Leslie was the person I spoke with most often when working with Girls on a Grill.  Mother to Kate and Alison to whom she lovingly referred to as “the girls” (a phrase which I altered in friendship and fun to “da goyles.”) She was the indefatigable champion of family meals and sent me notes about what they cooked when the girls were home for the weekend, she often included pictures, not for publication but just because.   We would talk – by email or phone – and our correspondence and conversations always perked up my day.  This spring she shared photos from the wedding celebration for one of her daughters and, considering the pictures of Kate and Allison you see in their profile – I was not surprised to see that she too, was lovely. And bald. In more than 2 years of working together she never bothered to mention that she was also fighting cancer.

Her last email to me several months back contained an extra helping of grilling recipes with pictures.  I wondered why she would go to such trouble of stocking me up with posts.  Then last week I received a thoughtful note from her husband informing me of her passing. Even today, as I write this, my heart is full and eyes misty – because in this crazy modern world of virtual cyber friendships, Leslie connected with me on a very human level.  We never met in person but it seemed to me I got to know her a little bit. I thank her family for sharing her with me and all of us and look forward to many opportunities to share meals, in person or virtually, with “the goyles” as we all move forward.

Recently I commissioned a poem from my friend Meredith. Nearly every Sunday at the local Ballard Farmer’s Market Meredith perches herself on a wooden crate and balances a manual typewriter on her lap. For nothing more than a kind word (I do recommend a donation!) she’ll engage you in a short conversation and, as you walk about the stalls of freshly harvested vegetables, fruits and food vendors, she composes. When you return she will have written a poem for you.  Sometimes I’ve enjoyed being the patron for little kidlets who happen along with their parents in tow – delighting in their reaction to the experience of hearing a real person read aloud a poem written just for them.

I share the poem Meredith composed for me and dedicate it to Leslie and her family. I think she would like it. I hope you do.

Sizzle on the Grill

Lay out the last days
of late summer find
the perfect hours in them,
heat the grill ’till the flames
burn blue. Brush the cuts
of meat, cook them through
with sweet smoke, slowly.
The season is finishing well,
slowly in the backyard. The light,
the coals, our sticky fingers prove it.

©M. Clark
The Poem Store
All rights reserved.

"The proper mustard for any food - may be found at the Mustard Museum."

Since it’s nearly summer and you may be grilling burgers, hot dogs and brats this weekend – it’s time to once more feature a fun idea that has taken root in Wisconsin: The Mustard Museum. I get the grins and giggles when the email newsletter, called The Proper Mustard, arrives.  The tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek narrative is about the worthiness of mustard as the perfect condiment. Dedicated to the idea that mustard is the ideal condiment for just about any food the museum offers an ever growing display of prepared mustard – currently more than 5,000 jars, bottles, and tubes from all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Also on exhibit are hundreds of items of great mustard historical importance, including antique mustard pots, mustard tins, vintage mustard advertisements, and assorted memorabilia.

CB's "Philosopher of Dijon" degree from Poupon U.

As you may expect – I am a certified “Philosopher of Dijon” from the non-credentialed Poupon U, er…located in the back room of The Mustard Museum. I can assure you I proudly display this degree on my office wall to impress!

This ceramic still life of "Snoopy Reclining on Mustard on a Hot Dog" is a centerpiece of the extensive art collection at The Mustard Museum.

When you visit the museum, either on a pilgrimage or online, may I suggest that no trip is complete without some time admiring and soaking up inspiration from the collection of Mustard Art.

Thanks and…

Happy Grilling!

With apologies to the singers who made “Smoke gets in your eyes.” a hit record in the 50’s – I gotta tell you one of the joys of outdoor grilling is the flavor of smoke on and in your food. There are many different methods of cooking whereby smoke is used as an essential element of the cooking process. And there are some “tricks” that many back yard chefs have figured out over the years to add smoke flavors to grilled meat.

Grilled veal chop with a light touch of wood smoke.

This evening I used some wood chunks, a combination of cherry-apple-mesquite in a smoker box on the grates of my gas grill. The flavor the smoke imparted to the  veal chops and chicken breasts was absolutely “tasty on a plate!” My son’s friend (his nick name is Gravy, my son is called Biscuit – I think you get the idea they are best buddies) called the chicken “the best I’ve ever tasted.” As he is 16 and seems to end up here most Sunday evenings for supper – I’ll chalk that up to either very good manners or smart planning to ensure he’ll be invited back when he compliments the cook.

But I’ll admit it was tasty. So tasty – I think ol’ Char-Broil should come out with a perfume for women called “eau de smoked meat” that she can dab on when she really wants to get the attention of her man. I don’t know any male who can resist the tempting aroma of smoked food from the grill and cooker.  I betcha this would make a million!

What are some tips, methods and techniques you use to get that smoky taste in and on food you cook outdoors?  Post them in the comment section right below.

Thanks and…

Happy Grilling!

The use of that word in modern slang notwithstanding – I ask you quite seriously: “Ever cooked a cougar?”

