The Farmers Market is Open! The Farmers Market is Open!

"The new Phone Book is here, The new Phone Book is here!!!"  Steve Martin from "The Jerk"

I'm probably the only dork out there that actually gets giddy when I know our Local Farmers Market is opening for the season.  I have spent all winter looking at the goods at the Local Super Grocer and, frankly wrinkling my nose at their wares more often times than not.  Its been a long winter this year and I have watched my supply of fresh dried herbs slowly dwindle to the point of actually hoarding them so that I might not run out.  Spring is here and that means the hoarding of herbs is bloody well over...and everyone benefits from that!

I'm not going to spend a great deal of time on buying local as I did that in a previous post (please re-read "Political Food".  It's worth it).  However, I will remind you that there is a tremendous feeling that comes from looking the person who raised, reared, and/or grew what you are about to eat.  Over time, mega-marts, super-grocers, and our busy schedules have placed a knowledge gap between us and our food.  We can go and get fresh produce from dozens of places but what would you think if you found where they were grown and found an industrial farm setting.  Mechanized, computer controlled quality packed into a truck and shipped from either its nation of origin or across the USA to get to you.  I'm not trying to be a food snob, I'm really not, but I bought some sausage yesterday and I know that man that makes it...which means I have not only met the person who prepares my food, at some point, I probably met the pig.  There's a lot to be said for that type of relationship with ones food.

Todays selections are presented using the fresh, organic ingredients that I find throughout the season.  In some recipes there are only a few items to accent the dishes, some are nothing but farm raised ingredients that come together to make One Hell of a Dish.  In the recipes themselves, look for the asterisks next to the ingredients that I get from the Market.

Chicken Salad with Dill Aioli
Scotch Eggs
Pork Chops in a Orange Rosemary Pan Sauce

Chicken Salad with Dill
Chicken Salad is one of those things that works for almost any occasion, catered lunch, or is just handy to have in the fridge for snacks.  If you take the time to add a few simple ingredients, it goes from Ho-Hum to something people talk about for a long time.  A few years ago, I had a houseful over the Christmas Holidays and I made Chicken Salad almost every day.  I tried making a ton of it and it still was gone the next day.

2 large Chicken Breasts, Grilled and cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1/4 cup Diced Granny Smith Apples (peels off).
1/4 cup Red Seedless Grapes, cut in half
1/4 cup Quality Mayonaisse
1 half Shallot, finely diced **
1 tsp. Fresh Dill, finely chopped **
1 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice
Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

I'm not going to hold your hand through this.  It doesn't take much thought to make Chicken Salad, however, I will say:

• You should make this in the morning and let it sit until at least lunch if not longer.  Serving this too early will short change your eaters out of the combination of flavors.
• Do not over mix.  The chunk Chicken needs to stay that way to let the Chicken be the Chicken and the rest of the ingredients work around it.  You could mash it all together, but....why?
• If you like more Mayo or if the recipe is a tad dry for your tastes, feel free to add more but remember Mayo has a knack for burying flavors under the oil and lemon in it.  Say tuned for a Swinging Aioli recipe to come soon.

The point here is to use the Chicken as a vehicle for the fresh flavors that will surround it and the Dill will make every ingredient in the Chicken Salad pop, including the apples.

Scotch Eggs

The first time I heard of this, My Sister was taking a guided fly fishing tour and the guide had them as part of a very simple but satisfying lunch next to a cold stream.  I can't remember what all he presented for lunch but I remember the Scotch Eggs..and Scotch, of course.  This is a seriously simple recipe but I promise, you will think of these little gems forever after.  I always do.

6 Farm Fresh Eggs, Hard Boiled **

1/2 lb. Fresh, Organic Sausage (Hot or mild, its your choice) **

Canola Oil for Deep Frying

Additional Options

Cayenne Pepper, Sage **, Fresh Ground Pepper to season the Eggs

If you like, season the Eggs with the above mentioned spices, either all or some, and let sit for just a few minutes to make sure they stick.  

