tony b

@RokDok De Nada; it's what we do here on the Forum!

As noted by @Braai-Q, 1st stock up on the adult beverages and settle in for a few hours. For temp control training, load up the basket with cheap lump (assuming that you aren't going to cook anything, so don't waste the good stuff!) and just start a small fire, and open the top vent just barely off the seat (just so smoke exits) and bump open the left dial to about 1/2 open (it doesn't control the temp, so it's not that sensitive to position when you first get going). Let the KK come up to its natural state (stops increasing) and make note of the dome temperature, enjoying that adult beverage in the process. Next, bump open the top vent about 1/8 of a turn and repeat. Have another adult beverage while waiting. Keep doing the 1/8 turn increments until you get to about 400F. That should cover most of your cooking range. These vent settings are very repeatable. If you want to keep going to do the burn in, start opening the top vent in 1/4 turn increments to speed up the process. You might want to top off the charcoal at this point, as this part will take a few more hours. You will also need to open the left dial/lower vent all the way. Keep going until you start to smell the solvent (typically around 550F dome.) Then stop the increase and just let it ride itself out until the smell is gone. Make note of any weeping white goop and/or lifting tiles. Have a rag handy to wipe off the goop (be careful as the outside of the KK will get very hot during this process). If you see any bulging spots, have a safety pin (or similar) handy to poke a small hole in the grout to let the solvent vent out. Keep tabs on the lifting tiles, (carefully inspect just about everywhere (except the legs) as you will want to remember where they are so you can press them back down into place as the KK cools off when you are finished with the venting, so they can re-set. Once cooled down, smear some grout around any tears that you see. It wipes off the tiles with a damp cloth. And, you're done - have another adult beverage to celebrate!

Like @MacKenzie said, penalty points can be assigned for posting those corn on the cob pics this early in the year. I just snowblowed 5.5" of yesterday's snow off my driveway this morning and we're about to get slammed by the Polar Vortex for the next week (single digit highs and below zero lows). So, tread lightly my friend, with those outdoor pics and "complaining" about 55F weather! Nice job on the tri-tip. Hope you liked the Santa Maria rub.

All natural disasters are horrific to those both directly and indirectly affected. The really bad ones, tornadoes and the derecho like we had here last August, is that you don't get a lot of warning that they are imminent (minutes to maybe an hour!) With others, like hurricanes, wild fires and flooding, you have some time to pack up and evacuate - assuming folks chose to do so. Doesn't make them any better, but at least they give you a better chance at survival.

Yeah, XO has a special Chinese ham in it, along with the dried seafoods (shrimp & scallops). Given that I love a good fish sauce - both Asian and Italian, I might have to give this a go next?

You said that like is some sort of problem?? Every homebrewer does the exact same thing! Here's a tip for monitoring the dome temps from afar - rotate the dial so that your target temperature is at 12 o'clock. Then you just have to look at the dial and see "what time is it?" relative to your target.

Hey, at least it's rain. We're having a blizzard today. Been snowing for hours - heavy at times and the wind has picked up significantly in the last hour, so it's almost white-out conditions. Very likely won't be using the KK tonight. Will hopefully sneak in a cook tomorrow before the Polar Vortex slams us over the weekend. Highs in the single digits (F) and lows below zero for the next week! And, that's before the windchill factor kicks in. This is usually my breaking point for grilling, when the windchill is in the negative teens. So, take some Aleve for the back and grill on!

Yep, that's the "classic" version that I was reading about that got me going on this. So your friend is ahead of you on this one. (btw - hope her loss of taste is indeed temporary!) Your version based on A. Wong's recipe, with the dried shrimp - is that a version of XO sauce - the other "hot" (pun intended) Asian condiment right now!

Just curious - what's in the pot?

Yeah, I know Mala Market. Good source for all things Szechuan.

