Refresh Yourself on BBQ Rules

New Standard Operating Procedures released today please learn (or unlearn!)

(received via email- uncertain of author, certain of authenticity.)

BBQ RULES We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity. When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine...
(6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine...
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

QVC went GRATE on Sunday!

QVC was a success! We made our numbers with Grill Grate on Sunday's In The Kitchen Show with David Venable (who was amazing) and then enjoyed a beautiful Memorial Day at Longwood Gardens in Chester County, PA. That was the perfect follow-up to a long and stressful day at QVC. Being a first time guest is a whirlwind as we watched the "professional" guests whiz in and out to demonstrate a myriad of fabulous products. Several of our friends watched more than 3 hours of QVC on Sunday expecting us in the noon hour and we finally went on sometime after 2:00PM. A few mentioned that they bought other stuff waiting for us to come on. QVC has it going on!

Speaking of friends, I have been overwhelmed since Sunday. I keep finding myself pausing to be thankful and grateful for so much help, support, cheering and friendship. If I had to make a picture of friend it would be Suzanne B, a frequent traveling companion and consummate friend. She helped Susan and I prep food, helped me pre-grill and otherwise shared the nerves and support role with style. Suzanne's best comment: She was more nervous than at any of her 4 weddings!

I am grateful for friends, customers, and all the pro's at QVC! This newbie appreciated the extra care and support. I'm glad it is over, and I am glad to be able to come back soon, but now it is time to go back to work!

PS- If you want to see my Grill Grate debut on QVC-here is the link. At this point I only see how much I can improve!

Expand Your Grilling Repertoire and Grill A 3 Course Meal this Memorial Day Weekend!

America is heading to their backyard grills this weekend, now more than ever. Backyard grilling is one of the positives coming out of this challenging economy. More time around the grill with friends and family is never a bad thing. Are you grilling more these days? Here are a few tips to take your grilling up a few notches and stretch the food budget too.

1. Start with Appetizers- Extend grilling and chilling time and give everyone a little nosh. Delight your guests with Grilled Ravioli, Quesadillas or Pizzas. Now for the best part- they are all simple on the grill- especially with GrillGrates.
2. Do a Grilled Vegetable Plater- part 2 of extending grilling and chilling time. Fill the grill with a medley of vegetables- whole and sliced: zuchinni, squash, peppers, carrots, and peeled wedges of beets, sweet potatoes and more. Coat or spritz with olive oil, cracked pepper and salt. Grill ahead of the main course and plate all together and keep warm under foil while you tend to the main course. Grilled vegetables will compliment every grilled meal.
3. Grill Dessert- Quesadillas make marvelous desserts. Easy to make ahead of time and 10 minutes on the grill delivers a finishing flourish to an easy three course meal. Try Christoper Columbus Apple Pie or Laura's sliced pears and goat cheese, or my personal favorite- raspberry chocolate yummy.

Grill More and Eat Less this Memorial Day Weekend!
2 min video for easy, healthy, and impress your friends fun three course meal on the grill.

I'm not ready to take on Bobby Flay, but I am ready for QVC!

We are scheduled for this Sunday (MAY 24) at Noon to debut Grill Grates to the QVC audience. I am excited and a little nervous! I may not be ready to take on Bobby Flay, but I very much looking forward to demonstrating all the benefits of why GrillGrates are a new and improved grilling surface. We'll have three live grills going and for those of you that may not know- QVC is live TV, not taped. After being exposed to QVC, I told my wife I would never question her buying anything from them. They sell high quality products at excellent prices, to a loyal customer base. Wouldn't you know I've seen more than one QVC box showing up at the house lately! If you've been waiting to buy GrillGrates, this Sunday will be a good time to make a Grate Purchase!

Savoring a Well Seasoned Grill Grate

I grilled a lot over the Mother's Day Weekend and found myself using all 3 grills on the patio. The grills had several sets of Grill Grates in various stages of seasoning and break-in. I took the opportunity to take pictures of each of the GrillGrates before and after cleaning. All three of my grills had the remains of great grilling, they were all quite messy, and they cleaned up surprising easily with just a few brushes using a grill pad brush.

I admit to flip flopping on the care and seasoning of the hard anodized GrillGrates. I am over my anal stage and in fact have not cleaned any of my GrillGrates in the sink for quite a while. I just wipe them down on the grill as they warm up. Feedback from customers and restaurant users confirm that GrillGrates get easier to clean as they break-in, and they reach a point where you barely need to even wire brush them. The debris literally wipes off using the grill pad type brushes AND- another flip flop here- a lot of our customers report using the GrateTool to clear debris from the valleys, and I have to admit it does!

This weekend I realized I was savoring the GrillGrate clean-up as a ritual to Grilling Grate! Then onto the pure joy of letting my charcoal Weber and the GrillGrates do their magic with thick lamb chops along with a little magic from a Julia Child marinade...

CONGRATS To Kristina Vanni! Winner of 2009 NRA Hot Chef Grilling Challenge

Congratulations to Kristina Vanni, and thank you to everyone who viewed, rated and commented on my video. This is a link to Kristina's winning entry. She'll give a great demo at the upcoming Restaurant show. Here is a link to my entry for posterity! I hope one of our restaurant customers wins next year! We're excited by what we're learning from our Restaurant trial and I plan on exhibiting at next year's Restaurant Show.

Don't forget to use coupon code NBBQA for 15% off on all GrillGrate products in our webstore. Please contact me directly for information about our Commercial Grade GrillGrates.