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BBQ vs Grilling

or

The Saga of Grilldog!...

In the beginning...

Every Story and Every Legend has a Beginning. 

The Legend of Grilldog is no exception…

I was 30, recently married, and living in Washington D.C.  Life was good and "The Wife" and I were generally enjoying life.  Just about a year later (coincidently, at the time of the 1^st Persian Gulf War - I can recall picking her up at the Metro and listening to the news that the USA had just attacked Iraq and bombs were flying) we drove to gaze at our future home, for the first time... talk about foreboding!  Although the war was in its infancy, "The Wife" and I, unscathed by external drama, bought a lovely home, an elegant suburban Love Nest in VA. (There, her parents just might (might!!!) approve of the location. They Lived in Miami! And THEY CARED!!!). My fortitude of endurance inside this our new fortress was refreshed only in the fact that there was at least ONE thing that "The Wife" and I both loved to do and that was entertain...

It was September; I was working hard at my desk (reading the Washingtonian and drinking a Diet Coke) and noticed that several of the local BBQ stores were announcing sales on different brands of BBQ Grilles. Naturally, since “The Wife” and I did not own a BBQ, we were interested in purchasing one as an addition to our humble home.  At the time, I happened to share my cubicle with a good buddy of mine.  Don, an avid outdoorsman (avid? he buys deer piss and puts it on himself during deer hunting season to attract more deer), I thought he might have an opinion. (Trust me, if a man purposefully puts any kind of Piss on himself, he's sure to have an opinion) So, heedlessly, I mentioned the BBQ Sales to him.  He smiled, put a piece of tobacco chew in his mouth and immediately steered me towards the Weber Brand of BBQ Grilles.  In fact, I laboriously endured an hour of him singing songs of praise, worship and admiration over this instrument of food preparation (what was he doing with this grille? Was he on drugs?  Was this at least a paid infomercial by Weber).

The following Saturday, while driving around the Washington D.C. area with "The Wife", I noticed a big sign that read Weber Sale.  "Honey, look over there, we were speaking about purchasing a grill, how about if we stop here for a minute and evaluate this offer?  That is the brand Don was speaking so highly about." I pensively asked.  She, being a lawyer and in a rare conversational and un-adversarial mood, uncharacteristically offered not a rebuttal, but conferred by nodding her head once.  Thinking, the Gods must be with me, I maneuvered our love chariot quickly and expertly over to the store and we entered.  However, "The Wife" felt differently about my parking skills and was freely expressing her exasperations as we approached the BBQ section of the store.  Discovering the Weber section, we evaluated the price, craftsmanship and the promises of new food experiences (written by the Weber marketing guru, no doubt).  "The Wife", adding her expert legal analysis (expert legal advice on a BBQ?), decided, indeed, based on price and durability (she pounded it with her fist a few times and even kicked it once - actually, I think she was aiming for me but missed) that we would make this $65 purchase and buy the large, Black Kettle shaped Weber Grille (some assembly required) (yes the prices were cheaper back then).  I then loaded this culinary device into my white, 240sx Nissan hatchback and sped off to the 14th Street Fish Market (3475 14th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20010) with dreams of Barbecued fish for dinner!

Back at our cul-de-sac of palatial paradise, I unpacked the Boxed Weber and in about 20 minutes I had (I thought) thoroughly, expertly and professionally (I didn't need duct tape or draw any blood) assembled my first Weber Grille. "The Wife", having supervised every aspect of the construction process, felt that although my construction skills, in her estimation, were grossly inadequate, she was forced to admit, the Grille looked nice.

My First Weber!

Grilling...

Indirect vs. Direct heat.

 First, you have to note that the Weber Charcoal Grille (pictured above - stolen borrowed from the Weber Web site) is round like an old fashioned kettle!  This is conducive to convection heating! This maximizes the ability to grille completely, using an indirect heating method.  This was a NEW Concept to me!  I'm sure everyone is aware of how BBQing is typically accomplished. 

Typical Barbecuing: The legend of Billdog

One morning Grilldog’s best buddy Billdog woke up (which if you knew Billdog, was always a great way to start the day).  Noticing that it was a spectacular day he proudly decided to invite Grilldog and the entire Grill Pack over to experience his Home Cooking on the BBQ.  Of course, he had to remind his friends that his Home Cooking was so awesome it should be written up in the local paper as headline news! After he invited all his friends, always a prerequisite to a BBQ, he started drinking (another prerequisite for Billdog (actually, he was getting a late start).  The drink of choice for a Billdog’s BBQ, is of course beer and a lot of it. After all, it’s got to be noon some place in the world Billdog thought and then belched a few times.  