Make sure your sausage is in the fridge until the last minute.  It needs to be firm to make this work.  Pat out a patty large enough to wrap around the hard boiled egg at about 1/4 in. thick.  Make sure the entire egg is covered with no gaps for the oil to penetrate.  Put the eggs back in the fridge for about 10 minutes for the sausage to firm up again and get your oil heating.  About 300-325F will do the trick.

Deep fry eggs and turn until all sides are cooked, browned, crispy, and delicious.  Let cool to either room temperature of put in the fridge for a while.  Finish by slicing eggs about 3/8 in. thick.  These tasty little treats keep about a week in the fridge and will last most of the day in a backpack without refrigeration.  Serve with Scotch.  No sense in breaking tradition.

Pork Chops with Orange Rosemary Pan Sauce

I first had this dish at a little pub in my Town.  It was on the Specials Board one Friday night and once it hit my tongue, I knew it would be in my kitchen soon there after.  The technique that goes into this is somewhat simple and the science behind it drives the rest to create an explosion of flavor.  If you are looking for accolades in the Kitchen, this recipe will do just fine.

4 Bone In Loin Chops about 1 in. thick

Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

1 Shallot, finely diced **
1 clove Garlic, finely diced **
2 cups quality Orange Juice
3-4 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
3 tbsp Organic Butter **
1 fresh sprig Rosemary **

With a little olive oil, pan fry the chops until done and set of to the side.  In the same pan, saute shallots over medium heat until translucent and add the garlic.  Be careful with the garlic as the burnt taste will not work well with this.  Turn pan up to medium high and degalze with the orange juice and vinegar making sure to scrape all the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce liquid to about half, turn off the heat, let stand for about 30 seconds and add the butter and rosemary.  As the butter melts, whisk it into the liquid to make an emulsion while the acids thicken the butter solids, resulting is a sauce without compare.  It is important NOT to have the heat on during this process or the sauce will break and separate.  Let stand for another minute, remove the rosemary sprig, and serve sauce over chops.

Over the course of a week, I will go to at least 3 different stores to find what I want or need.  Without a doubt, one of my favorite places to shop for food is only open one day a week, in a parking lot, and is only open between April and September.  Should you find yourself in Carrollton, GA, stop in to see the vendors at the Cotton Mill Farmers Market.  Your recipes will thank you.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob

Wings Five Ways with Bleu Cheese Dressing

**Writers Note.  I had the idea for this Post on a whim, I asked if people wanted it a day early and they did, and I got to hammering on keys.  There may be a few mistakes here and there but I was trying to get this out quickly and I was under duress of a few beers.  So Sue Me.  :-)**

About this time last year we threw the Bash of all Bashes.  Stepdaughter Becca graduated from High School and we invited people from all corners of this Great Land of Ours...and they showed up.  We boiled 80 pounds of crawfish, I made pounds of chicken, sandwiches, hotdogs, hamburgers, and the list goes on and on.  There is also the list of things that I didn't have time to cook and among these items were about 20 pounds of chicken wings.  Knowing that they could not be returned (Duh) I got to cooking them a few days later and, quite literally, called friends from the area to come by and pick up wings.

"I know you didn't ask for them....No, I'm not charging for them....Are they Leftovers?  No, I'm frying them right now....Look, just get your ass over here and get some free wings, alright?...Oh, and I made Bleu Cheese Dressing too".

To be honest, the base recipe for Buffalo Wings is so basic as to be hilarious.  I'm just going to present a few other options.  Oh, and since Summer is here and we are having Wings, I'm back to Beer for a bit.  Tonight, I'm finishing off the last Fat Tire Amber Ale (Dubbed, by Myself, to be the Best Beer on the Planet) and then moving onto the calling of my Homeland...Labbat's Blue.  On with the show..........

Two Wing Styles
Five Ways to Wing
Bleu Cheese Dressing for Wings (there's a difference)

Two Wing Styles
This will be a short section since it is quite simple.  There are two styles of wings to choose from. Wing Purists swear there is only One True Wing but if you travel enough, you will find people get what they want and in order to give people what they want you have to make the adjustments.

