Friends, customers and grilling enthusiasts,

Welcome to the April, 2007 issue of Hot Off the Grill! We're getting ready for Spring and, as a first for Hot Off The Grill!, we're sharing two fantastic recipes from one of our customers this month.

Please share your recipes, stories and photos with us by emailing hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com.

Hot Off The Grill! Archive

April 2007
Inside This Issue...

Spring is in the Air

Recipes from Connie Dove

Lamb, Sun-dried Tomato & Nectarine Skewers with Mint Pesto

Toasted Coconut Shrimp with Mango & Cucumber Salsa

Recipes for the Martini Bar

Grilled Lemon Martinis

Curious About Our Pizza Oven?

Grill Care

Getting Ready for Spring

We Want To Hear From You

About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

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Spring is in the Air

Grilling season is upon us! If you love outdoor cooking as much as we do, you're probably already looking forward to grilling for your family on Mother's Day and hosting your Memorial Day barbecue. In this issue of Hot Off The Grill! we're sharing a few tips for getting ready for grilling season.

We also have a first in this issue — recipes from a customer. Connie Dove and her husband, Moe Houde, absolutely love their Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Bread Breaker Two Dual-Fuel Grill. They've named her Big Bertha, and they are kind enough to email us from time to time, telling us of Bertha's cooking adventures.

Connie Dove, Moe Houde and Big Bertha

They recently sent us one of their party menus, titled "Big Bertha Goes Wild." We were so impressed, I asked if they would be generous enough to share a couple of the recipes with Hot Off The Grill! readers. Connie agreed, and not only do the recipes taste great, they're easy to make.

I hope Connie, Moe and "Big Bertha Goes Wild" are an inspiration for your Spring barbecue blowouts, and we would love to hear what you're cooking.

   Cheers,

Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Lamb, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Nectarine Skewers in a Mint Pesto Sauce

Author:	Connie Dove, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Customer
Servings:	4 to 6
Ingredients:	Marinade:
	1 pound lamb, cut into 1" cubes
	2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
	1/3 cup soy sauce
	1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
	3 cloves garlic, minced
	Fresh ground pepper
	Dash of celery salt
	Mint Pesto:
	2 hot green chili peppers
	1 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in a skillet
	1 cup fresh mint leaves
	2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
	3 cloves garlic
	Fresh-squeezed juice of 1/2 lime
	Fresh ground pepper
	Assembly:
	1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
	3 very firm (not totally ripe) nectarines
	Short skewers

For the Marinade: Combine the lamb along with the other first seven ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.

For the Pesto: Prepare the pesto ahead of time. Chop the peppers and garlic. Add to food processor with toasted pine nuts and lime juice. Pulse for a few seconds, then add mint leaves and olive oil and process until desired texture is achieved.

Hint (from Michael Chiarello) –  adding a vitamin C tablet to the food processor and the pesto will keep the pesto green longer! And who couldn't use more vitamin C?

For the Skewers: Heat a small pot of water until it just begins to boil; remove from heat and add the sun-dried tomatoes. Allow to soak for 20 minutes, then remove and pat dry.

Preheat the grill for medium-temperature grilling directly over the fire.

Cut the nectarines into segments about 1 1/2" thick. Skewer a nectarine slice, lamb piece and sun-dried tomato onto each short skewer right before grilling.

Grill slowly over medium fire with grill cover closed, 10 minutes each side.

Serve on the skewers with pesto on the side, or remove from skewers and top with pesto.

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Toasted Coconut Shrimp, Served with Mango & Cucumber Salsa

The key to achieving a “crunchy” fried-type texture for grilled shrimp is two-fold: marinating the shrimp overnight and applying a coating, just before grilling, of Toasted Coconut that’s been grated in a coffee-grinder. You can lightly toast your own coconut, or buy it from one of my favorite suppliers, BakersCatalogue.com (item #1269).

Author:	Connie Dove, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Customer
Servings:	4 to 6
Ingredients:	Marinade:
	1 pound jumbo raw shrimp, peeled & de-veined, tails left on
	3/4 cup (or one can) unsweetened coconut milk
	Fresh-squeezed juice of 1/2 lime
	1/2 teaspoon Chesapeake Bay seasoning
	1 teaspoon brown sugar
	Salsa:
	Handful of fresh cilantro
	1 ripe (slightly soft) mango, 1/2" cubes
	1 small cucumber, skinned, seeded, chopped (or use a seedless English cucumber)
	1 red jalapeno pepper, minced
	1 green scallion, chopped
	Fresh-squeezed juice from 1 lime
	1/2 teaspoon Epazote seasoning (available through Penzey's Spices, item #31035)
	Assembly:
	About 2 cups toasted coconut
	Bamboo skewers

For the Marinade: Mix marinade ingredients well, then add peeled shrimp to marinade in plastic zipper bag, turning occasionally for 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

For the Salsa: Make the salsa in advance so the ingredients meld together.

Final Work: Remove shrimp from marinade and skewer (double skewers work best for turning shrimp), then sprinkle with salt & pepper and VERY liberally with toasted coconut. If you have the time, refrigerate the shrimp for another 2 hours; the extra fridge time helps the coconut “stick” better.

Grill for 4 minutes per side at medium-low heat with grill cover open and serve on top of salsa.

