Stone's 14th Anniversary

What is that? Why have the clouds parted? Is the sun breaking through? Is the sky more blue? Yes, Yes, Yes...and why?!

Easy, I found Stone's 14th Anniversary in stock at Belmont Party Supply! Number 14 is an Imperial IPA and it was great. A beautiful orangey color, a 2 finger head, and true to the description on the bottle, some really spicy pepper notes with a strong hop finish. I'm glad I bought two bottles!

What's on the Grill #180: Paht Thai

I have a real love for Asian food, especially Thai. I used to make Paht Thai quite a bit, but after a quick peruse of the blog, I realized "quite a bit" meant 3 years ago. Wow!

I have a great Thai cookbook in the form of Nancie McDermott's Quick & Easy Thai. I have delved into it for years, and have yet to be let down.

Paht Thai is the only recipe where mise en place takes longer than the actual cook. You have to have everything ready to go. There is no, "Oh wait, I didn't smash any garlic I"ll do it now", because if there is, your next exclamation will be, "I screwed up dinner, let's order pizza."

With the wok hot and the ingredients ready, I started. Timing is important here. A minute here, a minute there, the process is in perpetual motion.

Fortunately, I had Bean to help out. He makes a great sous chef, prop, and part time comedian too.

Even though it has apparently been three years since I've made paht thai, it still turned out great. In fact, Bean liked it so much he questioned why we didn't make more. Well Bean, maybe we will, next week.

In the meantime, I suggest picking up Nancie's great book and try something Thai for yourself. Besides a paht thai repeat, I see some chicken with basil in my future too.

My New Beer Cooler

What do you get when you cross beer, ice, and a 26 inch Weber kettle bottom? If you guess my new beer cooler, you're right! It's high up so you don't have to bend over, it's easy to drain melted ice out of, and you can wheel around the backyard to shorten the walks to the fridge.

Zoe made the mistake of casually suggesting the idea, and I took it and ran. Hang a bottle opener off the handle, and you have fully functional beverage cart.

Summer Shindig Wrap-up

Any time we plan one of our summer parties, there are three things you can depend on: excessive amounts of meat, an impressive amount of homebrew, and unpredictable weather.  This year’s weather wasn’t torrential rain or lightning, it was heat, and lots of it. Afternoon temperatures were in the 90’s and a heat index over 100.  It was hot.

Although it was scorching later in the day, when I started the grills around 8 AM (per my list), it was beautiful.   For the Shindig, it was double meat day: 2 briskets, 2 boston butts, and 2 rotisserie chickens. 

I wasn’t worried about getting two butts on the Performer, as I’d done it before.  I was, however, worried about getting 2 briskets on the 26.  I set up the grill for indirect, with all of my fuel off to one side.  I find it so much easier to maintain proper low and slow when I only have one fire to deal with versus two.

Thankfully, no problems. With the briskets rubbed and ready, I was able to fit both on the grate, with the meatier part of the brisket towards the heat since it would require more heat to keep up with the thinner parts.

With minor adjustments on both kettles all day, I was able to keep the temp right around 250, which, thanks to the heat, is also exactly what it felt like outside the kettle.

9 hours later, internal temps on the pork and brisket were at 190. Thanks to the guys, I had had ample hands to help carve.

Better yet, Mike brought his Bear Paws to help him out.

The claws had their way with the soft pork in no time.

Amazingly, or not so amazingly really, everyone devoured about 35 pounds of meat. The kids swam, the adults floated two of my homebrew corny kegs, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when the sun finally set.

Thanks to everyone who brought an amazing array of side dishes and thanks to Zoe, who kept the whole thing running like a well oiled machine.