Suprise Announcement #2

Since it's April 15th, I hope that you got a nice big tax return. Anyway, that's not the surprise.

Last month I wrote about "Suprise Announcement #1" but wasn't quite ready to announce the next suprise. Just to tease you all further, I had another post, "Announcement #1, Addendum 2."

Now it's time to fess up and get the cat out of the bag.

Announcement #2: We are moving to a Wordpress site. What does this mean? Well for a technology novice like myself, not much initially. But I have come to learn that there is a huge benefit to switching.

The new site will be www.hometownslop.com. This will allow for greater access and a whole lot of other cool things.

Now if that is a letdown to you, let me include a great recipe, especially since BBQ Season is upon us.

Smoked Pork Shoulder with a Honey Mustard Glaze

Please join me on the new site and thank you for all your support.

Sammy's Famous Pie Shakes: The Powers of Ice Cream and Pie Combined!

A few weeks ago I went into Sammy's Pie Shakes to review for an upcoming City Weekly article. What struck out most to me was their "famous pie shakes."

My friend asked the worker what was so "famous" about their shakes. He replied, "Well, we blend an entire piece of pie into every shake." That was enough to throw my diet away for the day. My exercise for that afternoon also suffered but it was well worth it.

City Weekly: Sammy's Famous Pieshakes

Please tell me what you think right on the CW site.

Happy Eating

The Heavenly Hot Cakes at Penny Ann's Cafe.

When the Editors at City Weekly asked me to contribute to the Second Helping Column, they said that they have someone who covers a full review of restaurants and that I needed to find signature dishes or out-of-the-way joints. Essentially they said, "what are we missing on the food scene?"

It's an exciting hunger (no pun intended) to eat my way to a workable column. What a fun problem to have.

Since I first visited Penny Ann's Cafe last year, I didn't heed this advice: "once is one too many, one more is never enough." I don't regret going there at all; the place is wonderful. It's so wonderful in fact, that it's difficult to ignore the constant cravings to eat there.

Please check out the article. Feel free to rate it and comment on it. Thank you.

Penny Ann's Cafe: You'll love the Heavenly Hot Cakes

If you missed any of my previous articles, please take a look:

Liberty Heights Fresh: Elevate Your Lunch with Tasty Sandwiches


Pawit's Royale Thai: Searching for Tom Yum Gai Perfection


Happy Eating

My First and Only Drug Deal!

Last Wednesday, I wrote a blog post titled "Another 30 Minutes of Work Accomplished Today." In there I described one of the worst job experiences of my life. I didn't listen to the whisperings within and dearly paid a price for it. I love these life lessons.

At the office one afternoon, I was joking with some co-workers that there was a bottle of Lortab in my medicine cabinet. Somebody at the office had recently had some dental work done and was in pain. The medicine was in my cabinet because my wife had her widom teeth out years prior but never used all of the pills.

One day some two weeks later, my manager came up behind me and whispered "Hey Jeff, can I talk to you?" I said sure and the conversation went like this: Manager, "Do you still have any of that Lortab" (she must have overheard my conversation with co-workers). I nodded in accordance. They continued, "My back is killing me. If you go get me two Lortabs right now, I'll give you half a day off Friday as a paid bonus."

Within two minutes I was in my car driving to my apartment. I brought the Lortab back and that Friday I spent the afternoon relaxing. What a horrible decision yet anything was nearly worth it to me to get away from that place.

Reflecting on this experience was another reason that I made the decision to leave. I was so miserable inside. I often look back on events in life such as this, which help me to understand who I am and what calls to me from within.

Another 30 Minutes of Work Accomplished Today!

Yes, this is a blog about food. But I also love to look at what started me on this journey of finding out what I truly love. We all have life experiences which are very educational and most often enjoyed in restrospect. Here is one of mine.

In 2003, I graduated with a Business Finance degree from the University of Utah. At that time I was working as a Teller for Bank One, now Chase. I applied for numerous jobs within the bank but no positions were offered. My wife was back in school, our savings was running low and I was feeling desperate.

Finally I interviewed with a mortgage loan servicing company. The interview went very well and two days later I was extended an offer. I accepted the job over the phone but couldn't ignore the sick feeling that I had inside of me. For two weeks I justified the feeling; telling myself that we needed the money and this was an answer to prayers.

