Grateful Days of Christmas Continued

During the Thanksgiving holiday I made a promise to myself to start each day quietly and calmly thinking about the many things I have to be grateful for.   Now I have a long list just like Santa! 

Grateful Moments:  Today is the perfect day to celebrate Peyton D. our customer service manager extraordinaire. Peyton joined us in February and quickly became a favorite of the gang at The Good Shepherd Foundation.  Peyton has a background in occupational developmentally challenged adults so this is her dream job (so she tells me).  Peyton- THANK YOU for all you do for GrillGrate and The Good Shepherd.   It's especially pertinent today- Pearl Harbor Day to celebrate a great employee, a great American and this great country.   Peyton, its people just like you who make this country grrrrrate!

Grateful to be an American:  In my inbox this morning was this video clip.  Made in the USA has always stood for quality and innovation- around the globe.  Today it is also the road-map to restoring our economy and creating jobs.  I am so proud that GrillGrates are made in Wisconsin, finished in Chicago and packed and shipped from Georgia.  Lots of American's involved in getting GrillGrates to our customers.  Thank you.
 
 


Grate Gift Ideas:  

Made in the USA!  Don't settle for anything less!

Today is a great day to be thankful for our armed services and how they have defended us and the world from tyranny.  We are free because of their service and sacrifice!  God Bless America!

Full disclosure:  While GrillGrates are made in the USA, The GrateTool is made in China.  I have renewed my commitment to get it manufactured in the USA. 

Grate Days of Christmas- A lazy Sunday Morning with Meathead!

This Sunday morning I started my day by not immediately diving into emails instead I enjoyed two cups of coffee while readying all Meathead has to say about grilling Prime Rib.  Well, more correctly, a  Choice Rib Roast (as Meathead points out).  We plan on grilling prime rib for the family holiday dinner this Christmas and I want to be prepared!  I realized when I got up for my second cup of coffee that I read every word including the reader comments.  I'm grateful to Meathead this morning for getting my day off to a such a great start.  I'm already salivating for the Christmas feast!

Grateful Moments:  I'm grateful for Meathead on many levels going beyond his support and enthusiasm for GrillGrate:

1. amazingribs.com has become my grilling and bible and my crutch.  Whenever I venture from my comfort zone I go to Meathead's amazingribs.com for guidance, solace and confidence!  I hear that from a lot of our customers too!
2. Meathead broke me of my winging it when its done approach to grilling and now I feel lost without an instant read thermometer when I'm at the grill. Our grilled food is now near perfect and my family lets me know if I slip below 9.5 out of 10! And as Susan likes to say- "You can't send it back if its not cooked right!"   Link to Meathead's Thermometer Buying Guide.
3. Meathead has helped me better understand the science of grilling including low and slow.   I  never truly barbecued until a few years ago.  I ate plenty of barbecue though!
   
4. He's also helped me understand the scientific aspects of why GrillGrate grills food better.
5. And now we've collaborated to create a wonderful new gift!   Meathead's Amazingribs.com Temperature Magnet- see below. 

Thank you Meathead for all you do with amazingribs.com  and for the science of great grilling!

A Stocking Stuffer for the Grate Griller! 
Here's a link to Meathead's Temperature Magnet on Amazon.  

•  JUMBO 5.5 x 8" magnet
• Meathead's  Chef Temps displayed 
• Further detail on doneness, temperatures, color and texture.  
• A Gem of a stocking stuffer!  

Buy a bunch and save with $5 flat rate shipping.  A portion of the proceeds go to Meathead. 

What are you grilling for the holidays?   
Do you have a signature recipe to share? 
Have a question or suggestion for family holiday grilling?

Nothing like a Parade to Jump Start the Christmas Spirit!

The Grate Days of Christmas got into high gear on Thursday night.    The annual Christmas parade brought out everyone into town.  The entire parade route was packed! 

Grateful moments:  Being with the gang from the Good Shepherd Foundation and walking with them handing out candy canes.   The Good Shepherd Float won 2nd place in the parade.  It was especially fun to walk with the guys who pack and ship GrillGrates.