The Classic Wing is a bare wing, no seasoning, no breading, and deep fried.  Once fried, they are tossed in a myriad sauces.  The other style is simply breaded.  The level of breading is subject to where you get them and what you prefer.  Of course, the breading does help the sauces and flavors stick and even accumulate on the wing.  It's up to you how you.

The basic of the "Fry" is simple:
Bare Wings: Hot Oil at 350 degrees, toss in wings until they are done.  About 10 minutes
Breaded:  Hot Oil at 350 degrees.  Make sure the wings are dry.  Toss in a bag of flour until coated and, shake off all the excess, deep fry until Tasy Golden Brown.  Again, about 10 minutes.  Either way, drain on a rack or paper towel.  After this, its a matter of having a large bowl to toss the wings in sauce.

Now, for the purposes of getting on with business, I prefer the flour tossed, slightly breaded wing since it carries more sauce/flavor in the end.  Oh, and pay attention.

Five Ways to Wings
The first few recipes might seem basic bit I'm going to throw one down at the end that will blow the average wing out of the water.  There is one constant of the Wing and you need to plenty of it on hand:  Butter.  Good, old fashioned, butter. The basic Buffalo Wing Recipe is (the butter explanation follows):

One
1 part Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 part Butter
Pinch of Sugar.
Combine in sauce pan, heat, and stir.

Theres a little science to this.  The trick to this is the solids in the butter and the vinegar in the hot sauce react and the solids get thicker and help stick to the wing.  Also, as the butter cools, it helps to act as a glaze.  The sugar, well, it's just there to help out and I would say that a pinch of sugar in anything is rarely bad.  With the millions of hot sauces out there, picking a taste that suits you should be a fun, taste testing time and the level of heat has as huge range from Warm to Stupid.

Two
1 part Off the Shelf BBQ Sauce
1 part Butter
1/4 part IPA, Stout, or other Dark Beer.
Combine in sauce pan, heat, and stir.

The same principles apply here as above, the problem you'll run into is that there is more vinegar in the BBQ sauce than the hot sauce and it gets a bit thick and a little hard to work with...which explains the beer.  Thin out the sauce with just enough beer to make it workable.  The cool thing is that there are dozens and dozens of BBQ sauces to work with.  Pick your favorite and make it your own wing sauce.

Three
1 part Off the Shelf Teryaki Sauce
1 part Butter
1 tsp White Wine Vinegar per part of Teryaki
Combine in sauce pan, heat, and stir.

I think, by now, you're getting the idea.  In this case, the Teryaki doesn't have enough vinegar to "Fluff" the butter and make it thick.  The point being that if you want to get away from the hot sauce/BBQ angle, you may have to add a little bit of vinegar to help things out.  Get creative.  You never know what you might come up with.

Four
...and now for something completely different.  And quite simple

Enough melted butter to coat your wings
Standard, off the shelf Lemon Pepper

Thats it.  Coat the wings in butter and then shake the lemon pepper on until the desired level of Yummy.  I know this sounds seriously simple but I spent a great deal of time trying to think of a sauce that would go on thin, get thick, and stay tangy to the end.  I never could get it right until I watched a Korean fellow at a local wing joint making them.  I really did think about pounding my head against a wall over the effort I put into it only to find out how stupidly simple it was.  Just trying to save you a little aggravation.

However, I did figure out a recipe.  Really, you didn't think I was going to post the above without giving a homemade option, did you?

Four (again)
1 stick Butter
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Fresh Ground Pepper
2 tbsp sugar
Combine in sauce pan, heat, and stir.  You may want to add more or less sugar for the level of tart you like.

Strawberry Chipotle Wings (Five).
There was one night last summer that I had wings to fry, I had some Red Stripes, and I had time to do what I wanted, so I sat back and thought.  What I came up with was nothing less than The Hammer of a wing.