On a Monday morning I showed up for work, putting on a good face while the sick feeling still resonated. They trained me but honestly, not much training was required. If you have seen the movie "Office Space," my job was very similar.

It was my responsibility to copy the loan number from a spreadsheet, pull it up in the company's software and see if the borrower's were current on their taxes and insurance. If they were current, I typed "FINA;" If they were not current, I sent an e-mail to an employee in another department. That was it!

On my first day, I could analyze 400 loans. By my last day, 8 1/2 months later, I could still analyze 400 loans. Why no improvement you ask? I soon learned that if I finished a spreadsheet, then I got another spreadsheet sent to me.

This was so frustrating to me. I am an incredibly hard worker but my motivation was zero. There was no variety and my anxiety and unhappiness started to manifest itself physically. I was out of shape and getting heavier by the day. To cope with my unhappiness I drank 1 or 2 super big gulps of Dr. Pepper per day. I also usually ate fast food and snacked on candy all day.

It was so exhausting to look busy. How to fill 7 1/2 hours a day was incredibly draining both physically and emotionally. Most of the people in my department surfed the internet all day. One guy would have phone interviews for other jobs while he was sitting next to our manager.

Ultimately, I was having borderline suicidal thoughts, my wife disliked being around me and I was going crazy. I took the jump and quit with no guarantee of anything or even another job.
Lesson here: listen to those feelings within. They are telling you something.

Announcement #1, Addendum 2.

Okay, I know that the title to this post can be misleading. Yes, there is another announcement coming but it's not quite ready.

Last week I wrote about Suprise Announcement #1. These are exciting times and today I am adding that City Weekly picked up another article of mine. Thai food has been an addiction of sorts for me; especially one dish: Tom Yum Gai Soup. Some people have a goal to scale Mt. Everest. Others to visit every country in the world. For me, I want to eat at every Thai restaurant in the Salt Lake Valley. Oh the wonders that await.

Searching for Tom Yum Gai Perfection

Please read it, rate it, comment on it. I appreciate your participation greatly.

Happy Eating

Surprise Announcement #1

Jammin Jambon Sandwich

Last week in a post, I talked about two excited surprises. Well what could they be? Am I a vegan, carnivore, obese, bulimic, ADHD, it could be anything right?

The first surprise to announce is that my food writing is now being published. It's an amazing sequence of events that all culminated to the first of many articles. Please check it out here:

Liberty Heights Fresh: Elevate Your Lunch with Tasty Sandwiches

Read it, rate it, comment on it and let me know the food secrets around town that I am missing.

A big Thank You to the City Weekly for this opportunity. I also need to thank my friend John Coon. He is a college friend and a freelance writer. We had not seen each other in about 10 years, so we met for lunch in November. He knew some Editors and recommended my work to them.

Do what you love and doors will open; just don't force them, it will present itself at the right time.

As for the next Surprise, what could it be? You will know in due time.

Happy Eating.

Valentine's Day Dinner 2013: It's all about the food!

On Valentine's Day 2003, I cooked dinner for Rachel. We were engaged at that time and I couldn't afford to go out to dinner. I also didn't want to fight for reservations at a restaurant and be told that I could come at either 5:00 or 10:45pm. That night I cooked chicken adobo and my apartment had a strong odor of garlic for days. It was the start of a great tradition; not garlic odor but cooking Valentine's dinner for Rachel. I cook much more often than once a year but I always look for something fun and exciting for February 14th. Much better than picking out some cheesy balloons and chocolates at the grocery store.

This year I did some research and got excited about cooking bacon wrapped filet mignon, sweet potato wedges with lime mayo, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and apple strudel for dessert.

Now you have to understand, I have rarely baked anything in my life. I wanted to impress Rachel (a colossal task) and I knew that baking; especially baking a delicious dessert would be appropriate.

It took about two hours to cook everything but it all seemed to come out just fine. Ruby and Rachel would be the ultimate judges. Rachel loved it and Ruby's favorite part was the filet mignon. Nothing like a medium rare steak with a crisp exterior and juicy, tender inside. The bacon on the outside would make your foot taste good.

Valentine's is a special day for many and I love our little tradition. Now what to cook for next year?


