Fresh Tomato Sauce
Processing tomatoes to make a traditional Tomato Sauce is tedious indeed. Not what you really want to be doing in the summer months.
So a few years ago I went through my Cookbooks and found a fresh tomato sauce, tweaking it to come up with this one.
The best part about this sauce is that it cooks pretty quickly. The cut tomatoes are drained before cooking, reducing a lot of the juice, without having to reduce it with cooking. Because of this you can use any kind of tomato, it does not necessarily have to be a plum tomato.
If you grow your own tomatoes, by now you will have an abundant supply of them and this is a great recipe to help alleviate that overload. The farmers markets also have plenty of tomatoes and at good prices, too.
Fresh Tomato Sauce (adapted from Cooking Light)
4-1/2 to 5 pounds of tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups finely chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a colander over the sink or a bowl (if your sink is busy, like mine was today). Sprinkle with the salt and toss well. Let drain for 30 minutes.
Melt butter in large saucepan, over medium heat. Add olive oil. Chop onion and garlic (together in the Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus, if you have one) and put in saucepan. Saute for 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add drained tomatoes, fresh basil, tomato paste and sugar. Let simmer at medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken slightly and there will still be chunks of tomatoes. Season with salt, if needed. (mine needed an extra 1/4 teaspoon, today).
the tomatoes I used, Health Kick:
a little more than 5 pounds:
cut tomatoes: I use a fine edged bread knife
tomatoes draining over a bowl:
basil:
the rest of the ingredients join the onions:
after 20 minutes of simmering:
plated:
with cheese:
over bread:
Shrimp Salad Rolls
This was dinner last night and it was yummy: Shrimp Salad Rolls.
I highly recommend it.
I did not have lemon juice (substituted lime), tarragon or parsley, added a fraction of the lemon zest, did not add pepper, used regular Hellman’s mayonnaise and it was still good! Next time, I will be more prepared but honestly it was great as is.
I also used frozen uncooked shrimp and followed the directions on the package for defrosting, then followed the recipe for cooking.
They suggest serving it with premade herbed roasted potatoes. I made my own, which in my opinion is a whole lot better. I will be sure to share this simple recipe sometime soon.
Pork SpareRibs
I had never really given any thought about making pork spare ribs. My Mom used to boil the ribs before my Dad grilled them and they were good, don’t get me wrong. But boiling ribs just never appealed to me as something I might want to do.
But then I came upon a recipe from a magazine called Cuisine that I used to subscribe to. They baked the ribs in the oven before grilling. Now that appealed to me.
The ribs are great with My Mom’s Coleslaw, garlic bread and corn. And lots of napkins!
Ribs (adapted from Cuisine magazine)
2, Pork Spare Ribs, each under 3 lbs., preferably
2 tablespoon Kosher salt
3/4 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
BBQ sauce of your choice (I use Stubbs but any brand that you like is fine or make your own: tons of recipes out there)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine salt and spices in a small bowl. Place ribs on a large rimmed baking sheet. On the back of the ribs will be a flap of meat/fat. Cut that off with a sharp knife. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the spice mix onto the back of each spare rib and rub the spices in with your fingers. Turn ribs over and repeat with the rest of the spice mix. Cover the the ribs with heavy duty aluminum foil and seal around the edges of the rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 2 hours.
About 30 minutes before the ribs are done, preheat your grill and clean very thoroughly. After 2 hours, the meat should be pulling away from the bones. If they are under 3 lbs. or just 3 lbs. this should take the 2 hours. If they are bigger, then they might need another 15 minutes or so.
Remove ribs from oven, uncover and carefully place the ribs onto a large cutting board. Spread BBQ sauce on the one side (either with a brush or spoon, whatever you have) and bring them out to the grilling area, along with your barbecue sauce and large metal tongs. Reduce the heat on the grill to one notch above low. Place the ribs directly on the grill, BBQ sauce side down. After 6 minutes, put barbecue sauce on the top side, and very, very carefully take your tongs and work underneath the ribs to release from grill. Turn over carefully. And grill for another 6 minutes. Again, work the tongs underneath the ribs to release from grill and then remove spare ribs from grill onto cutting board. Cut ribs individually or in sections and serve.
