Super Bowl Game Day Grilling

For me game time grilling is out of the question and halftime is too!  Nobody wants to be at the grill unless a TV is nearby.  Pre-game grilling is where it's at for this big game day. An early evening kickoff makes an afternoon appetizer party a great way to nosh, nibble and 'pre-game' as my kids would say, before kick-off.

Grilling appetizers is fun, fast, and an easy way to mix it up with a variety of offerings. Just think of the fun serving grilled cheese sticks, pot-stickers, ravioli, quesadillas, and more to your appreciative guests!

Here are three ideas to make your Super Bowl grilling a fun and easy game day party.

1. Hit the Freezer Section at the Supermarket:

Cheese Sticks and Bread Sticks make easy appetizers right from the freezer to the grill.  Medium to low heat- you'll know when they're done.

Large Ravioli, fresh (we love Costco for these) or frozen is another easy finger-food appetizer.  Coat lightly in olive oil, grill at 400F.  Add a simple dipping sauce such as marinara or vodka sauce.  Raviolis crisp and puff-up when grilled at medium heat.

Potstickers are easy to grill with GrillGrates.  Frozen or not with little coat of oil to the grill at medium heat.  Postickers usually come with their own sauces another time saver.

2. Grill Cheese Quesadillas and Hit the Refrigerator for Salsas & Toppings:

Quesadillas on the grill and a nice platform to put salsas, sour cream, guacamole etc. 

• Two flour tortillas with a cheese mix in the center is a 5 minute grill at 400F.  
• Lightly coat with olive oil- a mister is real handy for applying the oil. 
• A couple of turns for nice grill marks and stiffness.
• Add toppings on or off the grill.  

I make a plate of cut slices for people to build their own toppings.  Grill peppers, brats and other goodies for toppings if you are looking for extended grill time.  OR- raid the refrigerator and clean out your sauces, greens and sour cream!

 

3. Throw a Pizza Party for the Super Bowl!

Use either MamaMary's par-baked crusts, make your own or buy the pre-made pizzas and grill them at 400F.  Check out dozens of grate pizza recipes on grillgrate.com.

• Pizza Grilling Tip:  At temps above 400F the bottom will burn before the toppings are hot.  The more toppings just lower the heat and the crust will stay golden brown and crispy.

What are you grilling for the Super Bowl? 

Share you pictures and recipes!

• Facebook

• SuperBowl Pinterest Board

• Recipe and Feedback link

GrillGrate, Eat Well!  Game ON!

 

The Science of Grate Grilling Part FIVE: GrillGrate Grilled Pizza!

Grilling pizza has never been easier!  The raised rail design of GrillGrates provides the perfect platform to grill pizza and the GrateTool makes it easy to handle and rotate for perfect searing and crispy crust.  Here are a couple of tips to grilling great pizza with GrillGrates:

1. Keep your grill temperature under control at or below 400F. This allows you to grill pizza long enough (10 minutes +) to thoroughly cook the the toppings and melt the cheese without blackening or charring the crust.  The key is how long you can grill pizza, not how hot and fast- unless you like black bottom crust.
2. Use Olive Oil on the bottom side of the pizza crust.  The olive oil helps the crust get super crispy.  Even add a bit of seasoning to the oiled crust for more flavor!
3. Quarter turn the pizza after 3-5 minutes.  Using the GrateTool slightly lift and peek at the crust and see the crust is searing and browning.  Rotate 45 degrees when the sear marks are golden brown.
4. Watch Searing on Bottom of the Crust.  If sear marks are black- you are grilling too hot and at risk of blackening the crust.  Reduce heat.  The sear marks are a great guide to determine your grill's best temperature for grilling great pizza.  My gas charbroil is set on LOW, but the GrillGrate temperature is still 450F when the dome says 350F.  
5. Lower and Slower is Better with Grilled Pizza because it gives you time to fully cook toppings to a golden brown too.  Think bubbly brown cheese!
6. Use MamaMary's Gourmet Pizza Crusts.  They are partially baked, find them in the deli section of your supermarket or at Walmart.  They are fabulous on GrillGrates! 

GrillGrates makes grilling pizza a snap! Pizza is a super platform for all types of grilled pies- even fruit, dessert pizzas and breakfast pizzas!  And don't forget left-over pizzas, BBQ pizzas, white pizzas.  The GrillGrate website has dozens of grilled pizza recipes- let us hear yours!

 

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.

Grilling and Gardening

What a nice weekend! On Saturday I grilled at Kilian Hardware, (est. 1913) on Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia. This was a real Americana Main Street day. It was the first 70 degree sunny day in Philadelphia this spring so we caught it just right. I had some great help from Auntie Nels as she assisted me in grilling pizza (with MamaMary's Gourmet Pizza Crusts) quesadillas, and ravioili. The grilled ravioli is always a show stopper and Nellie directed me to Tallutto's fresh home-made ravioli- which were superb.

The gang at Kilian have been serving the community for several generations, and I enjoyed meeting and working with them and their customers. We introduced GrillGrates to a lot of foks and sold several GrillGrate Gift Kits. Kilian sold a couple of Weber Performers and the 2008 leftover grill that I was grilling on. That lucky couple got my well broken in set of GrillGrates too. I got home late Saturday night to Atlanta expecting storms. The storms never materialized so Sunday morning I hit the yard to mow the lawn and edge the beds. Grilling on Main Street USA on Saturday and Gardening on Main Street on Sunday, life is good.

Super Bowl Grilling

I read somewhere that Super Bowl Sunday is the 7th most popular day for grillers. I'm going to a neighbors for pot luck and he doesn't have a grill so I'm bringing one of mine. BUT I have no intention of getting tied to the grill and missing game time. This cookout is all about pre-game, appetizers and I've done my part. I am sticking to my grill more eat less diet, I'm taking a couple bags of large tortillas, cheese, (ouch picked that up today for $8 bag) olive oil and some vegetables. During cocktail hour I'll be grilling a bunch of Super Bowl tortillas for people to decorate as they choose with Salsa, Quac, Sour Cream, etc. I can grab most of if from the fridge so thats a bonus. Tortillas make great bases for quesadillas on the grill and nifty appetizers. The tortillas cook fast at 400F and I go for 3 turns to get the sear and stiffness. Sometimes they'll bubble up with air on the grill. Hot off the grill it is 5 minute grill duty. Of course I'll grill the vegetables first over a beer or two, and maybe some brats, but mostly its tortillas for healthy grilled appetizers. Got to have some hangtime at the grill before kickoff!

Preparation:

• Two large flour tortillas form a sandwich with cheese
• Oil or spray one side and place downward on cutting board
• Sprinkle 3 Mex Blend cheese over topside and place
• Second tortilla on top- spray or brush the topside with olive oil and you are ready for the grill.

Grilling:

• Best on Gas Grills for fast controlled temp- 400F
• You'll know you are too hot when the sear marks are black
• 2 minutes then turn with Grate Tool
• 2 minutes quarter turn
• 1 minute turn- or off the grill- cut into 6 or 8 slices for Super Bowl grilled quesadillas.

I'm going to try and make a stack before hand but its supposed to be nice- I might go fishing. I'll also bring a couple of MamaMary's Gourmet Pizza Crusts . There's going to be some good pizza fixings for a grilled pizza or two at halftime! I'm rooting for the Cards, mostly because Warner is a class act, and he was a good NY Giant for a short time.