck Breasts
Marmalade for a some slimy, sticky sweet breast rub action
Banana Leaves
Masa
Azuki Beans (sweetened red beans)
Carrots with their tops on, modest
Green Onions (Scallion, Spring Onions, same shit)
Butter
Dates
Something fizzy and fabulous to drink

aaah. perty

The fancy beans and banana leaves were picked up at our local Asian grocer de especial Uwajimaya. A place so fine you can pick up what’s for dinner and still leave with some Cream Collon and Totoro books.

emily

To warm things up a bit, Emily lit the coals and cracked open Kirkland’s finest champagne.

mmmm. bubbles

Rachel popped by as well and a champagne taste off commenced. Veuve Clicquot vs Costco’s Kirkland Signature Champagne. Kirkland was up first.

kirkland's finest vs fancy label

Shockingly nice. Good bubble. Another sip is well deserved. Both Rachel and Emily sported the frown nod for Kirkland’s finest. Veuve Clicquot next, huh, a bit bitter. Nice, but how much nicer than Kirkland? Worth extra change for the privilege of advertisement? Both seemed to be solid bottles of mass produced, non-vintage champagne. One bottle starts at forty bucks while the other a mere twenty.

a sip of Kirkland a sip of voov rachel sips

Then the duck was on. Duck fat doing it’s duck fat thing agitated the coals and we had ourselves an impressive flame.

flamey

rachel paints her nails

Carrot girl handed our master chef the carrots and the grill was lidded. After a rest and a failed attempt at a foil bird, the green onions were on. The flames are hot, so don’t go for a refill. Minus a few casualties, the onions were perfect. The sweet tango of duck, caramelized carrot and grilled green onions danced in the mouths of these girls as the morsels were eaten –no- devoured and washed down with a fine bottle of generic champagne.

Go go carrot girl

foiled duck

mmmm duck plate combo

Quick shoe break as the Endless shipment arrived (free overnight shipping oh maw gaw!! If loving Endless is wrong GIRL, I don’ wanna be rightah) and it’s on to dessert.

SHOES!!! Pink cowgirl boots!! GET OUT!!!

Emily quickly whipped up some dessert tamales with sweet red beans and a surprise date all snuggled with masa then bundled and tucked in a banana leaf. After a little sit on the grill, these little babies came out steamy hot and melted in the mouth. Another impressive concoction to dazzle and amaze your friends. And easy to boot!

girl on grill chat

Rachel’s inner chocolate daemon scouted out some frozen brownie bites. This led to grilled brownie done two ways. Version one, straight up brownie on grill action. Version two, hey! banana leaves! … let’s stick some in here!

mmmmm. brownie

The straight up brownie was warm and tasty, but quite dry. The banana leaf version was warm, moist yet had this banana leaf overtone that impersonated green tea. Not this girl’s style.

more grill chat

Okay, so the duck breast, carrot, green onion combo plate converged on a Grand Canyon at sunset color, the taste was FABULOUS. Emily closed down the fall barbeque season with sass. And in true Girl On Grill Action™ form, she walked in the door and it was on.

grillin' and chattin let's go eat