Now Good Ole Billdog was ready to start the BBQ.  First, he took the entire 20lb bag of coal he purchased from the local warehouse membership store and poured it out onto the grille in its entirety, (Grilldog thought it was enough to incinerate the neighborhood or at least launch a small nuclear device).  However, Billdog shrugged off Grilldog’s advice and drank another beer (or two) and then poured 1/2 a can of lighter fluid on the coals, because he thought it was windy and was concerned that the coals wouldn’t start!  Grilldog pointed out that some of the lighter fluid missed and ran down the sides of the grille and onto the lawn. Billdog just breathed in those fumes, and began to fantasize just how good those burgers were going to be (the last time Billdog grilled anything, no one could tell the chicken from the beef)!  How hungry and envious all his friends were going to be when they start to smell his home cooking, Billdog thought!  His only disappointment was that the whole world couldn’t drool over his culinary accomplishments.  YUM, he trumpeted!  He could almost see the headlines totting his achievement. Yum Yum!  Coming out of his dream sequence, he belched a few times and sat back, drank some more beer (can never have enough beer, he said) and pondered whether or not there's enough fluid on the coals. Deciding you can never have enough lighter fluid on the coals, he soaked the coals some more, until they were as soaked as his alcohol-laden liver.  Now that they were simply dripping with fluid (the coals, not his liver, well, it probably is but it wasn’t Billdog’s concern...at least not at the moment) Grilldog thought that Billdog was ready for the next step (a short stay at the Betty Ford Clinic).  Oops! Billdog gasped, “Can’t forget”!  Billdog reached over and tossed a cupful or two of gasoline on the coals (much to Grilldog’s horror) as well, just for good measure, Billdog stated (he also didn't forget to guzzle another beer or two during the process). Ah, remembering to inhale those fumes some more he hummed hmmm hmm (lit the cigarette that had been dangling from his lip all morning!).   Finally, leaning over the BBQ, with his face in the coals, because he was too blind drunk to see, (but of course, he felt he was safe to drive) he struck a match!  

Later, as Billdog was recovering in the emergency room, due to the fact half of his face was blown off and was scattered around the next county and what was left was attached to his knee, Grilldog informed him that Billdog’s home burnt to the ground and that his fire insurance didn’t cover acts of idiocy!  However, Grilldog tossed him the evening paper and told him that his dreams of notoriety came true beyond Billdog’s wildest dreams.  It appears that Billdog’s culinary endeavors didn't go to waste because all of his friends, neighbors AND the local headlines ALL toted Billdog’s accomplishment as the Headline News read...  "Billdog’s Home, Cooking, could be smelled miles away!" 

Direct heat.

For direct grilling you make a pile of 50 briquettes in the center of your grille and apply lighter fluid. If it is a windy day, your Weber has a half circle dome lid that can be attached to the side of the grille to block the wind so that you don't need to over do the lighter fluid.  Next strike the match, toss it on the coals and walk away. About 15 minutes later (this allows time for the smells of the lighter fluid to be burned off and also warm the coals appropriately) the coals are starting to turn a grayish color.  You can use a long sturdy stick or a long spatula and rearrange the coals so that they are no longer piled up but flat on the grate. You then place the Grille rack on and then the food. 

In this method, the food is directly over the flames/coals. Therefore, it is directly being cooked. One must be cautious with this method because grease or marinade drippings can cause flare-ups and burn your precious culinary preparation, whereas you must save the day by pouring ketchup all over it (yeck).  (However, as typical in this old-fashioned way of BBQing, everyone is so liquidated with libations that no one notices the food anyway!) Also, foods that tend to cook longer will be burnt and dry. I have very few recipes that call for direct cooking (maybe just popcorn is direct heating), as everything is indirect. I prefer the In-Direct method! (Well, that's because of my upbringing in a dysfunctional family and we communicated everything indirectly, therefore, cooking this way came naturally!) LOL 

In-Direct Heat.