Happy Eating  

What's that you say: Suprises?

Yes, there are two exciting announcements here at Hometown Slop.

The first is: I can't tell you yet.

The second is: I can tell you next week.

I know, that is about as exciting as getting to the airport for your long awaited vacation, and finding out that your flight was delayed. And then, when you do get to your destination, you find out that your bags are elsewhere. It's only then that you remember your cheap tip to the Sky Cap. His thinking: "You gave me a $2 tip for 6 suitcases? Well you might be going to Florida, but your bags will be in Honolulu."

Lesson here for all of us: don't be rude to anyone who handles your bags, your flight, or both. A Dive Master in Hawaii once told me that he use to work for the airlines. When people were rude to him, he would send their bags to a place that they were not going.

Lesson here for me: how did a post start out with an exciting announcement (or at least the hint of one) and end up talking about Dive Masters in Hawaii? I don't know but it's often how my mind works. I'm just glad that I recognized to clarify this.

Stay Tuned!

Happy Eating

Now what is Hometown Slop?

So really, where did the name, Hometown Slop, come from? Let me tell you. Every Sunday morning I like to make a breakfast sandwich. Over time it has become very sloppy and very delicious (if I may say so myself). There have been numerous variations until the most recent one. This one has stuck. Like many of the dishes I make, I don't follow a recipe. It was a lot of "some of this, some of that, I think I put this in last time."

Here it is: Hometown Slop Sandwich:

2 pieces sourdough bread
2 large eggs
2 pieces honey ham
4 leaves fresh basil
Dash of salt
Dash of fresh ground pepper
Dash of paprika

Directions: Toast the bread. Cook the eggs over easy (very important); dash with salt & pepper while cooking. Fry the ham. Place eggs & ham on bread with basil and paprika.

Be sure to not lift sandwich far from the plate when you take a bite. The over easy eggs will run onto the plate. This becomes your dip for the rest of the sandwich. Remember: dry food is terrible food. Dip, bite, and enjoy. Your spouse will be disgusted with you but let's face it, they probably are already.

So the "sloppy" sandwich gave rise to the name. After I repeatedly made the sandwich, I asked Rachel what a good name for a diner would be. What do you think? Would you eat at a diner named Hometown Slop? It just might happen one day.

Happy Eating.

Last Year's Christmas Present: Truly a Gift, Not a Murder Weapon!

Last year, I wrote this post shortly after Christmas. It goes to show how some presents are truly gifts.

Often in life, we don't know how wonderful something is until we have it. Rachel got a Orbital Hand Sander for Christmas from me and I received two very nice All-Clad Fry Pans from her. Laugh all you want but she loves house projects and I love cooking. It's a great balance.

Rachel thought that I was on to her plan to get me the pans for Christmas. I actually had no idea. She even told me that as she was pulling out of the Trolley Square parking lot after leaving Williams Sonoma with the pans, I was driving west on 500 S. and passed her.

Her brother asked what fry pans I would recommend for a gift for his wife. I have only used all-clad pans once and they were wonderful. We cooked Indian food at our house with a fabulous home chef from Rachel's work. I wrote about the delicious creations here.

Eggplant and Tomato dish cooked in All-Clad Pans

Rachel and her brother colluded and both myself and Tim's wife got the All-Clad Fry Pans. They are heavy, tough, durable, and they heat up very fast; so here is where I ask: does she want me to use the pans for cooking or it's it for her comfort knowing that with one swing of the pan I am left for dead?

On Christmas morning I found out just how wonderful they really are. In my excitement to use my new toys, I made french toast for Rachel and Ruby. I burned the second batch of french toast and my hand. Painful but worth it. The "wonderful" part is how uniform everything cooks and how quickly. I am still giddy inside.

Happy Eating and Cooking.

Cooking with Emotion!

Again I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by Joel Boggess on his Internet Radio Show. Please click the link and listen.

Cooking with Emotion

After years of fleeing from his emotional triggers and action signals, today’s guest realized that his innermost feelings hid the key that would unlock the door he needed to walk through.

And, by trusting in how he really felt, (rather than in how he should feel) he tip-toed out of his comfort zone and took a chance that immediately lifted him to a higher level.

Jeff from Utah joins us back on the show, (here’s our first show) and shares what he did and how he did it.