Pork Spare Ribs (these are 2.8 lbs. and 2.7 lbs. respectively):
The flap of meat/fat that needs to be removed:
The flap removed:
Salt and spices:
Side one sprinkled and rubbed with salt and spices:
Side two sprinkled and rubbed with salt and spices:
Pan covered tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil:
Ribs after 2 hours of baking, meat has pulled away from bone:
Ribs ready to go on grill (my son doesn’t like Stubbs, so I put the Kraft on the other rack.):
Grill burner setting:
First side on grill:
BBQ sauce on :
Flipped over and charred nicely (grill another 6 minutes):
Ready to cut up:
Delicious!
Sugar Cookies
We are having a family party this weekend. I have for decades (wow, I can actually say decades now: oh boy) prepared all the food for any party we have had. Well, this time, for the first time, we are having it catered, by a lovely young woman and CIA graduate . And it’s the first time I am not a crazy woman and super anxious. I feel like I should be and than go to myself, “Wait, Julie’s coming with all the food, you are totally prepared already!! ”
It’s not totally catered: I have made the dessert and rolls (which I finished with Thursday, unbelievable!). But to me, this is the fun part. I started last Saturday making the ice cream part of the dessert: vanilla, then chocolate, strawberry and finally fresh mint with peppermint patty chunks. I will share all the ice creams creations in another post, especially the fresh mint, adapted from The Perfect Scoop.
I also made my Refrigerator Rolls Deluxe, twice.
And for the cookies, I made Chocolate Brownies, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sugar Cookies, which this post is about.
I love chocolate: chocolate cookies, cake, ice cream, candy…….but there is nothing like a really good vanilla cookie with crunch and chewiness.
And this is what you will find with this cookie: crunchy sugar with a nice chewy inside. A wonderful addition to my dessert repertoire of ice cream and cookies.
Sugar Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Sugar in the Raw for rolling and sprinkling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl and mix together with a whisk. Place butter in a mixing bowl and add sugars, mixing thoroughly with a paddle attachment or beaters. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture until combined.
Scoop dough with an ice cream scoop. Pinch dough in half and roll each half into a ball. Place into a bowl filled with Sugar in the Raw and roll thoroughly around in sugar. Place on a large rimmed ungreased cookie sheet. Keep dough balls at least 2 inches apart. I fit 8 on my pan. Slightly flatten dough ball with a metal spatula to ~ 1/-3/4 inch. Sprinkle heavily with more Sugar in the Raw.
Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes. Turn cookie pan and bake for another 5 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before removing onto a wax paper lined cookie rack.
mis en place:
finished dough (it’s pretty stiff):
set-up for rolling:
ice cream scoop of dough:
scoop of dough pinched in half:
rolling in sugar:
flattening:
second sprinkling with Sugar in the Raw:
out of the oven:
Sugar Cookies:
Measuring Spoons
I’ve had these measuring spoons for a long, long time. I think my Mom gave them to me.
My husband looked at them one day while I was using them. “They don’t look right. Are you sure you should be using them?” “Yeah,” I said, “they’re fine!”
I looked at them today. They are not fine. I should not be using them.
I have plenty of measuring spoons as you can see. But I like these.
So I went on-line to look at some. I’ve been craving those skinny ones that you can fit into spice containers and odd measuring amounts like 1/8 teaspoon or 1/3 teaspoon. Yeah I know, 1/3 of a teaspoon. What’s up with that? Very small cake. Anyway, there are a lot of measuring spoons. Thought I would share some:
Norpro 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons: a smidgen, a pinch, a dash! how cool is that!
Pourfect 12-Piece Leveler Measuring Spoon Set: awesome color choices. There’s my 1/3 teaspoon!
Boston Warehouse Frisky Business Measuring Spoon: oh how cute! And matching measuring cups!: Boston Warehouse Frisky Business Measuring Cup
??? Head Chefs Measuring Spoon ???
KitchenArt Pro Adjust-A-Tablespoon: I had a set like this. I couldn’t get used to using them. I threw them out………
WOW!: “Love Beyond Measure” Heart-Shaped Measuring Spoons in Gift Box
Ok, I have to stop now, you get the idea.