1stick plus 3 tbsp Good Quality, Organic Butter (as I have said before, the taste is insanely better)
1 medium Shallot, small dice
1/3 cup Carolina style BBQ sauce (lots of vinegar)
1/3 cup Strawberry Jam
1/4 cup Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ground Pepper
1/4 cup Stout Beer (drink the rest)
Saute shallot in 3 tbsp butter until slightly caramelized.  Melt remaining butter, add the rest of the ingredients, and bring to a simmer for about five minutes.  On occasion, I like to toss the wings in sauce, bake them for about 10 minutes, and toss them again.  I'm also a fan of the texture of the Chipotles on the Shallots but if you like a smoother sauce, whiz it with a hand blender to a fine puree.

Bleu Cheese Dressing
I could buy a great dressing but making one serves many purposes including letting me use my own choice of stinky Bleu cheese and using as much as I like.  

3/4 cup Strong Bleu Cheese, crumbled fine (Maytag or otherwise)
1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbsp fresh, chopped Chives
1-2 tbsp Cracked Pepper
Dash of Hot Sauce
Salt to taste.
Whisk ingredients together in a bowl adding the cheese last.  Let this sit for at least a few hours if not a day in the fridge before you use it.  If you're not a Bleu Cheese fan, well, then I'm really sorry.  To some, its the cooling effect of the dressing but to me, its the idea of taking something quite spicy and throwing that pungent, stinking cheese on top of it...and then cooling it off with a Tasty Beverage of the Adult Variety.  The amount of cheese is up to you but i like alot....Obviously.

There you have a few recipes for some seriously tasty wings of many forms.  The Buffalo wing was invented not out of a thought, study, and culinary expertise.  The Wing was born in a hurry, to be served at the end of the night when the rest of the supplies were put away or had been exhausted.  Don't believe me?  Look it up.  The point is, this is a quick snack that can be thrown together in no time, or, it can me quickly made in mass quantity for a ton of people.  One way or another, To Wing is not that difficult, the tastes can range from simple to insanely hot, its one of the easiest recipes to adjust to your liking....and its a great reason to be drinking in the Kitchen...not that I needed another one anyway.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob

The Vegetarian Taco

Ok, this is going to be a short and quick post for one simple reason:  I did a cooking demo yesterday for Mayfest at the Farmers Fresh CSA in Carrollton, GA and folks wanted  the recipe...period.  Patricia is not one of my best Spice Customers, she outshines them all and when she says she needs help, I don't even think about it...I'm there.  She asked if I would cook for Mayfest, so I cooked for Mayfest.

I took 4-5 pounds of Grass Fed Beef and worked some magic on it, put it in the Crock Pot for about 12 hours, then added Back Porch Spice Company Taco Spice Mix (this is not a shameless plug, its just what I did) and it was some seriously tasty Taco.  About 2 weeks ago I did the same thing for the CSA's Open House and people freaked out about how good it was with the exception of a few vegetarians politely declined to try it..and one Militant Vegetarian for whom I was the worst for of Human Being because I was serving something that used to have a pulse.  Anyway.

This time around, I was looking forward to the Vegetarians polite declination of tasty goodness because I had a Vegetarian Option.  There were a couple of people that tried the VegOp but it was when I ran out of beef that I had no choice but to tell people "All I have is the Vegetarian version".  Much to my surprise, most people took the plunge and said "Sure, gimme that".  All of them walked away talking about how good it was.
The real hit came when I had 3 or 4 hardcore Carnivores show up and tell me that if I could impress them, then I would have something.  Not only did they leave impressed but I had one fellow that walked away before he was forced to admit that I was right and one young lady who said, quite plainly "I have a lot of Vegetarian friends and their food is terrible.  It's nothing like this".

One of the hardcore folks and quite a few of the Vegetarians asked for the recipe, which is very simple, but no one seemed inclined to remember it...which is when most of them threw out the comment "It's on your website, right?"  Um...no, its not.  Leaving people impressed and not wanting them to leave thinking The Spice Guy was a slacker, I had to throw out a promise that I am here to back up.  "The Recipe will be on my Blog tomorrow".  So..........

