Loquitur

Syzygies - wouldn't you know I already have a Nesco food dehydrator/jerky maker and a vacuum sealer. Just so that I can get a sense of scale - roughly how many gooshy slices of tomatoes is in one of those 250 g packets? Susan

Considering the season, how about we post some of our favorite garden tomato recipes??? I'll start, not that I'd argue with anyone who does not want to discuss anything more than a stroll in the garden with a jar of mayonnaise and a salt shaker, or other simple manifestation of summer goodness. Don't get nervous, gentlemen, this is not a quiche. No cream or eggs to be found in this recipe. Tomato Basil Tart 1 Pillsbury refrigerated Pie Crust (1/2 of 15 oz pkge) 5 med garden tomatoes, juiced, seeded, cut in chunks and drained 1 cup basil 4 cloves garlic 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano grated cheese 10 inch glass pie plate Directions Bake the pie crust according to package directions for single crust pie. As soon as it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the crust with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese to cover the bottom and allow it to melt. Combine basil and garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Sprinkle the basil/garlic mixture over the melted cheese. Arrange the drained tomato pieces over the basil/garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Make the topping by combining the mayonnaise with the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and the 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano grated cheese. Spread the topping over the top of the tart. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden. Notes: The tomatoes need to be dry for this recipe to keep the crust from getting soggy. Set a sieve in a bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds and juice into the sieve (this will remove the seeds yet save the juices in the bowl below for Gazpacho or another application). Discard the seeds from the sieve and replace the sieve on the bowl. Cut the tomato halves in chunks, salt them and place back in the sieve to further drain. Then gently press the tomato chunks in paper towels to get as much additional liquid out as you reasonably can. The topping for this tart is difficult to work with since its very stiff - you can’t just spread it over the tomatoes like you would a cake icing. After you mix the topping in a bowl, section it into quarters so that you have 4 equal parts of topping. Then use a butter knife to scoop up a teaspoon or so of the topping at a time and drop it on the tart in dollops, working with 1/4 of the topping and 1/4 of the tart at a time. Then with your wrist pull the top of the dollops together. It may not seem like there is enough topping to cover the tart but it is the perfect amount. Once you get the hang of spreading the topping, it isn’t hard to make. And it is absolutely delicious and worth your efforts.

Thanks, Dennis!! Just got off the phone with John at Rock's and he said he will mail me a new fan adapter with the Guru sized nozzle today and that I will be able to screw it on the fan, after removing the old one, without having to drill any new holes. Susan

Wow, Hitman - you have an increible talent for catching the sky at that perfect moment!! Those pictures are spectacular. Susan

I'm new to a KK as well and also new to charcoal cooking generally. I am able to start and maintain low temps but am very careful to only light one small area of the coals with my torch to start when I'm doing so. I then open things up to get it within 50 degs or so of the target temp and then set the dials as shown in the manual. If the fire is too large or too hot to start, I can't maintain low temps, no matter how I set the dials. I do need to watch the temps closely in the beginning and make small adjustments with the top damper, such as 1/4 turn might result in a 10 deg difference. I'm hoping to put my Stoker in operation once Dennis has the new adapter available to avoid the "watching closely" part, which is inconvenient for me. Susan

Re: Second cook

Sure, Steve. Next sunny day.

I've used my Stoker twice now, at least partially used it on two cooks, and know that I am going to love it once we get the adapter so that it will fit in the KK. It's been falling out on me because I don't have good support from the three pieces of copper I'm using or good support from the ground up because the port is located over the leg, which is curved. I was using the T handle grill tool on top of a block which held it for a while but not through a complete cook. But now I'm thinking I will tape the pipe pieces together and set my Versagrill on blocks, which will go across the leg entirely, and hopefully give better support for the fan so that it won't fall out. On the first cook, I was looking for 400 deg. I was heating a baked dish to try the Stoker. I closed the bottom vent completely and had the top vent mostly closed as well. I could see from the progress on the computer screen that it was going to take a long time to get to 400 so I opened the top a few turns and then it started to come up fast. I knew this from manually setting the vents but it was really instructive to see exactly how the fire and resulting temperature were responding on the computer. Once it got to temp, I closed the top vent some. It held the KK at 399.7 for a half hour before it fell out and I disconnected it. The next cook I was looking for 250. Rain was in the forecast so I placed a plastic shield over it. It got the grill to temp and held it at 251.2. But, as soon as it started to rain, it fell out so I disconnected it right away, fearful it would get wet on the ground. I could tell from the 250 cook that the fan was not running all the time so I'm hoping I dodged a bullet on that. I was not able to get the Stoker Log up on the first cook, though I had no trouble with the regular Stoker program. I noticed that I couldn't type anything in the Sensor field and I remebered when I was playing with the Stoker in my house, I was able to type in that field. I didn't have the Stoker in long enough to try it with the second cook. I'll get to that later. I love being able to monitor the temp from my computers. It is soooo convenient for me because I spend a lot of time on the second story of my house. Running up and down the stairs constantly to check on the grill gets me tired and aggravated to the point where it starts to take some of the fun away. I have my fingers crossed that the adapter will be forthcoming shortly.