Grilled Cajun Shrimp with Broccoli Slaw
The last time I made this was in July of 2000. We had friends over with their children, plus our children and my Mom too. It was pretty ambitious, now that I look back on it. I think I made 2 other grilled items because I wasn’t sure everyone liked shrimp (the children were young, my son was 8 at the time and he wasn’t the youngest) but for the life of me I can’t remember what. I may stumble upon them like I did this one. I hope so, because this one’s a winner.
This recipe has 3 parts: the broccoli slaw, the grilled shrimp and the toasted garlic bread. I will try to help you prep as much as possible so that it will go smoothly.
Just a side note, shrimp marinating too long is not good. If there is any acid in the marinade, it will start to ‘cook’ the shrimp. Not really what you want. So adhere to the marinating time.
Before you get started, review Grilling post, if need be.
Grilled Cajun Shrimp with Broccoli Slaw (adapted from Cuisine magazine)
one package of bamboo skewers
Place about 10 skewers in a large shallow glass dish and cover with water. Soak for at least 30 minutes or longer.
Broccoli Slaw:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 of very large shallot minced to make 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from ~ 1 very large lemon)
1, 10 ounce package of Broccoli Slaw Mix
Add the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the Broccoli Slaw Mix and toss to combine. Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate. Stir before serving.
Shrimp and Marinade:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning (McCormick has this)
2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
Add all ingredients into a large glass bowl. Stir to combine with a whisk. Pour off and measure 1/4 cup into smaller glass dish. Set aside both into refrigerator until the shrimp are ready to marinate.
1 pound of large shrimp ( 21-25 count)
1, disposable aluminum cookie sheet
If frozen, defrost shrimp per instructions on bag (they should already be deveined) and peel off shell and remove tail carefully. Set aside in refrigerator.
If fresh shrimp, peel, remove tail carefully, devein and set aside in refrigerator.
Spray disposable aluminum cookie sheet with canola spray and set aside.
Cherry Tomatoes:
12 cherry tomatoes, cleaned and destemmed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Put tomatoes in small glass bowl and pour olive oil on top. Stir together gently and set aside.
Italian Bread:
One large Italian Bread, about 1 pound (you need the bread to be somewhat fluffy inside and not very crusty on the outside.)
6 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of minced garlic from one garlic clove
Cut the bread into generous 2 inch slices. You should get about 4 – 5 slices this way. Take each slice and cut in half, BUT NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. You want to create a hinge. This way the shrimp and tomatoes and slaw stay in the bread. Set bread aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the garlic. Stir together and set aside.
Pre-heat your grill. This will take 15 minutes. Take the shrimp, toss with the marinade and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep your bread by brushing both sides with the garlic/butter mixture. Set aside.
When 15 minutes are up, start threading onto bamboo: take shrimp and pierce through head and tail (this will keep them flat) until you have 4-5 shrimp on the skewer . Keep a little space in between each shrimp. Continue with the rest of the shrimp. Do the same procedure with the tomatoes. I like to keep my shrimp and tomatoes separate and this goes for all kebabs in general. Everything cooks differently and although it might look pretty skewering different items together on the bamboo, I like to keep them separate.
Place shrimp and tomato kebabs onto aluminum pan. Brush with reserved marinade. Clean grill and place pan onto grates. Cover and leave on high. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn kebabs and brush with reserved marinade. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove pan from grill.
Grill bread directly on grates, for about 30 – 45 seconds on each side until slightly toasted.
Carefully remove shrimp and tomatoes from bamboo. Put some broccoli slaw on the toasted bread and top with 4-5 shrimp and 3 tomatoes.
bamboo soaking in water (obviously this is more than 10 bamboo, oh well):
shrimp I use:
Italian bread:
broccoli slaw dressing ingredients:
finished broccoli slaw:
marinade ingredients:
shrimp added:
prepping bread:
kebabs on grill:
bread on grill:
bread toasted:
all ready to eat: yum!!