The Vegetarian Taco
A dirt simple recipe that even my 9 year old stepson loved.  That means something since when I grill steaks, he wants the left over juice from the platter.

One block Extra Firm Tofu
One block Three Grain Tempeh (a fermented grain product available in most produce sections)
One box Reese's Minnesota Wild Rice
One Packet Back Porch Spice Company Taco Spice Mix (again, not tooting my own horn, its just what I used)
Garlic Olive Oil (homemade)
Vegetable Stock

Follow the directions on the box to cook the rice.  Cook and let cool on the stove top until it can be handled without burning yourself.  Now, dump the rice, tempeh, and tofu into a large bowl and crush and mix together with your hands until the grains in the tempeh and the tofu are in small bits.  At this point, mix in the Taco Spice until you get to the level of tasty you desire.  At this point, you can let it stand for a while for the flavors to get good and deep or you can take it to the stove immediately.

So you've decided to take it to the stove.  Great.  You absolutely, positively, without equivocation MUST use a non-stick pan.  Tofu is straight protein and, as the Science of Cooking dictates, Protein wants to stick.  Get your nonstick pan hot over medium high heat and add about 2 tbsp Garlic Olive oil and heat it until it shimmers.  Brown as much of the Veg mixture as you like (either 1 taco or 10) and once it is slightly brown and the pan is hot, add about 2 tbsp Vegetable Stock and wait for the sizzle.

That last step is important because there is potato starch in all taco mixes and it makes that tasty taco "Gravy" that is familiar to most of us.  The problem with trying to follow the directions on the back of the pack is, if you leave grains and tofo to simmer too long, it will turn to mush and you really want some texture.

There you have it, for all you folks that asked for the recipe and I promised to deliver to.  To my new Blog Observers, Welcome.  I cook some cool stuff and have a bunch of cocktails while I do.  Just look around while you're here and you're bound to find something that will strike your fancy.  I have a good time no matter what I do...or at least I try.  To my regular Observers, I had a Ball Game after the Mayfest Demo, came home and fired up the Grill for BBQ and Teryaki chicken breast chunks and thighs with sauteed Green Beans and New Red Potatoes...and about 8 of the 12 pack of Guinness's that were in the fridge...after all, I have an Image to maintain.

As Always..........
Party Well, Eat Better
Rob

Having Cocktails...and Food

This is the Blog Post your Momma warned you about...........

Before I get going and people get all offended:  I am a Good Time Party Boy and most people that run in my circle know this.  I work hard, I coach Little League, I love and take care of My Family, I am never...NEVER stumbling over myself, and I like to think that the people that come here have a good time.  If you live your life different than mine, don't judge me for having a good time and I won't judge you for being somewhat unexciting and kind of dull.  Deal?  OK, then...Let's Bash.

The Menu will come in a minute, but first:  I am a Pinot Noir fan so I'm popping a bottle and getting a glass in my hand first thing and lighting off the Grill second.  People will be coming up the Front Porch soon.  Remember:  The Front Porch is for Hello's and Goodbyes.  The Back Porch is for the time in between.
Now, in my humble opinion, I like people to eat through the night since I love to cook through the night.  As I have said on many occasions, there are few things in life as personal as sharing sustenance and bringing people into the kitchen not only brings them closer but gets them food from the stove/grill, to the server, to the Hungry Visitors fresh.

A few jokes, turn and check something...a shot?  Sure!  Better get on with the appetizers, the coals are getting close........

Deep Fried Eggplant
This recipe serves four easily.  Multiply as needed for more people.  Start this about 40 minutes before you need it...you'll see why.