Place 25 coals on each side of the grate in a pile. Apply lighter fluid to each pile. Light each pile.  Wait about 15 minutes until the coals are gray and place the grille rack on.  With this method, you place the food in the center of the grille rack.   The coals are on the sides of the grille away from the bottom of your delicious meal (remember, no one wants their bottom burnt!) The meat juices and marinade will still drip, however, they will fall harmlessly to the bottom of the grille and thus no flare-ups!  Also, place the lid back on the grille, as this keeps the heat in and with the convection thing happening, will assist in sealing in the flavor and avoiding the potential of your food drying out.  With this method you can cook a whole 20-pound turkey on the grille!  Allow 1 hour for every 5 pounds.  Once every hour remove the lid and drop 8 pieces of coal (or wood chip equivalent) down the space under the handles. Yep! That’s why there are those large holes under the handles of all grille racks; it's to add more coal! Once you've added the coal, replace the lid. This is how you should cook anything that takes longer than an hour to prepare. If it takes less than an hour, I still recommend the indirect method, but you just don't have to add more coals. Some people even put a tray of water between the coals. The food rests on the grille rack directly above the water. This keeps the warm convection air moist. It also catches the drippings and keeps your grill cleaner!

This unfortunately doesn't address the difference between BBQing and Grilling. What it does demonstrate are the two methods of preparing food on a grille.

The official difference between BBQ and Grilling.

There is none. Well, that's not exactly true...maybe...

1. Generally, BBQ as defined in New Orleans, Memphis, Texas, Carolinas, etc is beef or pork/ham that has been slow cooked at an average cooking temperature of 200 degrees F (or even as low as 130).  Although general cooking standards will tell you that the heat is too low to kill bacteria, the truth is: heat causes a chemical change in food, which is what cooked food is. Direct cooking is similar to smoking in that the smoke produces the chemical change. This type of food prep is great and I love a good "BBQ" of this nature. Grilling is everything else.

2. BBQ as defined by most people is anything that you throw on the Grille and destroy!   Usually, burning the piece of meat beyond recognition (are you sure that's a burger? Tastes like the Chicken! ). Then try to save face by adding lots of BBQ sauce.  BBQ sauce being anything from store bought to mixing ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, the rest of the beer from the can your currently drinking and/or what ever else falls into the bowl, together and drowning the incinerated sacrifice with it! There's no such thing as grilling in this method. However, if you're in Great Falls, Montana during deer hunting season and are near the Malmstrom AFB, you might use this method when one of the hunters tells you he brought over freshly killed Long Neck, Woolly Deer Meat! (It's not unheard of in Great Falls that occasionally an over zealous hunter (imagine that) climbs over a fence, walks up to a herd and shoots one of the local Lama, thinking of course it's one of the legendary and elusive long necked Woolly Deer!!!)

3. I, Grilldog, say that if you take your time to prepare your food and cook it on a grille and it comes out moist and delicious, you have grilled it.  If your friends bring food over for you to "Grill" you are a "Grille Master"...Never allow them to refer to it as BBQing.  Now you can slow cook meats that are defined as BBQ - pulled pork for example.  However, you now have Grilled BBQ!  =0)

But you're entitled to your own opinion. After all, that's what Grilling or BBQing is all about...Fun, Food and Friends!  All that I ask is that when eating at my house you kindly refer to me as the Grille Master (Ok, I'd settle for The Grilldog, too) and my method as Grilling! =0)

Continuing the Saga of Grilldog...

From Matre' de la Grillade to Mango to Grilldog...

Following the directions in the Weber cookbook, I prepared the fish (a nice Salmon steak on a bed of lemon grass with garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, cilantro, cayenne and lemon juice) and Grilled it using the indirect method.

"I'm going to eat you little fishy, I'm going to eat you little fishy, cause I like eating fish," Cat, Red Dwarf, Better than Life episode.

My God! It was the best fish either of us had ever eaten. Guinness and Amber (our tan cat) both gave it four paws and a tails up salute!  It was moist, tasty and had that "Grilled" flavor to it (not the four paws and a tail, the fish!).  "The Wife" gave it her highest praise possible by painfully admitting (under her breath) that it was better then even she had ever prepared! However, she injected... not just her, but anyone in her family could do better, if they wanted to, of course! (Ok, her family consisted of 3 siblings, a VP of a bank, a Podiatrist (foot doc.), and a General Practitioner (a doc) and her father, an anesthesiologist (great, like I'd tell anyone I passed gas for a living) and her mom who, according to "The Wife" had "The Wife" cooking meals for the family ever since she was just 4 years old...(hey, nothing wrong with that scene, right! - where's social services when you need them?).... Ooops I digressed, sorry (My Lawyer friends (of which I have none) have advised me to point out at this point that this is a humorous satire and intended for a laugh, any resemblances to persons living or dead is merely a coincidence (imagine that)).

