Enjoying My Summer Weekends

 Just Enjoying My Summer Weekends

I cook outside all year round, but probably a little bit more in the summertime.

I haven't blogged for a while,

so I thought I would just take you through a photo journey 

of some of my favorite summertime joys.

Pizza ready for the grill.

  How's that for Pizza?

Growing my own peppers.

Family backyard campers.

And of course rigging up Gypsy Rose for a sail around the lake.

She's a pretty small boat but lots of fun to sail.

Not much wind on this day 
but so quiet and relaxing, without the sound of a motor and no exhaust fumes to breathe.

So, until next time . . .
 Here's wishing you all smooth sailing.

Stay Happy,
Steve

Hot Sauce Heaven or is it Hell? You decide.

I love hot and spicy . . . flavor and kick.

That’s why a few years ago I started collecting hot sauces.

At the moment I have 147 bottles on my shelf

 and several opened in the refrigerator. 

Last week Connie, my wife, was painting the kitchen,

So I removed my collection from the shelf,

Washed the bottles and now I’m putting them back up.

When people enter our kitchen they know that the food served here is going to be anything but bland. 

Look at the labels.

There are names like, "Tears & Sweat",
"Sweet Death", "Tongue Torch", "Sir Fartalot",
"MoHotta MoBetta", "Texas Tears",
and
"Burnin' Love".

The graphics go from skull & crossbones to

sandy beaches and burning outhouses. 

This is one of my shelves, they wrap around three walls of the kitchen. 

There are bottles with warnings on the bottles 

and some with labels that dare you to try them. 

 It’s a fun collection and a great conversation starter 

for anyone that comes into our home.  

Now to tell you about this old coffee can . . .

This one is our favorite.

My Dad, like myself, loved to make chili

and this can is where he kept his chili spices.

We have used spices from this can,

 but we have always added more before the original

was completely used up.

Therefore; there is always a little bit of Dad

And his chili spices in that can.

To us, it’s a family heirloom 

and one day will belong to our daughter.

Add a little spice to your life,

Steve

Home made Pizza Pie

 
Back in the 1950's when 
Pizza hit America by storm 
everyone called it Pizza Pie.

Simple basic ingredients, here's my recipe:


1 and 1/2  CUP WARM WATER (105 to 115 degrees)
1  TABLESPOON YEAST
3  TABLESPOONS  OLIVE OIL
1  TABLESPOON SALT
1 TABLESPOON HONEY
4 CUPS OF ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

Cover and let rise in a warm place.
If your house is on the cool side, 
turn the oven on for a few minutes, 
then turn it back off, and  set your bowl in. 
let rise for 1  1/2  hours or so.

The dough will at least double in size.

I love punching it down after it rises.
 Doesn't that look good?
It smells good too!

 

Now it's time to have fun!

Putting corn meal on the wooden peel keeps the dough from sticking.

I would love to be able to toss the dough but it would take a lot of practice and I don't make pizza often enough.

Marinara sauce.
Mozzarella and turkey pepperoni, sweet basil leaves right out of our garden. 
We will add cheddar cheese,black olives and mushrooms.

We have a pizza stone on the Grilla pellet grill.
We are at 550 degrees.

Wow does that ever look and smell good.

YUM!!!!

For the second pie we have garlicky hamburger, mozzarella, basil, black olives and mushrooms.

Such beauty!

In it goes for 10 -12 minutes.

Double YUM!!

Grab a plate and let's eat! 
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Please leave a comment.
(I hope this made you hungry)

Father's Day Prime Rib.

There is nothing closer to a man's desire than a
 juicy delicious Prime Rib. 
 Well, almost nothing.  :-)

First we cut the rib bones away from the meat.  
We'll tie them back on later because they add 
a ton of flavor to the meat while its cooking.

Here are the spices I have decided on for this yummy Father's Day roast.
The Everglades seasoning is something we picked up on our Florida vacation. 
 It has a strong but very nice sage taste.

Let's mix them up so we can hammer this prime rib with flavor!

Next we coat the meat with regular yellow mustard
that everyone has in the refrigerator. 

We will completely cover the meat with these spices.

Then we heavily salt and pepper the rib bones 
before tying them back on to the meat.

Back on the bone!

We tie it up tight!

And back into the refrigerator it goes 
to sit overnight and 
let the meat absorb those flavors.

The afternoon of the following day,
 its time to put it in the Grilla Pellet Smoker.
(www.mygrilla.com) 


We will set the grill for 275 degrees F.
We will be using American Hickory pellets.

This Maverick digital meat thermometer with remote unit 
makes cooking it to a perfect medium a breeze.
We will bring the meat temp to 140 degrees F.

Tell me this isn't making your mouth water!

Now we cut the butchers twine and prepare to carve
 this luscious smoky prime rib.

Cooked to perfection, exactly the way Connie and I like it.

Dinner is served!

The following day we vacuum pack 
the leftovers in meal size packages 
and into the freezer they go. 

The Food Saver works great 
and keeps food good in the freezer for up to 2 years.  
Not that this yummy food will last that long.

We had enough leftovers for nine more meals for two.  
We will be enjoying this prime rib 
for many meals to come.  
I hope you liked this Father's Day Prime Rib post.

Thank you for stopping by my blog 
 and 
please consider being a follower.

Steve