Jeep and BBQ Weather

If you follow me on Facebook, you can see that I have been enjoying the weather.   I lose my doors and roof as much as I can.  Unfortunately, as a ginger I burn if I don’t wear sunscreen.  It’s a love hate relationship.  I need sunlight in the winter, and get too much in the summer. There is something about feeling the warmth of the sun and the breeze on my face that just makes me feel amazing no matter how crappy of day I might have had. Top that off with some Zeppelin blasting through the stereo.  It’s like a mini vacation everyday.

Also, I broke my Weber out recently.  My neighbor grills almost everyday, and we will hang out and cook on our respective grills and share a beer and some laughs.  The mosquitoes have not made it out yet, and for that I am thankful.  So far it’s been a pretty good spring.  Below are a couple of the meals I’ve cooked:

I like to grill sweet peppers and sweet onions a lot. I generally cut the onions and peppers up in small strips, and a little olive oil, add a little pepper medley or just black is fine.  Once they are all seasoned up and ready to go I’ll put them in a vegetable grilling dish, or foil that’s perforated.  Just set them directly over the fire and let them cook until they soften up.  I like to take them the next step and let them caramelize a little bit.

I used to hate mushrooms until one day a friend showed me how she does hers.  Take your portabella and simmer it in sun-dried tomato dressing prior to grilling.  Cook directly over the fire as well.  I like to just get some good grill marks on it, and get a little smoke flavor in it.

The asparagus, I will season the same way as the onions and peppers. Grill them directly over the fire until they are slightly wilted occasionally turning as grill marks are made. Once the asparagus is finished, add a little lemon juice to them.

I used olive oil and our BBQ rub to season the chicken breasts. Once they were seasoned I threw them over direct coals and let them cook a few minutes per side. I didn’t time it, but it didn’t take long.  Once the outside had nice grill marks, I flipped it and let the other side do the same. I typically cook on a two zone fire, placing my coals to one side of the Weber. In the event that something isn’t done enough I simply place it to the indirect side and let it finish cooking with out burning the mess out of it.

The burger was actually a turkey burger this time. I seasoned it up with our hickory rub and cooked it the same way I did the chicken. It’s nice to have a thermometer with you, but I didn’t at the time I just cooked my burger until it quit gobbling.

Keep Cooking My Friends,

Michael Q