During the next several weeks, I prepared a number of meals on the Grille, experimenting with different meats, vegetables and even fruits. Soon neighbors and friends patiently sat by their phones salivating for an invitation to another Grilled experiment! This Weber was Great!

Several weeks later, I purchased a couple cookbooks on Grilling to get ideas, however, I generally cooked by taste. Which means I rarely ever followed an exact recipe, however, I used it as a guide.  Soon I was cooking more and more elaborate grilled meals because "The Wife" felt it was necessary for her career growth in the firm to throw elaborate dinner parties.   Because of the reputation I was gaining as the "Master of the Grille", it was assumed that I would prepare something grilled and spectacular for these gatherings of the rich, powerful, dull, smug and boring (have I mentioned my in-laws?). My quest for more creative meals commenced.  I had friends from my softball team "challenge" me.   Is there anything you can't cook great on the grill?  First it was Curried Lamb, hmmm turned out so moist and tender, it melted in your mouth.  Then came a number of gamier meats, deer, duck, etc., with still the same wonderful result.  I even grilled desserts. Caramelized plantains grilled hmm hmm.  Bread! Pizza! Vegetables! Baked Beans! Soup! Everything was within my grasp - no food was safe from my Weber and me! I went to the aquarium in Baltimore one day and described to everyone how I could prepare almost every specimen we saw (I don't think the aquarium officials were too happy with me.  Especially, when they caught me angling for the swordfish! (tee-hee!)) On another occasion...a friend showed up with some swordfish steaks, which I stuffed with Julesburg cheese and tarragon. He also brought (a surprise I wasn't prepared for) scallops and challenged to prepare something different with them. Hmmm…a little lemon juice, some garlic, some honey, some cayenne, let them sit an hour and grilled indirectly...Voila'.

My 2nd Weber (it was Red) My 3rd one was blue

Mango's World!

Unfortunately, sometimes good things, like man, turn to dust and fade away.  Just 4 years since our marriage, feeling insecure about her job and her firm, "The Wife" accepted a new position in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Therefore, we packed up our Kitties, the Weber and the rest of our precious belongings and headed west, well the mid-west!  

The mid-west was nice but there was a different atmosphere.  No longer were exotic foods like mango salsa or Roasted oysters with champagne cream sauce a common or even desired delicacy.  The mid-west liked roasts, fish fry's, and home-style cooking. In fact, I was invited to an all-you-can-eat gourmet seafood dinner once that consisted of only deep fried catfish! The food was good and the company great; however, Catfish isn't seafood (I consider salt water fish, seafood, you know, from the Actual Sea!) and anything deep fried and served with more grease then my old 64 Chevy is not gourmet!

This was tough for the Matre' de la Grillade.  However, there were silver linings, at least my grilled eggplant dip (bah bah ganush) and what I call Allan's Corn Salsa were hits of the party.  Also, my grilled turkey saved a Thanksgiving! That's still kewl, but I longed for the old grilling days. During an Indianapolis party, a couple guests secretly microwaved my gazpacho soup, they didn't want to insult me by pointing out the soup was served cold.

To supplement my inner cravings for exotic preparations that would satisfy this mid-western world, I stumbled upon Ice Cream.  Since becoming the Master of the Grille aka the Grille Master (I had to call myself that in Indianapolis because it took too long to explain the French- they interpreted it as "Matra-do-dah-what??!") I wanted to create a dessert that wasn't grilled.  Think about it, when appetizers, side dishes, main course and desserts all have that same grilled taste to it, something is lost.  Ice Cream was the greatest thing to accompany a grilled dinner! Cold, creamy and sweet homemade ice cream.  So, while "The Wife" was busy with yet another Suicide attempt, or at the police station explaining that the Vice President was stalking her (Ok, ex Vice President Dan Quail did Live in Indy), I bought an electric ice-cream maker, read the directions, and even studied the book that Ben and Jerry wrote. 