Don’t have time to listen to the show? Read his story in Chicago Now.

Follow Jeff on Twitter.

Siam Orchid: A return for dinner!

Back in July, I went to a belated birthday lunch at Siam Orchid. Their food was disappointing and I made it know so on my review. They saw my review a couple weeks ago and called me. Initially I braced for a tongue lashing but it never happened. They said that they were sorry that my visit was disappointing and that they have made menu changes and even changed Chefs. I was invited to come back in for dinner. How do you turn that down?

As I walked in, they immediately knew who I was and welcomed me warmly. They even remembered which table I had occupied 3 months earlier.

Lady Finger Rolls

Complimentary to all patrons are the Lady Finger Rolls. It is their creation and it was a delight. It's crispy, not oily, and has a flared out design. It's just enough to tide you over and I love that your not biting through a large, oily wrap to get to the filling.

As an appetizer I had the Thai Fresh Spring Rolls. I was in awe as they were placed on the table. The presentation was beautiful. It's stuffed with lettuce, carrots, chicken and a prawn wrapped in rice paper. There is a side of peanut sauce and a soy dip. The peanut sauce was like none I had experienced before. It was creamy, not runny. The soy dip is soy sauce with some additional sweet and spice. I loved both sauces. It has a very fresh taste and the cilantro adds a nice little bite. My only advice would be to pace yourself. I ate 3 of the 4 rolls and was nearly full, which saddened me because I still had Tom Yum Soup and Panang Curry on the way.

Thai Fresh Spring Rolls

Tom Yum Soup

The Tom Yum (Thai Hot and Spicy Soup) is my latest addiction. I ordered it with prawns and requested the spice level to be medium. Anytime in life that you think staying in the middle of the road is safe ground (metaphorically), you get that wake up call. Wow! Medium-Spicy is SPICY, but absolutely delicious. There were onions, mushrooms, cilantro, tomatoes and the best broth you have ever tasted. In previous posts about Tom Yum, I have written of my love for the perfect spicy, vinegary broth. It hits you fast and makes your mouth water. You will crave it at all hours of the night. People watching me at the restaurant probably thought that I needed therapy. I would move my spoon in a propeller motion through the soup and then taste it. This was usually followed by a "hmmmm" or "wow" and then repeated.

One quick note about the Tom Yum soup. She brought me a side of lime saying that in Thailand, some people add a lime for sourness. I did that and it really gave the dish an extra component.

They knew that I love curry. We discussed the types of curry at length. Initially I was a fan of Massaman Curry. Recently I switched to Green Curry craving some variety and also a little more spice. Desiring to try something new, Panang Curry sounded great. It carries with it flavors and aromas of distant places and has peanuts as the major ingredient in the paste.

Panang Curry

The Panang Curry was loaded with ingredients: green peppers, red peppers, peas, cilantro, pineapple, pork, zucchini, and some little strands of greens that I could not identify. I kept trying those leaf strands obsessing over what they were. They didn't taste like scallions but they did pack a punch. It did add quite a bit of flavor to the dish. Eventually I gave in and accepted that I did not know. I asked them and they said it was kaffir. Wow, I had heard the name but never tasted it in that form. Delicious it was, along with rest of the curry. The texture was perfectly creamy and the pork was very tender and flavorful. There definitely was a spicy kick to it but not overwhelming.

We sat and talked for a while after the meal. The owner told me that in authentic Thai cooking, they don't follow recipes. They really need a Chef who knows the cuisine. The owner or manager will taste it twice before going out to the table. The new Chef at Siam Orchid is definitely skilled. The food really was night & day from when I went in July.

Thai Fresh Limemade. Absolutely worth it!

They truly have a passion for food. Learning to cook growing up in Thailand, the owner fell in love with food at a young age. Coming to the United States, she worked in Thai restaurants in San Francisco for five years before moving on to Salt Lake City. Her love for what she does is evident. I was grateful to be their guest and to see true passion. They definitely get my vote this time.

Siam Orchid

4410 South 900 East

Salt Lake City, Utah, 84124

Happy Eating

 

Kansas City Barbeque Society

Since I began my love affair with cooking, grilling and BBQ have become two of my favorite things. This past summer, I received a Traeger Smoker as a birthday present from Rachel. It was a fabulous day. Shortly thereafter I smoked some ribs, a turkey, chickens and some skewers. The whole world is opening up to me.