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Grilled Lemon Martini
Author:	Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Servings:	2
Ingredients:	6 ounces premium vodka
	2 lemon slices
	3/4 ounce honey syrup (recipe follows)
	Ice

With the tartness of a lemon tempered by the caramelization process and balanced with honey, this martini delivers sophisticated flavors... and you get to use your grill (or a chef's torch) to blacken the lemons.

For the honey syrup : Combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons clover honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low flame, then remove from heat. May be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Directions: Grill the lemon slices over direct, high heat until blackened over about 50% of the surface on each side.

Gently rub the grilled lemon slices around the inside of two martini glasses. Place one slice in each glass.

Combine the vodka, ice and honey syrup in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 1 minute. Strain into the glasses over the lemon slices and serve.

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Curious About Our Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven? Check it out on the Today Show on NBC, Thursday, April 19 Chef Kathleen Daelemans will be briefly demonstrating a Kalamazoo Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven on the Today Show during her live segment, "What's Your BBQ Personality?" If you've been curious about our new countertop pizza oven design, this may be a good chance to see it in action. Of course, television schedules and segments can change right up to the last minute, so we cannot guarantee the segment or the pizza oven portion of it will actually air, but it could be a great excuse to be late for work. Back to top

Grill Care

Getting Ready for Spring

From the March, 2006 issue of Hot Off The Grill!

Supplies
For our year-round grillers in the Sunbelt, and those of us who are just getting ready for the “grilling season,” now is the perfect time to make sure you have a few key grilling items on-hand.

Renew your supply of wood chips and chunks. Now may be a great time to try some new varieties. Also, if you are still using conventional charcoal briquettes, try the more natural hardwood chunk charcoal. It is easier to find than ever, and usually does not include the grill damaging heavy metals that some brands of briquettes do.

It may be a good time to replace your grill cleaning brush head or purchase a new brush. Make sure is has a stainless steel scraper and bristles of either stainless steel or brass. Choose one with a long handle to keep your hands away from the heat. We recommend using your grill brush on a warm or hot surface for the best cleaning. Also, try to find one with a strong handle. We hate it when a grill brush handle bends back as we apply pressure on the grilling surface.

Is your basting brush in good shape? Say goodbye forever to those unsanitary nylon bristles that can be so difficult to keep clean. We recommend trying a brush with silicon bristles. Many are rated to withstand 650 degrees, and all the ones we've used are dishwasher safe. Again, look for a tool with a longer handle to keep your hands away from the flame. While there are silicon basting brushes made specifically for grillers, we've been happy with the inexpensive Le Creuset brushes, keeping several on hand to avoid cross-contamination and to make it easier to work with multiple sauces.

Maintenance
Spring is the perfect time for annual grill maintenance as well. Annual maintenance will help prolong the life of components and maintain the performance of your grill.

1. If you have not used your grill in some time, inspect under the grill, in the cabinetry and in the hopper to find and remove any accumulated debris, such as fall leaves (or critters that have decided your grill is a cozy winter haven).

2. Replace the old batteries in your ignition system with fresh ones.

3. Check natural gas or liquid propane gas supply hoses and connections for leaks. Apply a mild soapy solution and then turn on the gas (leaving the burner valves closed). Look for any bubbles. Use a damp cloth to remove the soapy solution after you have completed the leak check. If you do find leaks, turn off your gas immediately and do not use your grill until any leaks have been addressed. Call a certified gas technician if you need advice.

4. Turn over all of your ceramic heat-retention briquettes so that the side that has been down is now up. This will help burn off any drippings that have accumulated on the briquettes.

5. Light the main burners (not the infrared burners or side burners, and remove the rotisserie and motor), and leave them on high with the hood closed for about an hour to help burn off any grease build-up in the fire box. As the grill cools, brush down the grilling surface with your brass or stainless steel bristle grill brush. Once cool, remove the grilling surfaces and the ceramic racks. Brush any remaining burnt debris off the burners and the sides of the hopper down into the foil drip tray. Throw away the drip tray and replace with a new one. Put back your ceramics and grilling surfaces.

6. If you have our laser-cut stainless steel grilling surfaces, now is a great time to re-season the surface. Laser-cut stainless steel surfaces should be kept seasoned much like a cast iron skillet. They should be black or nearly black, and not shiny. Warm the grilling surface and then scrub down with a rag and lemon juice. Follow with your grill cleaning brush. Then season your surface using animal fat or vegetable oil. For helpful tips on seasoning your surface see the grill care page on KalamazooGourmet.com.
   

   Note: Extreme care must be taken when seasoning your grilling surface. Your surface will remain hot even after you've turned the burners off. Do not spread oil on the surface over an open flame.
   

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We Want to Hear from You

As we continue our efforts to help you maximize the joy and satisfaction of your outdoor grilling and entertaining experience, we would love to know what you think:

• Share with us your favorite grilling recipes or outdoor gourmet entertaining tips.
• Provide us with pictures of your grill or grill setting.
• Tell us what you like most about your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet product.
• Tell us which product features you would like to see added to or improved on our products.
• Let us know if there are any services Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet should offer.

Feel free to drop us a line at hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com with your thoughts on any of the above, or just to say hello.

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