Friends, customers and grilling enthusiasts,

Welcome to the September, 2006 issue of Hot Off the Grill! Labor Day weekend is upon us, and we have created a grilling menu to share for the third biggest grilling holiday of the year. We hope you enjoy these recipes with your friends and family.

Please keep your sharing stories, suggestions, and comments by emailing hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com.

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September, 2006
Inside This Issue...

Announcements

New Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven

Labor Day Grill Menu

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp

Butterflied Chicken

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Plan of Attack and Shopping List

Martini Bar Recipe

End of Summer White Sangria

We Want To Hear From You

Contact Us

1-800-868-1699

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Coming Soon from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven

Old world pizza quality in your own backyard.

Ovens lined with stone and topped by an arched roof are found across Italy for baking pizza and bread. Why? The stone delivers superior heat transfer characteristics and the low, arched top reflects radiant heat back to the pizza for even baking from both the top and bottom.

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet has taken this classic design and updated it for worry-free outdoor use. The Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven is hand fabricated entirely of stainless steel, with a painstaking double-wall insulated design. The baking surface is lined with a professional composite baking stone. Its heat transfer performance exceeds that of natural stone, and it will never become brittle like quarry stone can after repeated heat cycles. The convenience of the 30,000 BTU stainless steel gas burner means the oven is always at the ready, while the integrated wood-chip drawer imparts the flavor of a wood-fired pizza oven.

Start a tradition at your home of baking artisan pizza in your backyard. Thick or thin crust, pan pizza or stuffed, even calzones or artisan bread… The Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven helps you cook like a seasoned professional.

• Double-walled stainless steel construction for easy cleaning and durability
• Professional composite pizza stone
• 30,000 BTU stainless steel gas burner
• Liquid propane or natural gas
• Integrated thermometer for predictable results every time
• Integrated wood chip drawer for wood-fired flavor
• Counter-top design for use in existing outdoor kitchens without construction or remodeling (optional stainless steel table available)

We will be launching the Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven at the Traverse Epicurean Classic, where Chef Eric Villegas will demonstrate a wide variety of pizzas.

The Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven should be in full production by the beginning of October, 2006.

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Labor Day Grilling Menu

Labor Day is the third biggest grilling holiday of the year, and we've put together a great menu for your barbecue. Show off your grilling prowess with these flavorful dishes:

• Prosciutto-Wrapped Garlic Shrimp Appetizer
• Whole Butterflied Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary Main Course
• Grilled Vegetable Side Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

All three feature the wonderful flavor of garlic and olive oil, each with a twist. The sophisticated flavors belie the simple preparation.

All three dishes are nicely complimented by a good Pinot Grigio, or you could try a white wine sangria. Our End of Summer White Sangria recipe is included below, or try Michael Chiarello's White Wine California Citrus Sangria.

Make the Grilled Vegetable Salad before your guests arrive, and cook the shrimp appetizer at the same time as the chickens. See our suggested plan of attack following the recipes.

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Prosciutto-Wrapped Garlic Shrimp

Servings:	4 to 6
Ingredients:	16 6-8 count raw shrimp (about two pounds), peeled and deveined
	8 slices prosciutto
	1 large head garlic, cloves sliced thin
	Fresh-squeezed lemon juice from two lemons
	Sea salt to taste
	Extra virgin olive oil
	4 bamboo skewers, soaked

Directions:
Partially butterfly each shrimp by cutting halfway through from the back. This will help the shrimp pick up flavor from the marinade and makes a nicer presentation.

Combine shrimp, garlic, lemon juice and sea salt in a freezer bag. Mix well in the bag, then add enough olive oil to just cover the shrimp. Seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible, and keep refrigerated for one hour.

Cut each slice of prosciutto in half. Remove shrimp from the marinade and wrap each shrimp in half a slice of prosciutto. Skewer the wrapped shrimp, four shrimp per skewer.

Place the skewered shrimp on a platter large enough for the skewers and pour the marinade over the shrimp. Let the shrimp sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes.

Prepare the grill for a direct cooking zone at 500 degrees while the shrimp come to room temperature. If preparing the entire Labor Day Grill Menu, you can cook the shrimp in the direct zone while the chickens are cooking in the indirect zone.

Grill the shrimp skewers over direct heat until the prosciutto is crisp and the shrimp are just opaque, about three minutes per side.

Remove the skewers and serve.

Note: These are great with cherry or hickory smoke.

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Butterflied Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary

Servings:	4 to 6
Ingredients:	2 whole fryer chickens (fryers are younger and smaller than roasters)
	8 cloves garlic, chopped
	4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
	Finely chopped zest of 1 lemon
	1 cup extra virgin olive oil
	Fine sea salt
	Hickory wood for smoke flavor
	Basting brush

Directions:
Combine olive oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest in a small bowl. Cover, and let the olive oil infuse with flavor for 4 to 6 hours at room temperature.

About 30 to 45 minutes before cooking, remove and discard everything from the body cavity of the chickens, including the necks, gizzards and anything else left there by the butcher. Rinse the chickens with running water and dry with paper towels.

To butterfly the chickens, use poultry shears or kitchen shears to remove the backbones. Cut down each side of the backbone and then discard. Open each chicken and place it on the cutting board or prep surface with the breast-side up. Crack the breastbone by pressing down hard with the heel of your hand in the center of the breast.

Pour about 2/3 cup of the garlic and rosemary-infused olive oil off into a separate container, leaving most or all of the garlic, rosemary and lemon zest behind. Reserve the 1/3 cup of olive oil and seasoning for basting on the grill.