I am using Internet Explorer, JeffB. I know its not the best but I'm hesitant to change because I can usually work with it in a tolerable fashion. I also know the computer savvy crowd doesn't use it. Thanks for the info and I'll keep it in mind in case the opportunity presents itself. Susan

Thanks, Firemonkey - that trick works perfectly!!!

Hi Steve! I chose that tile as well. Wait 'til you see it in person!! The pictures don't begin to do justice to the luminance of the bronze metallic tiles and how they highlight the browns and golds of the autumn nebula tiles. It's truly beautiful!! I named it Havana because it reminds me of leather, cigars and cognac. Susan

Hi! I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong when searching this forum. I go to the search page, type in my parameters and get a list of posts or topics containing my subject matter. But then after I select one of the posts or topics, I can't get back to the list. I use the back button and get a "web page has expired" message and have to go back to the search page and start all over typing in my search parameters again. I thought maybe I should use the "previous post/next post" feature instead of the back button but that doesn't appear to bring me to the next post or topic in the list either. So whaddaya think? Susan

No, Big Poppa, No You're just livin' large and lovin' it!!

Gotta agree with Big Poppa on KK steaks!! Did my first rib eyes last night - two boneless ones, each slightly under a lb and about 1" thick. I had a rip roaring fire going with the Tru-Tel off the scale. Steaks were dried for 4 days, brought to room temp and rubbed with olive oil, S&P. Closed the draft door just before I put the steaks on the sear grill and left the lid open. 90 sec on the first side and 60 sec on the other and they're done to perfection - 121 on the Thermapen -crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside!! We can't wait to have them again!!! I know, I know !! But my husband was leaving on a fly fishing excursion for carp in PA and had already packed the camera. Susan

So whaddayathink? I couldn't find any small pieces of copper pipe at Lowe's that would fit inside the Stoker adapter tube though I found lots that were the same size and lots that were too small. But I did find these reducer pieces that fit good on the larger end and which acted like a length of pipe the right size when assembled together. They were labelled 1x3/4. I'll try to get muffler tape next to secure the pieces together, though they seem to stay pretty well together on their own. I'm thinking worst case I could get a plumber to solder them together. This is how it looks sitting in the KK. Before I try it, I will give the fan some support from the bricks up so it isn't pulling down. I'm optimistic at this point!!

Re: Rock's BBQ feedback

Getting the Stoker to Fit Anybody have any ideas on how we are going to get the Stoker to fit the new KK's with the built in inducer tubes? I haven't heard back from Dennis yet on the details of what he is working on.

Save your fingers, Jeff, it was the Naked Whiz website which has the good pictures of the Stoker. I get it - the clip holds the probe by the sleeve so the tip can be exposed to measure the air temperature

I'm on hold for a little while with the Stoker. I popped out the plug and the Stoker adapter doesn't fit. It's a little bit too large. Jeff - those a great tips for me as a first time Stoker user. I will definitely bookmark this page when I can use it. I do have one question about the pit probe and holder. Is it right that I should squeeze the spring part so it clips on the grill grate and is standing straight up with the hole on top? Then when I put the probe tip through the hole, should it rest in the hole on the bare part of the probe or should it rest on the part with the sleeve? I'm sure this is perfectly obvious to all the world except me!! It seems like if it is resting on the bare tip it could fall out very easily. I know I've seen pictures of the stoker in operation somewhere but I'll be damned if I can find it now!

Wow, Cruz, that is beautiful!! Is all that extra ground coffee in time for the brisket???

It was a great tip, Cruz. It was easy and if it hadn't stuck, I woud have been done.

Sanny, Firemonkey and Dennis - sounds easy and effective. Thank you, thank you, thank you PS I haven't seen Raichlen in a while, Sanny, but I'd know that voice anywhere!

Thanks, Doc and Jeff. I was confused about the sticky door problem. I actually was hoping that they would hold my unit until the fix was in but I called for status on the order and it showed up a couple of days later. The tips about setting the dampers for Stoker control are appreciated. I have Stoker Log downloaded and have no problem getting it up online. I'm ready to give it a go today. Susan

OK, Fetz and Firemonkey - heat deflector it is. Thanks for the clarification. Susan