OK, had been reading about this latest trend in foodie world - crispy hot sauce from China. It's loaded with fried garlic and onions, to add texture to what otherwise would just be a Mala sauce (chiles & Szechuan peppercorns in oil). I actually ended up trying this one, which is made in the US, as it was getting equally good reviews on Amazon to the "standard" Chinese version. The jar arrived yesterday, so of course I had to try it out on dinner! It went on sauteed green beans and mushrooms. Plated with a nice lemon pepper honey mustard pork chop. Pork chop on the main grate, direct, 350F. Lemon pepper rub to start and then sauced with the lemon pepper honey mustard sauce. OK, now I see what all the foodie buzz is about - this stuff is good! Glad that I only went 3 stars hot and not the 4 star version (which has ghost peppers in it!) Nice heat, love the crunchy texture it added. Will be experimenting more with it. I hear that it's great in scrambled eggs?

Indeed!

Depends on the size of KK. I was too nervous to rock my 23" off the box, so I just bashed it in before rolling the KK of the pallet. I can only imagine trying to rock a 32" or 42" KK off the box!!

happy to see it make it safely to its new home!

Quick dinner last night. Suya pepper pork cutlets, direct, lower grate at 350F. Plated with some curry rice and roasted chickpeas & cherry tomatoes with a dollop of Bomba (Calabrian chiles, eggplant, green olives and artichokes.) Indian garlic naan on the side. Washed down with one of my favorite beers - Hopslam from Bells. Unfortunately, it only comes out once/year and sells quickly.

Hang in the bro!

NEVER let a little snow get in the way of grilling dinner! This is what I woke up to this morning - and it kept snowing during a better part of the day. BTW - this was the 2nd such snow storm in the last week! But, my reward for snowblowing/shoveling the driveway (3 times thanks to the city snow plows that kept damming up the end of my driveway!) was a lovely steak dinner. CostCo prime rib-eye cap on the lower grate, direct, with post oak and mesquite. Served up with Wegman's salt potatoes (wonder how those got from upstate NY to IA?) with garlic & parsley butter, sautéed oyster & button mushrooms and a nice side salad with yummy blue cheese crumbles. And, a very nice Napa cab to wash it all down with! If all the snowblowing/shoveling didn't give me a heart attack, this dinner might! Serious amounts of butter in the sides and a gorgeous fatty steak! Cheers!

Now THAT's my kind of "cold room!"

Nicely repurposed.

Do you actually think he's going to get any sleep tonight? LOL

While the "design" part might be fun, the demolition and reconstruction almost never is! I remember mine like it was yesterday (actually 14 years ago!) I did not have a working kitchen for almost a month. The killer was the flooring contractor kept having issues with the tile order and pushed the whole project back over a month extra! What was supposed to be a little over 3 weeks, turned into 7! Always remember the remodeling mantra - How do you know when the contractors are lying to you? Their lips are moving!

Learned my lesson with this one! Will use 1/2 as much next time!

I made some boneless chicken breasts with the Northern Nigerian Chile Mix (upper left-hand corner bag) for dinner tonight. Simple paste of 1 TB chile mix to 2 TB of oil and a pinch of S&P, marinated the chicken for 30 minutes before tossing in the oven - Sorry, freezing rain here, so no grilling out tonight! OMG! I think she's trying to kill me! And as many of you know, I have a high tolerance for spicy! The flavor is reminiscent of Jamaican jerk, as I suspect there's Habaneros in it, but by the time I'd finished dinner, my mouth was numb! Thankfully, the Viognier that I was drinking came to the rescue! Willing to share some of the spice mix with others who think they are adventurous enough to try it!

Big props to @tekobo - for sharing. I used some of the new pepper soup seasoning (Home Taste) in a bowl of canned soup today. It's good. Did a side-by-side tasting of it against the original one that you sent me. This one is very similar in taste, but hotter. You’ll need: * 6 to 8 pieces calabash Nutmeg * 8 pieces Negro pepper (Uda seeds) * 1 tablespoonful seeds of Aligator pepper (Atariko/Ulima seed) **this makes about 3 tablespoonful pepper soup spice mix Note: some people add dried ginger roots and cubeb peppers(uziza seeds) to their mix, so feel free to add a little if you want to. Uziza seeds are very similar to regular black peppercorns. Use high quality black peppercorns to get as close as possible.

Got a nice package of goodies from Nigeria via the UK today - one guess as to who that benefactor was? Now my challenge is to eat a LOT of pepper soup! LOL! Now for the quiz of the day. What are the spices in the 3 small bags?