1 large Eggplant
1 cup flour
2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
1 egg
3 tbsp water
2 cups tomato or marinara sauce (chunky is best)
Course Sea salt or Kosher salt
1/4 fresh grated Parmesan
Canola oil for deep frying

Cut the eggplant into 1/2 in. slices and then cut them into half circles.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and place on a rack over the sink or over a baking sheet.  What you're doing here is drawing some of the water out of the eggplant.  If you don't, the eggplant will be somewhat mushy after its fried and, in some cases, it helps get the bitter taste out of them.  Wait 20 minutes, flip, and repeat.
Pour the flour into a large (1 gallon) zip-top bag, drop in the "Cured" eggplant and coat.  Get the oil heating up for the frying.  You want to fry these hard and fast at about 350-375 degrees.
Mix egg and water and whisk thoroughly for an egg wash.  Roll the floured eggplant in the egg wash and immediately place in another zip-top bag containing the Italian bread crumbs and shake.  Only do as many as you can fry in one batch.  Deep Frying Time.
Deep fry until Golden Brown and place either on a rack or on paper towels (One TV person says that paper towel is a sin.  I'll explain why he is a twit later but paper towels will do just fine).  While smoking hot, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese instead of salt and serve with hot, chunky, marinara or tomato sauce.
Its always fun serving this to people that have never had eggplant.  They usually order it at their local Eatery after they've had mine.  Remember, Daddy said "It's not bragging if you can back it up".

I can feel my ears getting a little warm.  That means that the Honey Bourbon is setting in.  "....and then the Parrot said "Ok, I give up, Where's the F***ing ship?"  That one got a few laughs..and a few faces buried in hands.  Good....good.  The Grill is hot and the coals are stout.  Just what I need for the Scallops

Seared Scallops
Good scallops are one of those things that are so good the way nature made them, the best you can do is just not screw them up.  Simplicity Rules Here.  This recipe covers about 4-5 people and still qualifies as an Appetizer.

8-10 Colossal Sea Scallops
Fresh, Homemade Garlic Butter
Sea Salt, Fresh Course Ground Pepper, and a well seasoned Cast Iron Frying pan.
Fresh Lemon wedges to finish.
Finely chopped parsley to garnish

Place cast iron pan on a raging hot grill and wait for it to get quite hot.  Salt and pepper your scallops on both sides.  When the pan is seriously hot, quickly add the garlic butter and just when its melted and starting turn a light, nutty brown, add the scallops.  This will immediately cool the pan and help prevent the butter from burning.
The scallops might stick a little.  If they do, leave them until they let go of the pan.  What you are looking for here is a crusty, seared scallop that almost has a crunch to it when you bite into them and a deep brown caramel color on the surface..  Once they release from the pan, flip and repeat.  The whole process takes no more than 10 minutes.  Pull them out, plate them up, blast a few squeezes of lemon over them, make them pretty with a sprinkle of parsley, and serve.
Again, this is a simple recipe.  Its the technique that you have to work on.  I can almost promise the novice cook will not get the sear right the first time.  Hell, I didn't.  No worries as even a improperly cooked scallop is still good.

 If this guy says "Roll Tide" one more time, I swear by The Beard of Zeus I will hang the largest Maize and Blue Michigan flag I can find on the side of his house so all his Bama friends can see it.  Bah, no big deal, just get him another beer and let him be.  After all, as long as he's not talking Football, he's an OK Joe.  "Seriously?  You've never had this?  Dude, this stuff is fantastic.  I know it sounds weird, but you're gonna love it.  Honey?  Could you hand me that plate in the front of the fridge and my glass of wine. please?  Thanks, Babe!"

Seared Blue Fin Tuna
Again, this is so simple in its ingredients, you just have to make sure you don't ruin what Nature has given you.

