A Beautiful Housewife

Posts Tagged ‘Cooking’

Burgers and dogs, burgers and dogs, burgers and dogs. If that is what your summer grilling menu looks like, well, you could probably do a lot worse. But you should be aware that you may be committing a couple of minor grilling sins if indeed these two old favorites are all you are serving up. First of all, you are selling your potential skills as a master BBQ chef short. Second, you may be achieving the near impossible (and not in a good way) by making your cookouts a gastronomical bore. With the right grilling accessories, your BBQ can do a lot more than you think it can. Here are a few items that you perhaps haven’t thought of that you can grill up anytime — and that are sure to be hits with your crew.

1. Vegetables. Three great candidates are: tomatoes, potatoes, and asparagus. All you need to do is to season them your way with butter and herbs of your choosing, and wrap them up in foil. These are great as side dishes or as the main event for any vegetarians in your midst. Portabella mushrooms are also terrific when grilled, and made into “burgers,” or even stuffed.

2. Fruits. Apples, pineapples, pears, and bananas are all great grilled. It’s best if you use large slices, and you may want to soak them and coat them in butter or oil first so they don’t get too dry and stick to the grill. Make sure the grates are clean, too.

3. Pizzas and breads. What, you say? On the grill? Yes indeed, with the proper BBQ accessories, you can cook these items on the grill too. Cast iron baking pans, pizza stones, and the like will help you reach your goal of baked and grilled perfection.

4. Sandwiches. They don’t call them “fried cheese sandwiches” do they? A grilled cheese, ham and cheese, or any such treat can (should?) be created as the name says: on the grill. The smoky flavors this method adds to an already great sandwich are truly amazing, and leaving out the butter makes it a much healthier meal, too.

The key to success in many of these dishes is having the right BBQ accessories. Tongs, griddle plates, brushes, and pans are just a few of the items you may want to have on hand to do these delicious items justice.

There’s nothing wrong with burgers and dogs, but there’s a whole other world out there for you to explore.

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Stephen Daniels is an acclaimed SEO 2.0 researcher. For award-winning BBQ accessories and tools, he recommends BBQ Innovations. These grilling experts offer the Rib-O-Lator rotisserie attachment, a mouth-watering variety of sauces, unique smoky wood chips and more, promising to bring big flavor to barbeques of all kinds.

Have you Considered the Importance of Choosing the Right Work Table for the Kitchen?

Does your kitchen design fit with your cooking style and preferences? Do you feel excited to create or a sense of dread when you walk into your kitchen? Whether or not you have the right kitchen work table can be the key factor in determining the success of your cooking experience. There are a number of products available on the market today to assist you to become the master cook in your family. We have done some homework here on kitchen islands, and have found the highest quality and functionality is in kitchen work tables and butcher blocks. Work tables and butcher blocks come in a mixture of sizes, styles and colors to match any decor and furnish the ideal solution for your cooking area.

The most important element to scrutinize when looking at a maple top work table is the finish. You want to look for an oil finish if you are going to be slicing fruits, vegetables and meats on the surface. Choose a wood that is an excellent work surface for food preparation like Maple, which is a closed-pore/tight grained and obviously organic material. Something to keep in mind is to ensure you don’t use a varnished finished surface for slicing foods. Pieces that are completed with varnish are deemed as furniture pieces, and are not to be used for food preparation. With that in mind, let us discuss some work table alternatives for your kitchen.

There are so many different sizes you can choose for work tables. For example, an all wood kitchen work table with an oil finish. With features ranging from bottom shelves, casters, and drawers, you are sure to discover the size that is correct for you. There are certainly different color choices for the base of the work table, so you can match your kitchen work table to your existing kitchen decor. One special product you might look at carefully is the White House Table from John Boos. A very utilitarian feature of this work table is the end grain work surface which helps to reduce and resist nicks and gouges and reduces overall wear and tear. The sheltered backsplash, includes a lower storage shelf with slats and alternative wicker baskets are just some of the many features you may want to contain into your home kitchen. If lack of space is an issue, the Town House Table may be your resolution. It comes in smaller sizes, but other than that, appears much like other kitchen tables.

Another option that you can consider as a kitchen worktable or kitchen island is a butcher block Just in case you’ve never heard of them or if you’re a little unsure, butcher blocks are restaurant quality (free-standing or counter-top) cutting boards, carefully designed for cutting all kinds of meats. Numerous people use John Boos blocks as kitchen islands and they function as an effective area for slicing multiple types of foods, rather than only meats. The great thing about butcher blocks is that you can re-sand and re-oil them every once in awhile and they look like new. This allows you and your family and friends to love it for years and years.

If your kitchen design and utility is in need of an improvement, investigate a kitchen table or butcher block. As we’ve looked into, there are countless options that will supply you with the flexibility you need for your personal preferences. Quality is not an issue when you choose the right brand, and the investment is well worth it because of how much it adds to your kitchen both in terms of design and utility. With the right work table or butcher block, you can create unforgettable meals for your friends and family.

Lilian McDonald is a product review specialist at CornerOne.com. A company specializing in John Boos and Brabantia brand products.