Soon I found a simple base recipe (could it be... Ben and Jerry's creamy base #1) and then experimented with a couple simple recipes.  Ameretto-Kahula, cinnamon-brandy (my current wife loves this one and you can too!), Bailey's Irish cream, white chocolate liqueur, well, you get the picture. It wasn't until I became "The Grilldog" that my ice-cream recipes increased in flare (but that's a later story)! Also, Lucky for me "The Wife" actually enjoyed the ice cream.  Either that or it was all the Anti-Depressants and Anti-psychotics she was taking. Prozac, what an interesting drug!

Alas, misfortune and sadness struck during my life in Indianapolis.  "The Wife" left me the spring of 1996 (Ok, what's the misfortune? Sadness?), stating that she had to find her Lost Child Within (Guess she found him, a partner at the firm and was married a few months later...Oh, Well, Lawyers!).  Alone, but with anyplace to go, I packed my pots and pans and Grille into my 240sx Nissan Convertible and headed west to San Diego in October of 1997.  Actually, I sold my Grille in Indianapolis and bought a new one (I didn't have to clear it with anyone) at William Sonoma in San Diego (it wouldn't fit in the convertible with all those pots and pans (Salad Master Brand))! 

After about a year in San Diego, my WebPages Design computer business started to take off. While I was in Indianapolis I made web pages for Joe's Grille2 a pool hall and bar located on 96th street.  If you ever are in Indianapolis, stop by Joe's and tell them George sent ya! However, when I left Indy, Bear was going to take over the web design and it was all lost. But it wasn't Bear's fault, just sort of died without ole Mango to take care of it.   In Indy, after the divorce, that was when I was called Mango, from the Jimmy Buffett song "Lone Palm".  Mango actually came about when I first hooked up to the Internet and was trying to figure out a screen name.  It was snowing hard and I had on a Buffett CD and the song “Lone Palm” was playing.  The line my garden is full of Papayas and Mangos struck a cord in my sun searching pirate soul and Mango was born and I dreamt of one day, sitting in the sun, in my own yard, under my Lone Palm, drinking Mango Juice and soaking up rays (but that's a different song LOL).

Through the year 2000, this pirate had finally set sail and found the sun and settled in San Diego, again, hard at work at his desk (reading the Reader and Drinking a Diet Coke). However, I looked for other ads then (like a date!) and had other Cubicle Buddies that go on and on and on about other mundane topics.  But I do love San Diego. It's a lot of fun.  I've met a lot of people and I'm soaking up a lot of sun!  Every Christmas Day you can find me at the Beach, enjoying the white sand, sand drifts, waves and sun. It's my pilgrimage to thank God for my blessings. However, I long for the interest for fine foods like there was back east.  Many of my California friends would prefer if I could just BBQ a Burger (what an insult <wink>).  So now in Southern California, I was quickly christened "Grilldog"!

I still loved to grill when I got the chance.  However, it was usually just me, and cooking for one is a pain in the patoot! For a while, in 99' I was making a lot of ice cream and doing some experimenting. You see...

Early 1999 I was relaxing in my favorite evening lounge - Jamacha Junction (stop by, sit a spell).  One evening, the topic turned away from the usual discussions of nude twister, rope tying/bondage techniques, 110volt electric star head butts and other parlor games towards desserts.  I happened to have about a quart of leftover homemade Madori Kiwi sorbet at home and since I lived across the street, brought some over for the gang.  Well, it was a big hit with everyone.... whoo hooo...And Ice-Cream Night was born. For a while, once a month, I would make a different type of ice cream.  Also, with my ice cream on show I had to come up with something with Flair!!! So I discovered how to make syrups for blending into the ice cream as well as flavored whipped cream.  And if you don't know by now, according to my fans at the Junction -  "whipped cream just isn't for ice cream any more"! In fact, the gang at the Junction developed over 100 ways to use my whip cream other than ice cream - WOW! Just imagine! Anyway...If you stopped by the Junction back then you could have asked for (Grilldog - George - Gary - Dave - Ice (they were all me)) but now it’s just George or Grilldog (thank God)!

One of Grilldog's Rules is that life goes on and is in constant change.  The company I worked for closed its doors in March of 2000 and Grilldog went on the road!  Literally.  The new job had me traveling all over the world teaching software techniques to Military Hospitals. There was still a newspaper on a desk (except it could have been in Portuguese) and a can of diet coke or coke light, my convertible rested in my garage, and my Weber collected dust anticipating the party that would be sure to ensue upon my return!  So The Grilldog became International! Check out my Grilldog's World Site and see my critiques of food, restaurants and cultural places I've traveled, as well as personal antidotes of life on the road! Don't forget to e-mail me!