During this time I was introduced to KCBS (Kansas City Barbeque Society). Despite the name, it is not exclusive to Kansas City in events or style of BBQ. They actually sanction over 450 events every year throughout the country. For all of these BBQ events and competitions they need Judges. At first I was hesitant to sign up for the Judging class feeling like I was a novice myself. I did it anyway and learned so much about ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork and chicken.

The class was held in conjunction with the "Smokin in Mesquite" BBQ competition at the Casablanca Resort in Mesquite Nevada. What a pleasure it was to be there. Not only did we learn a lot about the types of meats, cooking styles and presentation, but we went over all the rules for judging. That was a lot of information. It got me really excited to not only be involved with more competitions but to cook a lot more on my smoker. Seeing the custom built smokers from many of the cooking teams was a majestic sight.

A few weeks after the event, I received all my KCBS membership information in the mail; including my name badge. In big red letters on the name badge it says, "Certified Barbeque Judge." I can't wait to wear it to the next family, friend or neighborhood barbeque. When someone says that their dish is pretty good, I will have formal authority to respond with "I'll be the judge of that." Blatent arrogance or unconditional support?

Happy Eating

Finding Your True Calling

"Follow your Passion and success can't avoid you. Listen to the whisperings within" Dan Miller, 48 Days.

Sprague's Lobster Shack in Wiscasset Maine

For the past 18 months I have had the pleasure of writing about food; recipes, restaurant reviews, and travel. Thank you for being part of the journey. A fabulous Reporter from Chicago Now, Karen Putz interviewed me. She is doing columns on people following their passions. Please enjoy:


Jeff David, Finding His True Calling


Happy Eating

Fresh Homemade Cole Slaw; A Borski Farms Product

On July 11th, I posted about our weekly share of produce from Borski Farms. They have some delicious, fresh food. With a cabbage and 5 ears of corn, we created the following:

Fresh Homemade Cole Slaw

5 ears corn, kernels sliced
1/2 green cabbage, sliced thin
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 can (15 ounce) black beans
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup cole slaw dressing
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together in a bowl. Enjoy!

This was very popular and had the most incredibly fresh taste I could imagine.

Love the Borski Farms produce.


Happy Eating

6 Pounds of Ribs

For my birthday last week, my wife took me to Costco and had me pick out a Traeger grill. Originally I was thinking of the Little Tex Elite but ended up with the Texas Grill. I liked the size and portability of Little Tex but then I found out that it uses the same amount of wood pellets and has almost half the rack space of Texas. I knew by the second time I used it, I would want the larger model. Why smoke 2 turkeys at once when you can smoke 3?

I could be a Model for Traeger; except then I might have to wash my hair and shave

Saturday morning was spent assembling the smoker. Not my favorite thing but a necessary evil in order to get you closer to smoking-smoking meat that is. Quite a sight when it was complete. It looked like it could swallow our other grill whole.

To break in the grill, I smoked some ribs. Having never cooked ribs before (except in class), I was a little lost. I made a rub with some Cajun spices and a lot of brown sugar. I was anticipating a sweet glaze on the ribs. My In-Laws had purchased a quarter cow and gave me the spare ribs.

First time cooking on the grill

To start, I smoked the ribs for 2 hours with hickory wood pellets. I then cooked for 3 more hours at 225 degrees. Yes, the grill has temperature settings. It was truly a work of art to watch the cooking process. The hickory smoke blowing in the air created the most beautiful aroma. When complete, I carved them and was amazed at the sheer amount of meat.

The final verdict: the meat was moist and tender but the flavor was missing. It seemed like none of the spice rub flavored the meat. I did learn a valuable lesson: attempting to flavor over 6 pounds of meat will take a lot more seasoning then what I am use to. A simple rub of spices on a steak or breast of chicken will suffice but not on this. I also should have placed the ribs in foil with some flavoring liquid with an hour to go.

5 hours later, the ribs are ready

So the meat did not turn out liked I had hoped but I love the grill. It's truly one of the best presents ever. Word had definitely spread overnight as the next morning, most people that I spoke with knew about the grill. Sounds like there will be many mouths to feed.