Jared, Daniel, and Jerry- you guys rock!

Me and Abe in front of the Booth Museum Float

Watching Susan (and actually getting a picture) as Abe Lincoln on the Booth Museum's Float-priceless!   Try saying Merry Christmas a thousand times and not get into the spirit!  The Grate Days of Christmas are off to a great start.

Family Holiday Grilling Ideas and Traditions:  Take the heat off the kitchen and turn your grill into a short order kitchen for vegetables, appetizers and dessert.  We grill several different vegetables for family style vegetable plates.  Often 3-4 different grilled vegetables at the table. Not so easily done in the kitchen but a snap at the grill.  Family style vegetables- especially yams and sweet potatoes, squash have changed my eating habits.  Grilled vegetables are the center-piece of my grillers diet and great holiday grill fare for your family.  Gril more vegetables this holiday season!



Holiday Gift Ideas for the Grilling and Chilling Lifestyle:  Rarely do you find a product that becomes a regular part of your life and actually changes how you do things.  Nope- I'm not talking about the GrillGrate!  I'm talking about STUFZ!  The Burger Stuffer tool.  Stufz makes a phenomenal best in class stuffed hamburger.

You can get a lotta stuff in there!  Perfect stuffed burgers every time.

We're talking about a new breed of burger here! 

A great gift for every griller!

The GRATE Days of Christmas

I'm still full from Thanksgiving and I already feel overwhelmed with part two of the holidays fast approaching!  My attention deficit disorder is in overdrive!    I made a vow over the Thanksgiving weekend to start each day (calmly) focusing for just a few minutes on what / who / why I am grateful at that moment.  So each morning I first will stop myself from diving in to take stock, maybe even write a few thank you notes and then saddle up!  I'll share a few of them along the way this Christmas season and I would love to hear from you!

The categories for the Grate Days of Christmas are:

• Grateful Moments
• Family Holiday Grilling Ideas and Tradition
• Holiday Gift Ideas for the grilling and chilling lifestyle
• An Occasional Grate Funny!

Grateful moments:  Being with our kids this past thanksgiving after not being together for nearly a whole year.  Watching our 24 year old middle daughter cut her two siblings hair (26 and 21) before going out dancing- priceless!

Family Holiday Grilling Ideas and Traditions:  Breakfast pizza made its debut in our house 4 years ago (with GrillGrate) and has become one of our all time favorite family grilling traditions.  Gathering in the kitchen over coffee while making and grilling breakfast is a wonderful way to start the day as a family.  No one rushes away from the Ultimate Grilled Breakfast Pizza!  We usually make two- with MamaMary's Gourmet pizza crust- the thick lip style. The great thing is all the ingredients can be pre-cooked and prepared the day before- even the gravy.  Just pile high the sausage, onion, potatoes, bacon, hard boiled eggs, gravy oh my!  My son and I even made a video one of this pizza creation for some holiday- I forget which one!   Got a family grilling tradition to share?  Please leave a comment.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Grilling and Chilling Lifestyle:   Want to gift some of the best sauces and rubs in the business?  Denny Mike's Cue Stuff is outlandishly good!  This boy from Maine was Texas trained and his products are gaining national acclaim.  The packaging of his gift boxes is every bit as good as his product. Fintastic has become our go-to fish seasoning.

Funny Caption Winners:   We held a little contest on Facebook for captions to this cartoon.  We'll do that again it was fun to see how creative (and perverted) everyone is!

 

Winners win Meathead's Temperature Magnet!  

• My nuggets are burning! My nuggets are burning! -  J. Giametti
• Cool your tail feathers with GrillGrate-  J. Cole
• Burned does not mean better - P. Heistad
• No Angry Birds on the Grill-  F. Evans
•  Me,  BGG- before GrillGrates - J. Askew

• GrillGrate, Eat Well, Be Safe, Give Thanks-   ME!  I wanted to end on a grateful note!