Grilling Tips and Bon Appetit Everyone!

Written Sunday, June 26th, 2011 by Theresa H Hall

Opening this magazine from its wrapper is such a satisfying thing to do. With half of my coffee already gone I finish the remainder by sipping it, while I turn the pages of the most recent issue of BonAppetit "The Grilling Issue". They have provided quality information any serious griller should read over. There are tips on how to grill, getting your grill ready, making sauces, marinades and rubs, plus articles on different cuts of meats. Bon Appetit offers us recipes any good cook can follow and then add their special twists to make them their own.

You don't have to own a grill insert like this in order to deliver full flavor to your dinner plate. Although it could be something we might wish to have one day. Just the other evening, Amybyrd, one of our members, had won a bag of Jack Daniel's Wood Chips. Wood chips can enhance your grilling experience by adding even more flavor, so you might want to try this cooking style for a more complex depth of taste.

This issue talks about getting your grill ready before you begin to cook. It's a dedicated article called "The Fire" (on page 70). They cover very valid points and if you are new to grilling, you'll want to read this. Heat has everything to do with how your meats or food will turn out. As you learn to master the art of grilling, you will have opened up a whole new vista of cooking. You might become so adept that your friends or relatives will ask you to be the star cook at their next barbecue. It does pay to practice.

The other evening a brand new member popped into our community and asked how to cook a steak. Well this issue tells precisely how to do just that. There are many different cuts of meats discussed and they provide recipes for each. Cooking techniques are not secret, but the styles are unique for every situation, because no two cuts of meat are exactly the same. Each needs to be handled in certain ways to produce that perfect result. It isn't difficult it just takes practice.

"How To Conquer The Rib Eye" (page 71) Tells us how is easy it is to cook, and is a sure way to impress your guests. Just follow the directions and you will soon be enjoying the delicious taste this cut of beef can give.

(click or double click to enlarge photos)

(photos taken of my magazine)

What's The Buzz About?

Written Monday, July 19th, 2010 by Theresa H Hall

In the brand new August edition of Bon Appetit magazine, I read about a New Yorker who is involved with bee keeping. She does it right in Manhattan, on the rooftop of an apartment building. I learned quite a bit from the article, including the fact  that the reason for the biggest demise of the honey bee, during the 1990's was due to the varroa-mite, a pest that loves the honey bee's blood, and then again in the late 2007-2008 due to a mysterious disease. It almost wiped out the bees and thanks to many local farmers, bee keepers and individuals giving bee keeping a try, they are assisting these tiny creatures to produce honey and pollinating our planet.

I remember my eldest sister telling me that she had read that Einstein said when the bees disappear, we have four years until our own collapse or demise. Not a pleasant thought at all and coincidentally, four years would be the year 2012. It behooves us to support bee keepers and even for some of us to investigate how we may either become bee keepers ourselves, like amybyrd21 has done, or to join groups that are into doing this, and offer some help or financial assistance. We are all doing the planet a favor in this. Here is a photo I took of page 80, to show you how beautiful and busy these bees are.

It takes one bee his whole life to produce only 1/12 of a teaspoon of golden honey. What a sweet little bee. And that one hive can produce 150 pounds of honey in a summer! Even the White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, uses honey in many recipes and it is produced by bees on the W.H. lawn; 140 pounds to be precise.

Check the internet for a Bee Association in your area, to see what you can do to help keep the bees alive, happy and making honey.