Happy Eating.

Borski Farms: Weekly produce share = recipe goals

For the past 3 years, Rachel and I have bought a share of Borski Farms. It's a Community Supported Agriculture program where you get a weekly share of produce in the summer from a local farm. The food is fresh, delicious and only $220 for a weekly share from late June to early October.

There is everything from salad greens, cooking greans, peas, beets, garlic, summer squash, cherries, apricots, tomatoes, onions, and more. Each week you do not know what you are going to get until you pick it up. It's quite exciting and always fun to figure out some recipes based on what you received.

Yesterday was our first pick up for the summer. It included english peas, mixed lettuce greens, spinach, bing cherries, and Anasazi beans. I have already been munching on it and it's very delicious.

Each week I will post the recipes I made from that week's share. It will be exciting. Since I still have the bag of Anasazi beans that we received last year, that may need to be my first post. Here is a recipe for the beans.

Refried Anasazi Beans
(from the kitchen of Joyce Waller)

1 pound dried Anasazi Beans®
6 slices of bacon, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon chili powder

Add 6 cups fresh water and cook beans 1.5 hours or until tender at a gentle boil. Drain beans, save liquid. Saute onion, green pepper, garlic and bacon. Mash beans together with sauteed mixture, adding liquid a little at a time, until bean mixture is smooth.


Happy Eating

Salmon with Tangy Avacado Sauce

This past Saturday we had a BBQ at our home. It was a get together of divine Foodies and we did not disappoint. Craig made about the best chicken caesar salad ever. His homemade anchovy dressing is something that should be etched in history. Penny did bleu cheese sliders-ground beef stuffed with basil and bleu cheese. They were so good that time seemed to stand still for a moment. She also brought a insalata caprese as her side.

My first thought when finding out that these were going to be some of the dishes was, "do I dare cook anything?" How do you keep pace with that? I put on a BBQ Friday night so I was consumed with that. It was Saturday afternoon before I had fully put my dish together. A couple of days prior, I had purchased a Sockeye Salmon Filet from Costco. The big question was what to do with it from there? Do I do an herby/summer salmon with grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, balsamic and basil? Since I knew herbs would flow freely that night, I was looking for a more tangy sauce that hits your mouth and makes it water.

Thank you Pinterest; or thank you Rachel for researching Pinterest. On there she found a "Salmon Sliders with Tangy Avacado Sauce" recipe from http://www.dineanddish.net/. We decided that since Penny was bringing sliders, we would grill the whole filet of salmon and drizzle the avacado sauce on top.

Tangy Avacado Sauce

1 ripe California avacado, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

In a medium sized bowl, mash the avacado

Stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, milk and vinegar until smooth. Add Kosher salt and cracked black pepper and stir until incorporated.

Spoon Tangy Avacado Sauce over salmon. Top with slices of fresh avacado.

Sous Chef Jesse grilled the salmon to perfection and Sous Chefs Sam & Tai made the sauce; all under my strict supervision of course. Those guys are fabulous. Right after we put out all the food, my sprinkler guy showed up. With a dying lawn, I wasn't about to send him away. I spent about 30 minutes outside with him; most of it thinking about the food. Thankfully Jesse brought me out some food because when I came back in, much of it was gone.

In business books they say to surround yourself with those who make you better. This group certainly does that. I am always grateful for the wonderful Food knowledge that they so willingly share.

Happy Eating

Hometown Slop: The Tour continues!

Well we sold out our event in Cottonwood Heights, and last week we put on a show in Draper. Next up: Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila, Berlin, and New York.

Sage Pork Tenderloin

This event was for about 35 people at my Bother & Sister-in-Law's home. The menu was left up to me and of course I wanted to impress. We went with Sage Pork Tenderloin, Bratwurst, Cheeseburger of Champions, and Juicy Lucy Burgers. No simple burgers & dogs here.

Happy Grilling

For the majority of the event, I was outside at the grill. Rachel told me that I received rave reviews and people came back for seconds & thirds. It was a lot of fun. Biggest lessoned learned: grilling is the fun part, the preparation is where you do all the work. And the preparation takes a lot longer when your two Sous Chefs are out of town. Oh how I missed them.

Thanks Kim & Todd for the opportunity.

Happy Eating