Mojitos
We had a few friends over for dinner on Saturday and I decided to make Mojitos because my garden runneth over with mint! And it’s such a summery drink.
But I did not like the idea of muddling 8 drinks and possibly muddling 8 more drinks: too much work!
So I looked up big batch, make ahead recipes.
This was very successful and I received rave reviews from all my guests!
Just a few hints about the recipe:
8 limes squeezed is equal to 1 cup of lime juice (the most work you have to do in this recipe)
I used about 1-1/2 very heavy sprigs of mint to make 1-1/4 cups of lightly packed mint leaves.
I pinched off just the tip of the mint stalk for garnish ahead of time and put them in a shallow bowl with cold water so I had them all ready when I was serving the drinks.
I did not put ice into the pitcher with the rum, mint syrup and lime juice. I made sure each separate ingredient was cold and added a lot of ice to each glass.
I also made 2 batches which gave everyone about 2 servings each.
Have fun and enjoy!!
Grilling Chicken
So this is where it all began: me, the grill and chicken, compliments of my Dad. (see Grilling post for a little more background on this).
I have tried many, many times to grill a delicious chicken breast but have only succeeded a few times. I now only grill thighs and drumsticks. The chicken breast needs to be the same approximate size as your thighs and most chicken breasts are these humongous things, not really suited for grilling perfectly. So for now, it is only thighs and drumsticks for me: they are always juicy and tender done on the grill. If you have a butcher or access to one ask for a fryer chicken cut up into 1/8ths with the backbone removed from the breast. Or if you can find just chicken breasts that are the size of the thigh, please include. Just keep the number of pieces between 8 and 9.
My ultimate goal is to cut up a fryer myself. I have been taught the procedure in one of the CIA classes I took but it was really sloppy and not really grillable. I need more practice.
I like Bell and Evans Chicken and would prefer to use them always but most of the time I use Perdue brand chicken. The only chicken I absolutely do not use is Tyson. I cooked them once and it tasted like fish, maybe it’s what they feed them? I don’t know, but I have been tainted, so I never use that brand.
My father always used a disposable aluminum pan to cook his chicken on, like this: Hefty EZ Foil Cookie Sheets and so do I. If these are impossible to find, then I have in a pinch, taken a not so nice rimmed cookie sheet and encased it in heavy-duty aluminum foil.
The only tools you absolutely need, is nice long tongs, to turn the chicken and a second timer: this could be your microwave timer but this is my favorite second timer. This way I can stay outside on the deck with my chicken, have a nice drink, maybe look through one of my new food magazines or chat with my daughter on the phone. Not completely necessary but it will make your chicken grilling experience more enjoyable.
Here we go:
Grilled Chicken
8-9 pieces of chicken, thighs and drumsticks and breasts if you can get the right size, with bones and skin
1 Hefty EZ Foil Cookie Sheet
Canola Oil Spray
Salt and Pepper
Prep the grill:
On my grill, this is the procedure: (but please read your manual FIRST!) OPEN THE HOOD (If the propane tank is not open, open it), put the front burner knob on high and ignite with the push button ignition. You should hear it ignite. Then turn the other knob(s) on high as well. You should hear them ignite too. Once all the burner(s) have ignited and you can see the flame (there is also a little peep-hole in the front of the grill, that when you look into, you can see the flames in the inside as well) close the hood and leave closed for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes open the hood and with your brush clean the grates. You don’t have to be too fussy because your chicken is not going directly on the grates.
Put the chicken packages in the sink. Place the Hefty EZ Foil Cookie Sheet next to the sink and spray heavily with the Canola Oil spray. When you think you have sprayed enough, spray one more time. Unwrap the chicken in the sink and place chicken parts on cookie sheet. Throw out the chicken packages. Wash sink with soap and water and your hands. Sprinkle the chicken pretty heavily with salt and sprinkle a little less heavily with pepper.
Place the pan of chicken on the grate of the grill and turn the heat down to two notches below high on all burners. Put one timer on for 25 minutes and the other timer on for 5 minutes. Close hood. After 5 minutes, turn the chicken carefully (sometimes if there is not enough canola spray on the pan, the skin will stick, so be gentle) and sprinkle this side of the chicken with salt and pepper. Then re-set the timer for 5 minutes. Continue to turn every 5 minutes (no more salt and pepper) until your one timer goes off after the 25 minutes, finish whatever is on your 5 minute timer. Place chicken on a platter. Let sit for 10-15 minutes and then serve.