Using the 2/3 cup of olive oil, brush the chickens inside and out. Sprinkle generously with fine sea salt and rub in. Let the chickens rise just to room temperature before grilling.

Preheat the grill to between 500 and 600 degrees with an indirect cooking zone large enough for the butterflied chickens, and start the hickory for your preferred method of adding smoke to your grilling session. If your grill is not large enough, you will need to cook one chicken at a time.

Place the butterflied chickens in the indirect cooking zone with the skin-side-up. Cook for 15 minutes with the grill hood closed. Brush the chickens liberally with the reserved olive oil mixture. Close the grill hood and continue cooking for another 20 to 30 minutes, checking on the chickens every 10 minutes to see if they are browning evenly.

If the chickens is not browning evenly, rotate or rearrange as needed on the cooking surface within the indirect zone. Do not flip the chickens over. They should cook skin-side-up for the entire time, about 35 to 50 minutes total. Measure the temperature with an instant-read meat thermometer or cut into the thigh joint to test. Remove the chicken from the grill when it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. The USDA recommends 180 degrees for whole chickens. Your chicken should continue to rise in temperature after it is removed from the grill.

If the chicken has been on the grill for 40 minutes, and the skin is not yet browning, then your cooking session will likely run longer than 45 minutes. You can also aid in browning by placing the chicken skin-side-down for short periods (2 minutes) over direct heat.

Quarter the chicken by cutting through the hip joint above each thigh at an angle and then cutting in half along the breast bone. Serve the chicken quarters on a platter garnished with rosemary sprigs and some long curls of lemon zest.

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Grilled Vegetable Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Always a favorite, this salad is simple to prepare and can be served warm, cold or at room temperature. Make it before your guests arrive and serve it in short cocktail glasses at room temperature.

Servings:	8
Ingredients:	3 pounds red potatoes (size B), scrubbed, eyes removed, and quartered with the skin on
	2 pounds fresh asparagus — thin stalks are often better for this salad
	2 ears fresh sweet corn on the cob
	3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
	3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
	6 cloves garlic
	Fine sea salt

Directions:
Combine ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil with balsamic vinegar. Crush the garlic into the olive oil mixture using a garlic press, or finely chop and stir in. Reserve.

Shuck and wash the corn.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (keep the heat out of the kitchen by using the side burner on your grill if you have one). Add the potatoes and corn and cook for ten minutes. The water may not return to a boil within the 10 minutes. This is not a problem. Remove the potatoes and strain. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Prepare the grill for direct grilling at about 500 degrees.

Wash the asparagus and snap off the bottom of each spear at its natural breaking point. Discard the bottoms.

Use the remaining ½ cup of olive oil to coat the potatoes, corn and asparagus. Sprinkle liberally with fine sea salt.

Skewer the potato pieces for grilling.

Grill the potato skewers, corn and asparagus over direct heat, turning every two minutes until nicely browned. The potatoes will require the longest grilling time, but not likely more than 8 minutes total. The asparagus will require the least time, likely only about 4 minutes total.

Cut the asparagus into ½-inch long pieces. Cut the corn off the cob. Cut the potato quarters in half.

Combine the potatoes, corn and asparagus in a bowl with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture. Add more balsamic vinegar, olive oil and/or sea salt if needed.

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Labor Day Grill Menu Plan of Attack

A good plan of attack will help you spend less time at the grill and more time relaxing with your guests.

• Prepare the grilled vegetable salad and dish into serving pieces before your guests arrive. You can keep the salad covered at room temperature for 2 hours, but keep it out of the sun.
• Get your various olive oil infusions started early, long before your guests arrive.
• If you have a large enough grill, cook both chickens at the same time. A Kalamazoo Bread Breaker can easily handle three whole butterflied chickens for indirect cooking on half the grill.
• Cook the prosciutto-wrapped shrimp skewers over direct heat after the chickens have been on the grill for the first 15 minutes. Try not to open the hood too often or for too long while cooking the shrimp, while also being careful not to overcook the dish. The longer turning cycle of the chicken should allow you time to serve the shrimp.

Shopping List

• 2 whole fryer chickens, preferably free-range chickens that have not been frozen
• 8 slices prosciutto
• 16 jumbo shrimp (6-8 count)
• 3 pounds red potatoes, size B
• 2 pounds fresh asparagus, roughly 2 bunches
• 2 ears of sweet corn on the cob
• 3 lemons
• 1 package fresh rosemary
• 3 heads garlic
• Balsamic vinegar
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fine sea salt
• 4 bamboo skewers
• Basting brush, we recommend a silicon brush with a long handle
• Hickory wood chips, chunks or limbs, as needed for your preferred technique of adding smoke to your grilling.
• Pinot Grigio or white wine sangria ingredients.

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Martini Bar Recipe

End of Summer White Sangria

Some people don't like sangrias because of all the chopped fruit in their glass. This rather unique sangria recipe was developed for them. If you would like to add some fruit, we suggest sliced lemons and peaches.

Servings:	4
Ingredients:	1 bottle (750 ml) Pinot Grigio
	1/2 cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
	1/2 cup water
	1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 or 3 limes)
	1 cup freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice (2 or 3 grapefruits)
	1/4 cup brandy
	1/3 cup Grand Marnier

Directions:
Combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pan and bring to boil, stirring occasionally to make a simple syrup. Remove from heat.

Combine simple syrup, lime juice, grapefruit juice, brandy, Grand Marnier and wine in a pitcher. Stir well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Serve over ice or crushed ice.

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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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