Korean BBQ in San Mateo

Chicken on the grill.

While in California we were also treated to a wonderful Korean BBQ meal by our friend Jose's parents. Delicious!

Yum - marinating steak.



Cooking the delicious steak.

100th Birthday and Another Lovely Birthday Cake

100 Years and counting... my stepdad's mom Annette. Many of us call her "Aunt Anne".







She requested a cookout...







My mom had this neat cake made commemorating Aunt Anne's many years in Philadelphia (1928 - 2005) as well as her 100 years. Aunt Anne kept insisting, "I am not 100!"







Dips made by my fabulous sister-in-law Nicole. Yum.







My DH, the grill master on the giant Foreman. It was a wonderful celebration of a long life. We look forward to 101 next summer!







Another birthday, another cake - this one for our friend Dana in Atlanta.

Fun in Celo, NC

The South Toe river - cold but so nice!

Dad and his HOB (hunk of beef).



Diane blows out her birthday candles on the 4th of July.



Burnsville, NC Farmer's Market - nice selection of fresh produce, baked goods, cheeses and meats.



Cute signage.



When pigs fly...

A Great Neighbor

Ribs, baked beans and cornbread.

On Saturday my neighbor Tim called to ask if I'd be interested in some of the BBQ he was making. Did I have to think about that one?! Later on Saturday I stopped by to pick up wonderfully tender, flavorful ribs with homemade sauce no less, tasty baked beans, a half chicken and cornbread. Wow! Tim uses a real smoker (like the big ones you see at festivals) and the ribs cook for 6.5 hours! I'm not sure how I'm going to return this favor, but I know I'll be returning Tim and Deb's tupperware so that I might be the lucky recipient of this wonderful, thoughtful gift again in the future. Thank you Tim and Deb! You are awesome :)

Rack of ribs!



Chicken - crisp and juicy.

Family Dinner on the Porch

Yours truly was in charge of "munchies" - from left center: goat gouda, homemade hummus (frozen and defrosted from a couple of weeks ago), marinated mushrooms, fresh mozzerella and olives from Whole Foods olive bar, seeded faltbread and in the center, sesame honey cashews from the Morningside Farmer's Market.



Joanne & Craigs fabulous rosemary lemon grilled chicken.



Yummy grilled veggies.



Chickpea couscous salad with a hint of cinnamon.



The full plate. For dessert we had strawberry shortcake (below).

Fall Grillin'

This fall after settling into my new place, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Big Green Egg smoker & grill. So far, I've been able to get some good results, although I'm still getting the hang of regulating the temperature. So far I've cooked turkey burgers, beef burgers, lamb chops, swordfish & lots of vegetables.

The key to these moist turkey burgers is Trader Joe's cranberry chutney as well as sauteed apples & onions that I mix in with the meat along with an egg, bread crumbs and spices.

Grilled swordfish & grilled onions with mashed sweet potatoes, fresh corn & collard greens.

Grilled lamb chops, grilled baby eggplants & pita bread.

Grillz

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending "International Grilling" with two of my co-workers at Albertson's Cooking School in Bryn Mawr, PA.

David Boyle, the executive chef at Davio's Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, grilled a multitude of delicacies for us. As over thirty people watched, Chef Boyle grilled pizza, corn, lamb chops, filet mignon, lobster tail, salmon, scallops, skirt steak, vegetables and pineapple. The skirt steak and the pineapple were definitely my favorites. Included with the class were recipes for many of the things that we sampled. I will definitely have to check out the Mojo Sauce for future use!

This squash may squash...

The finished product - grilled chicken, grilled

zucchini and spinach salad.

Today when I arrived at work, the director of the agency where I work had brought in several giant zucchini squash from his home garden. At first I ignored my temptation to grab one up but, behold, at the end of the day the biggest one was still left! I took it home, sliced it, marinated it in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and grilled it on my cousins' outdoor gas grill.
I had another exciting development with work that had nothing really to do with work. One of my co-workers won three spots at an "International Grilling" class that is taking place this Wednesday. Since she can't go she opened it up to the office. I am psyched for my first formal cooking class! More to come on that soon.
On another note, I just discovered that they make Lactose-free ice cream and it isn't bad. Of course it isn't Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerrys but it is nice to know I have the option. I still eat "regular" ice cream after downing a lactase enzyme pill or two, but this way I don't have to worry about all that every time I want ice cream. Unfortunately, I don't think they make a "Key Lime Pie" variety like my favorite Bruster's flavor!