If you would like to apply a barbecue sauce (I used this: Neelys BBQ Sauce, it was good, I enjoyed it. On the sweet side) put it on the last 5 minutes of grilling.
Make sure to turn off your grill.
sprayed Hefty EZ Foil Cookie Sheet:
optional rimmed cookie sheet encased in heavy duty aluminum foil and sprayed with canola oil spray:
chicken in sink:
chicken on pans with first sprinklings of salt and pepper:
setting for burners on your grill:
chicken on the grill:
set-up for what you need (BBQ sauce in bowl under cover/brush):
first turn with more salt and pepper:
five minutes before chicken done, can apply BBQ sauce if using now:
ready to be served:
Grilling Hamburgers
This is a very basic grilling recipe to get you started and comfortable with your grill.
I make my own hamburger patties. I do not like the ones that you can buy premade. I like to control the size of my burger so it will fit my bun. So this size is specifically for Arnold’s Select Hamburger Buns. Tweek the hamburger patties to fit the size bun that you like.
I also like 85% ground beef. 90% is too lean and 80% is too fatty for a burger. But this is strictly a matter of personal taste. Please buy what you like. What matters is the size and the cooking time of the burger.
For fresh burgers to cook right away:
Using a 1 cup plastic ziplok container as a guide, fill the container with ground beef until it weighs out to 5 ounces (this does not include the weight of the container). Press beef gently into cup. Turn it upside down and bang it onto a cutting board to release. Gently press down on beef to make an ~4 inch wide, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick burger. Gently with your fingers, loosen burger from cutting board and put back down, so it will be easy to take off when you are ready to grill. Proceed with as many burgers as you need. Place in refrigerator until you are ready to grill.
To freeze burgers, to use in future:
Instead of pressing down beef into patty on board, take the mound of beef and put into center of one quart ziplok freezer bag. Gently press on bag to form into ~4 inch, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick burger. Seal bag and place in freezer flat. Continue with the rest of beef.
2 pounds of ground beef will make approximately 7 burgers.
Just a side note, when you are all finished making your hamburger patties, clean ALL surfaces that have come in contact with the ground beef, with a disinfectant wipe. Cross contamination is no fun!
Prepare your grill:
On my grill, this is the procedure: (but please read your manual FIRST! see Grilling post) OPEN THE HOOD (If the propane tank is not open, open it), put the front burner knob on high and ignite with the push button ignition. You should hear it ignite. Then turn the other knob(s) on high as well. You should hear them ignite too. Once all the burner(s) have ignited and you can see the flame (there is also a little peep-hole in the front of the grill, that when you look into, you can see the flames in the inside as well) close the hood and leave closed for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes open the hood and with your brush, clean the grates thoroughly. Sometimes I use the scraper part on my grill as well, to get everything off. It’s very important that the grates be clean. Your food could stick to the grate if they are not cleaned.
For fresh hamburger: set your heat on all burners to two notches below high. Set hamburger patties on clean grill. Close hood and set timer for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes, open hood, turn hamburger patties (this is when you would add your onion package**), close hood and set timer for 3 minutes.
After time is up, open hood, put cheese on top of burger, turn off heat, close hood and wait for about 30 seconds. Open hood, remove hamburger onto bun and garnish as desired.
For frozen hamburgers, same as above but increase time to 4 minutes on each side.