This past Sunday I was at a great Christmas party (there were carols, silly sweaters, great food and an accordion player – yeah, I know how to live it up!)  where I just happened to casually ask a friend I hadn’t seen in a while about what he and his wife did for Thanksgiving. He reported they’d traveled to the remote Idaho location of his father’s new house. My friend is an architect and he wanted to show me some pictures of the home and location on his iPhone. The home his father built by hand is an elegant design and located in an amazingly glorious natural setting with incredible vistas. I was enchanted by the photos and, almost as an after thought, I asked about their dinner.

You know, something casual  like: “And what did you have for dinner?” I guess I kinda thought he might tell me about the wild duck, pheasant or maybe turkey  they had hunted – I believe these are all fairly plentiful within a few hours drive of the home. His reply stunned me.

“Cougar – two ways.”

I’ll admit to never having heard of anyone eating mountain lion. And because the mascot of the cross state college rivals is a cougar – I just assumed he was talking about a sporting event. uh-uh.

Then he flipped to the next picture on the iPhone and showed me this…

"That's cougar pan frying (l) & cougar braising in apple chutney (r)."

“Mountain lion (cougar) are very common in the area north of White Bird, Idaho and a local rancher shot it with a permit. My dad got some from him and suggested we prepare it in his new kitchen.  One batch we lightly dusted in flour and herbs, then pan seared. And the other was pretty much braised on the stove top in an apple chutney mixture.  Both were really quite good but I think the cougar in flour and herbs allowed the true flavor of the meat to come through a bit more. It was lighter in color than pork tenderloin.  The taste is very similar to pork but a little more gamy and, because it’s so lean, the meat dried out quickly like pork.”

_____________________

OK.  I got nothun.

Anyone who’s known me for even a little while – knows that I enjoy good food. Sometimes it’s fancy and sometimes it’s simple – as long as it’s good! Something that always seems to make a good meal better is sharing it with friends and family. I think maybe the association of meals and family started as a kid – especially around holiday celebrations. I do remember the big holiday meals of Thanksgiving – usually at one of the homes of my two oldest sisters. These would be day-long events and lot’s of people. The dinner would never be “on time” as my mother and sisters would bustle about and finally deliver to the hungry group a big ol’ turkey and all the trimmings. When I was older and living on my own – there were many holidays where the closest I came to having that traditional meal was sitting at the counter of a Denny’s just off the interstate. And on several occasions, as an invited guest, I was very surprised (or was it unsettled?) to discover that some folks fixed roast beef or a ham for Thanksgiving.

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Julia Child - omnivore.

Much has been written of late about the popularity of cooking shows on Television.  Food network is devoted to food preparation as a form of entertainment.  Perhaps it all started with Julia Child and her original TV show broadcast live in real time.  Love, hate or indifferent to her style – ya gotta admire the way that lady swung her mallet in the kitchen.

One of my favorite quotes attributed to her – so let’s just uphold that notion – is this:

“The only time to eat diet food is while you are waiting for the steak to cook.” ~ Julia Child (1912-2004)

I get many suggestions and tips on good recipes. Many of which I try out and, believe it or not – once in a while I even have an original idea. For example – this weekend while watching the game we ordered a ham and pineapple pizza. What a great combination of flavors! I really like the balance of sweet and salty. About my third piece …

Half a pineapple - I removed the core, skin and cut into chunks.

“Hey…” I thought out loud, “What if I wrapped bite size chunks of pineapple in bacon and cooked them in The Big Easy or on the grill?”

Everyone grunted their approval and that was good enough for me. Today I was at the store bright and early making my purchases. Half a pineapple and  one small package of apple wood smoked bacon, thick sliced.

C’mon – doesn’t this sound good?

Grilled chunks of fresh sweet pineapple wrapped in crispy salty bacon.  Yeah – me too.

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I wanna give a big ol’ “Ooh-Rah!” to our own Mike “Pit Pirate” Hedrick -  an original Sizzle on the Grill Guest Chef and all around good guy – who shared this bit o’news with readers of the Users Forums this past weekend:

Mike Hedrick in full NASCAR mode.

“I’m very honored and excited to accept the position of National Spokesman for “BBQ for the Troops”! We provide and serve more than 100,000 meals of BBQ to returning service people of every branch of service.”

“I am proud to serve in this great American grassroots movement. I’ll be helping get the group Facebook page stocked with content: stories, photos and videos of events. An example of the massive undertaking is feeding barbeque to nearly 20,000 troops this coming May at the 29 Palms, CA training ground. How cool is that?!”

For more information: BBQ For Our Troops

NEXT: These Marines deploy to Afghanistan, early January 2010

December 18th [Friday]
Christmas Party for 600 Marines
5th Battalion, 11th Marine Division
Camp Pendleton, California

Mike has dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to this project over the years and will be an enthusiastic spokesperson to promote their efforts. With a son in the service who is deployed overseas…Mike understands well the hardships that these dedicated men and women undertake.  An afternoon of tasty barbeque is just a small way of showing appreciation for all they do.

Thanks Mike.

Enjoyed watching this – gave me a chuckle.

Parents may now think twice about admonishing their kids to “Stop Playing with your food!”  They could be working on a masterpiece!

Happy Grilling!