The weather here in the Adirondacks has been mild, really mild this Spring. Other than a minor snowstorm last week, it's been the nicest Spring I can remember. In March we had a couple of days in the 80's, April was warm and mild, and this past weekend temps were up in the 80's again.
Time to shift from cooking indoors to out.
The only problem with this shift is that our gas grill kicked the bucket a while back, so there was nothing to cook on.
Yesterday I had the itch to buy a grill and quench my thirst for some grilled goodies.
Gas or charcoal? I've done lots of cooking on both. In my humble opinion charcoal gives a better flavor, but is time-consuming. Gas is convenient, and if you spend enough and let the grill season, the flavor is comparable to charcoal. At our camp in Cape Vincent we've got a Weber Kettle for charcoal and my buddy Steve has the big gas Weber.
That said, I drove to the local hardware store and after much deliberation I decided to purchase a charcoal grill for home. When I saw this grill I knew I had to have it. It spoke to me. It whispered, "Bring me home and I'll show you I can produce finer chicken and ribs than any of these $500 gas grills. I'm retro and you're old, we're meant for each other." I was sold. The sale was completed, and tonight our relationship was consummated.
First, here she is.
Ain't she a beauty? The best money can buy for $21.95 (Hey , I'm on a budget).
For dinner I made grilled chicken adobo, grilled onions, steamed veggies and rice.
The chicken recipe I found on Allrecipes.( Click here for recipe. ) It was easy and excellent.
You simmer the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, water, vinegar, honey, garlic and pepper for about a half hour, then throw it on the grill to crisp it up.
The grilled onions were a first too, and also from Allrecipes. (Click here for recipe.)
You peel the onion, cut out the top, then I used my apple corer to hollow out the middle. Drop in a chicken bouillon cube and some butter, replace the top, wrap in foil, and put on the grill for an hour or so.
These were awesome too (well, if you like onions.), and a nice complement to the rice and veggies.
On the grill.
And on the plate.
All in all I believe our relationship will be solid for years to come.
Yay for charcoal! Looks like you people could just dig a hole in the ground, 3 rocks with a grate on it and be good to go. Cheap way, cooks splendidly.
ReplyDeletexo, Biggles
My god Tup, your weather is a whole lot better than ours! Not one day yet breaking 70, and so much rain that if I dig down 6" in my garden, the hole fills with water! Count yourself lucky.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to dine in a setting like that. When the view is that spectacular, why not make the food simple, right? After all, that's the true entree, so to speak. ;)
ReplyDelete