**If you like onions on your burger (this is enough for one possibly two burgers) : ~ 15 inch square of aluminum foil sprayed with canola oil, 1/2 of medium onion sliced thin and placed on aluminum foil. Fold up aluminum foil to make a puffy package.
set up for making patties:
weighing the ground beef:
mound of beef ready to be flattened:
perfect hamburger patty:
in one quart ziplok freezer bag before forming:
ready to go in freezer:
hamburger patties ready for the grill:
hamburger patties ready for the freezer:
thinly sliced onions on foil that has been sprayed with canola oil:
onion packet (keep it slightly puffy):
best setting for cooking hamburger patties:
hamburger patties on the grill:
after 3 minutes (4 for frozen), turn hamburger patties and put onion packet on if having:
after 3 more minutes add cheese, remove onions, turn off grill and close hood for ~ 30 seconds:
all ready for condiments:
cooked onions:
yum:
Grilling
My father taught me how to grill. He made the most delicious chicken. I asked him one day if he could teach me. It took him awhile to finally tell me: I think he had to devise some kind of recipe that I would be able to understand because I truly believe he made that chicken on feel alone. He would sit on the patio next to the grill with a drink, and turn that chicken frequently, taking off pieces as they became done. I can’t say that my chicken tastes exactly like his but it’s close. And learning to grill chicken gave me the basic knowledge to grill other foods as well.
So to get everyone out there that hasn’t grilled before started, this is an introduction. I solely grill on a Weber Gas Grill, so all reference to grilling will be towards this particular grill. I like Weber grills. They are made in the U.S.A. so parts are readily available on-line and in stores.
Cleaning the grill is the first thing that needs to be done before you start and should be done frequently throughout the summer months if you grill on a regular basis. The reason for cleaning is that residue from grilling can catch on fire. The worst thing is to have thick, juicy steaks grilling nicely and have the residue on your grill catch fire and start to char your beautiful steaks! Yikes! (learn from my mistakes!)
I also encourage you to read the manual that came with your grill and if this is unavailable, look for one on-line: Weber Grill Manuals.
Open the hood of your grill and take off the cooking grate. (the grill is not on, right?) Then remove the bars. On the bottom is a little pan (drip pan to be precise) to catch the grease, remove that too. Set yourself up with a large plastic garbage bag inserted into a large garbage can. Remove the tray that is under the body of the grill and scrape all the residue from the tray into the garbage can. I use a long handled metal spatula for this job but anything will do including a paint scraper or even the scrape part of the grill brush. Put aside. Take another plastic garbage bag and place under the grill (I happen to have a shelf on mine, so I place the bag on there). Scrape the insides of the grill as best you can and lightly scrape the inside of the hood. Throw out the plastic bag carefully (the black stuff gets away no matter how hard you try to contain it, so just accept). Scrape the bars of any residue gently, over the garbage can and replace inside the grill. Put the cooking grate(s) back in. Replace tray under grill. Take 2 disposable aluminum little pans and put them into the drip pan (one is not enough because it will leak).
To clean the grate(s) the grill needs to be on. I usually do not do this until I am ready to cook but I will include it here and remind you again about cleaning the grates when it’s recipe time.
On my grill, this is the procedure: (but please read your manual FIRST!) OPEN THE HOOD (If the propane tank is not open, open it), put the front burner knob on high and ignite with the push button ignition. You should hear it ignite. Then turn the other knob(s) on high as well. You should hear them ignite too. Once all the burner(s) have ignited and you can see the flame (there is also a little peep hole in the front of the grill, that when you look into, you can see the flames in the inside as well) close the hood and leave closed for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes open the hood and with your brush clean the grates thoroughly. Sometimes I use the scraper part on my grill as well, to get everything off. It’s very important that the grates be clean. Your food could stick to the grate if they are not cleaned.
You now have a pretty clean grill. Granted it’s not shiny beautiful but it’s clean enough to start grilling, which is the best part.
So stay tuned! I will have a very basic grilling recipe next!
tools that I use:
remove grate(s):
bars removed:
remove drip pan:
residue encrusted tray:
scraping tray clean into garbage bag lined garbage can:
garbage bag under grill:
scraping inside:
package of new disposable drip pans:
new drip pans installed:
starting the grill: hood OPEN, front burner on the high heat position, then push the crossover ignition button to light burner:
then when first burner lit, turn on the other two burners into high position. Make sure all burners are lit then close hood: (directions are stamped right on the grill)
after 15 minutes, clean the grate:
light for my grill that I highly recommend (it attaches to the handle and automatically turns off when the hood goes down):
Perfecting Deliciousness 