Working with Phillips Crab Meat & Wisconsin Cheese

Crab is so flavorful and exciting to work with, from the special to jumbo lump and even up to colossal, if you get the right brand then you have sweetness in a can! I’m looking forward to putting together some truly awesome recipes utilizing Phillips crab meat and Wisconsin cheeses!

A new day with new foods and new ideas!

Does anyone out there ever have a day in which your taste buds are just craving something special – sweet, salty, sour, bitter or spicy? Or perhaps something so far out there that you’re not sure where to purchase the ingredients?

Sometimes that happens to me, so I start looking through old cook books, and new cook books, online culinary pages and current foodie magazine publication in the hopes of turning up something new. After watching Julie and Julia and then Food Inc. I realized that no matter what the modern take is on food, or sustainability all that matters is that you are true to yourself and your own style of cooking. Find the best ingredients possible within your budget and have fun creating, just remember to purchase fresh, look for color in your menu and meal and enjoy yourself in the kitchen.

Grill Charms

Once in a while certain items come along and you think, WOW, why didn’t I think of that. These Grill Charms are one of those thoughts. Take a simple concept, flesh it out make it out of high grade metal and you have a quality product. Now instead of cutting into every steak to see which is rare and which is medium you can insert these charms into the meat and keep track of temps and flavors from grill to table.

Not only are they great for steaks, but chicken, pork chops, turkey cutlets and even hamburgers. The charms do not slide out out thanks to the simple cut edges on the sides of the charm. No they are not tie tacks, nor are they small branding irons for the meat; simply insert into the meat, season as you do normally and then grill to your desired doneness. Then have no fear of stacking together on one plate because each piece of meat has a marker that will clearly state the cook’s intentions. I thought for sure the burgers done up with the charms would loose one or two when flipped but they stayed securely in place and made it to the table without any problems. Each guest was happy to see that the meat did not have to be cut or pulled apart to test doneness, nor were the charms hard to pull out before eating.

Another nice feature is the ability to change up seasonings without worry. I love my grilled proteins highly seasoned and my guests not so much, so I push these little charms into the low heat seasoned meats and now when I’m done grilling I can simply point out the charm that the guest selected without them worrying about burning off their tongue. This also helps many guests with allergic reactions to gluten or nuts. Now, by placing a charm into their cut of meat you can know let them know that you followed it from grill to table without any possible marinades or seasoning that wold cause an allergic outbreak. You simply keep those cuts away from the others and offer your guests a piece of mind with an excellently cooked piece of meat.

Grill Charms are an inexpensive and fun way to stay safe and have fun when grilling! They are easy to clean up in the dishwasher or by hand and ready to go at the next outing. I highly recommend these to anyone needing to mark their grilling territory!

When you need need to know, and don't want to cut!

March 1st

The roads are clearing, the birds are singing and I can almost see the deck and my grills. I’ll be working up some new recipes for the grill along with some fresh ideas utilizing the Keurig Beverage System and the Margarittaville Machine.