One Raging Hot Grill
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
Blue Fin Tuna trimmed to rectangles about 1" X 1" X 4"
Black Truffle Oil
Black Sesame Seeds

Grind sea salt to a fine consistency and LIGHTLY salt the fish.  Let this sit for just a moment.  Make two plates.  One with a light coating of Black Truffle Oil (about 1/16 in deep) and the other with a thick layer of Black Sesame Seeds.  Coat the tuna in oil by rolling it and then let the excess drain off for a moment.  Then roll in the sesame seeds to cover all sides leaving the ends bare.
Now, when I say a hot grill, I mean the coals have been stacked up to be about an inch below the grill surface (Oh, you're using propane?  Sucks to be you.) and let the grill surface get smoking hot.  Quickly apply the tuna, count to ten, and then with a long pair of tongs to keep your hands from spontaneously combusting, flip and count to ten.  Continue until all sides are seared.
When you cut into this, there should be a ring of about 1/8 in. cooked and the rest as rare as Nature provided.  Some like to dip this in light soy as a sauce.  I prefer to just dive in and go with it.  The rare tuna, the oil, the sesame seeds...Man, thats all I need.
One more time:  This is about technique.  Practice makes perfect and your mistakes are still freakin' tasty.

"Another one?  Nah, I have to get this thing finished and I'm about wiped out.  Yeah, I've been running all day and then we decided to do this thing at the last minute.  Ahh, what the Hell...like Gina says, 'We can sleep when were dead', right?  Pour another one and see if anyone else wants to join us.  (yelling) Y'all are still hungry, right?"

BBQ Steak on a Stick
This has to be prepped a few hours in advance and the longer, the better.  Although I am a "Steak Purist" most of the time, I have found that all normal rules that apply to certain foods are thrown out the window when you put said food on a stick.
**Writers Note:  This recipe can be accomplished with any quality steak, however, I use Chuck Eye Steaks.  We call them "Cheap Steaks" at the House.  Its a cheap cut of meat, its well marbled, has a nice fat layer, and you can get 3 nice steaks for about $5.00.  You can use Ribeye or T-bone but there is no sense in spending a fortune when this little gem of a cut works so nicely.

4 Chuck Eye Steaks, cut into 1 in. wide strips (about 12-16 strips)
1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion cut into large wedges
1 cup Off the Shelf BBQ sauce of your choice
1/2 cup Muscato White Wine
1/4 cup Light Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Honey (Dark is preferred)
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper plus 2 tbsp Fresh Cracked Pepper
Bamboo Skewers soaked in water or metal skewers

Whisk BBQ sauce, Muscato, Soy, and ground pepper together.  Place steak strips and onion wedges in a zip-top bag, add marinate, and soak...for hours.  Assemble skewers by adding onion wedge, then steak strip, and top it with another onion wedge.
Brush with honey and sprinkle with cracked pepper and place on a grill that has coals cooked down about half way (again, if you're using propane you are so missing out).  The onions wedges will keep the steak about 1/2 in off the grill and allow the meat to cook just a touch slower than directly applying it.  This will along with the honey and cracked pepper will allow the meat to develop a bit of a crust.  Grill about 5 minutes on each side or until the desired level of done is achieved (Please, no well done...Please).   Either remove from skewers and plate or serve on the stick.  Either presentation looks great.

By this point in the night, everyone is feeling slightly tilted, I smell like Grill Smoke (which is the cologne fragrance I will create when I become famous), the Girls are laughing at the guys, and no one wants dessert...which is a shame because Gina spent a good deal of time cutting strawberries.  That just means they will be there for French Toast in the morning...Oh, Darn.  I look in the kitchen and Gina has been following me all night, cleaning up behind me.  She rocks.
The Girls are yelling at the Guys that its time to go.  The Guys are still swapping lies out back and shooting a look inside to see how aggravated the Girls are getting but everyone is still laughing.  As everyone heads out, the Fellas are the last off the Front Porch and, for no reason that can be explained, they break into the only Doors song that everyone knows....

"Oh, show me the way to the next Whiskey Bar...Oh, Don't ask why, Oh, don't ask why."
"If we don't find our way to the next Whiskey Bar...Surely, we must die, Surely, we must die.........."

You know what?  As I read back over this, maybe it didn't happen just the way I described.  Maybe the story is a bit different here or there and I just "Polished" it to suit what I think it should have been.  One way or another, I know for certain that everyone left full, they left laughing, and those that Indulged all passed the exit ramp to Sober a few hours back...and that, Dear Friends, is all that matters.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob