tony b

Can you say "Arrested!"

Sounds like a Dennis call to me. However, he's on a "hippy retreat" getting his body and soul cleansed, so he's a little hard to contact right now.

Nice. What kind of chile peppers? Looks like anchos to me.

Especially having done it twice! First with the POSK - only 2 of us muscling it up those stairs with a refrigerator dolly - one agonizing step at a time! And then the second time with the KK. Which is why I got smarter the second time around and built the ramp and recruited more beefy guys!

That's the nice thing about this Ponzu base - it has all the other stuff in it except the soy sauce, so you can tailor it to the style of soy that you like. So, you just have to mix it with the soy sauce and you're good to go. I found that it wasn't cost effective to make it entirely from scratch - too many of the ingredients are on the esoteric side of things, i.e., pricey!

Good plan, Charles. I have a separate grinder for pure berries - the "free base" of Purple Crack!! It hit me today that the newly opened bag has more punch than the stuff from Batch #1, which was getting on a month old.

Today I mixed up Batch #2 of the now infamous Purple Crack. Found the "perfect" salt to make it with, too! Mixed 1 oz of Taz pepper berried to 1.5 oz of the Aussie Flake salt. I found that equal parts just wasn't salty enough, so I bumped it up 50%. Nice!

Nice spin, MacKenzie.

Excellent photos, Charles! I haven't tried my own sweet chili sauce yet, but I do make my own ponzu. Here's one of my sources for the ingredients. http://www.marxpantry.com/Yuzu-Ponzu I also like to use the Shoyu (white soy sauce) for it. http://www.marxpantry.com/White-Soy-Sauce

I was skeptical at first, but after MacKenzie raved about her's, I took the plunge. Have to admit that I like it, for spuds in particular. Will likely use mine tonight to do some potato wedges to go with the tri-tip and corn on the cob on the KK.

What's not to love about bacon wrapped around anything??

Thanks, Steve M. De Nada. MacKenzie, the OneGrill website is a tad cheaper right now (sale) and they have free shipping, too. I checked first, as I was about to make the same recommendation for "one stop shopping."

@FotonDrv - no, I built a ramp for the stairs inside the house and 5 of us pushed it from the garage into the foyer, up the stairs, through the house and onto the deck via the kitchen door. We did take the top off to make it a tad lighter. The POSK came off the deck using the same pathway, in reverse order. @Paul - believe it or not, the auger mailbox came that way with the house back in '85. All I've done is occasionally paint it.

I just jumped on the Forks bandwagon and my new flat basket just arrived today (also from OctoForks). http://octoforks.com/product/stainless-steel-rotisserie-flat-basket/ So, I have the original KK rotisserie basket w/reducer, KK rotisserie rod (which came with a pair of tines), a pair of OctoForks and now a flat rotisserie basket. Nothing like flexibility. Plus, if you order all at once, you reduce your shipping charges. I didn't get to do that with the KK parts, as the rod came on the market later, after I already had the KK basket. Don't forget the motor! OneGrill's model 4pm05 is what most of us use. Note: Free Shipping! http://www.onegrill.com/Stainless_Electric_Grill_Rotisserie_Spit_Rod_Motor_p/4pm05.htm

Now you're talking Ken! But hard to argue with the bourbon part! @Shuley - that steak looks perfect!

Pictures, Pauli Girl, pictures!!!

What Charles said, Doc!

As the song goes - "The things we do for love." Hang in there, Dennis. All I can offer is to "release your inner Hippy." Ooohhhmmmm!

Nice reward! Purple Crack eggs are still a winner! @Jon B. - I designed it, but didn't build it myself. The contractor located a foundry up in Dubuque that made the stairs. One of the scariest sights as a homeowner is watching a boom crane in your driveway, with the boom over the top of your house, lowering down a 2000+ lb staircase!!

@Gnomatic - had just about given up hope, but the last several updates sounded like a light at the end of the tunnel, so I got enthusiastic again. Even more so now that I have it in my hands!

Plan is for a tri-tip tomorrow. It won't be on the rotisserie, just a standard reverse sear with the split basket for 2 zone. Will report back on how well the Meater worked.

Thanks, Ken. Now I've got that bad ear worm stuck in my head!

Great progress, MacKenzie. You'll have it banged out in no time. After having morning coffee and newspaper on the deck, I finished up the gazebo - put on the mosquito netting sides and the little plastic covers on the exposed bolts/nuts. Good to go and just in time - weather forecast for our weekend is bumping 90F, so it'll be nice to sit outside under the shade of the gazebo a sip some cocktails, while smoking something yummy on the KK!

Fingers Crossed, MacKenzie! Like anything cutting edge technology like this, will it hold up over time and be reliable? Will withhold final judgement until at least half a dozen cooks.