Grilldog's were not meant to be on the road, unless on vacation.  Again, with yet another contract dying down, ole Grilldog settled once again in San Diego.  Working at another desk, back to reading the Reader, and still drinking that diet coke! New life experiences went on.  The Grille got some use, but again, folks in San Diego like Bon Fires and Bars so the Grille gathered dust.  I was also busy climbing rocks (yes, like Mission Impossible II), Mt Bike riding - on real Mountains, playing softball and generally having a lot of fun.  After all, we only get one life and unlike video games we don't get a replay!

2004... Well, Grilldog started Grilling a little more.  I purchased an outdoors Camp Chef 3 burner stove and a Weber smoker (still didn’t have to clear it with anyone!).  Plus I learned a whole new set of recipes for fun and friends.  I even won a few food contests, for chili, BBQ and Dessert! I was still traveling around but not as much. That year I’d been to Japan and learned a few new tricks.... (I wrote a story about almost getting married in Japan that'd kill you...)  However, I was much busier and didn’t have a chance to update my travel page but I'm trying, maybe.  So if you were looking for me in 2004, you'd find me under my Lone Palm tree in my yard, sipping some Mango Juice (or beer), staying cool... (or in Hawaii, or in Japan, or in England or in Germany or Yorba Linda, CA!)

2005 ... Since my last note I've started on my own TV show Called "Grilldog Presents".... cause we are about food fun and friends and if you are about anything else, you're doing it wrong!  I've lots of friends that are helping me, the gang from the Grillpack, Lee Books and a host of friends from the "Grill-Pack".  I’ve been working on the show since 1990 you can go to www.grilldog.com and buy a DVD and a tee shirt!

Also, On April 1st I got married again! No Fool'n Ha Ha... Although it was a four paws and a tail wedding in Las Vegas, we had to give the Riviera hotel a hind leg salute for their service.  Mom and Pa Grilldog showed up and gave us a 4 Paws and a Tail Salute.  Mrs. Grilldog and I then honeymooned in Paris, I got sick, and then we went on a Cruise from Florida to the Bahamas!  What an adventure.  Mrs Grilldog didn’t much care for Grilldog’s Jeep boo hoo (I guess I should have cleared that one with somebody.) Now Grilldog has a Mrs. Grilldog approved Xterra (Hey, I can still go 4 wheeling woo hoo).  hmm, if you see a black Xterra going down the road with a GrillK9 tag, wonder who that could be!!!  Then later in the year I went to Spain… It was Hotter then Hell there in the shade, and let me tell you, there wasn’t any shade!  Also, I don’t care how much you love Tapas in the states, it’s not what you get in Spain, what’s the craze with anchovies there? Other travels in 2005 included, a trip to New Jersey, New York, PA, Pheonix, AZ and Albuquerque, NM; also, I still hang out in Mexico sometimes.

More travels in 2006, Warner Robins, GA (yes, if you read my Travel Page, I had to go back there). I was even in Rome, Italy. Unfortunately, I got there the day after the Olympics and was in Pomezia outside of Rome, where there’s absolutely nothing worth writing about!  Seriously, you can walk all over the entire town and not find anything to do unless you want to shop for over priced “stylish” clothes.  I did get to Rome and had some pizza and saw all the sights but my camera’s battery was dead and it was after 7:30pm (that’s when all the shops close and the restaurants open).

As you can tell, in the past few years I’ve been picking up great new recipes and insights from all over the world.  You’ll have to go to www.grilldog.com and check out the DVD section and you can purchase my TV shows as well as even tee shirts just like Good Ole Grilldog wears in his shows!  (Actually, it’s the 2^nd style, since the first style got destroyed in my shish kabob episode). I had this great idea that there would a Special Word during my shows and whenever I said it, the folks in the galley would through it at good ole Grilldog.  We did Teriyaki and Curry sauce for that episode.  Since I didn’t want to get splashed with that, I used yellow and brown washable watercolor paints.  However, if you are soaked with washable watercolor paints for several hours, they are not washable anymore!  So keep an eye on the tube, move over Big E and your secret essence, move over the 30 minute gal and your magic cabinets and let me bark that if you go to any major city and expect to eat great for just 40 dollars a day you are not going to be eating what most people go for in that city, heck that doesn’t even cover the bar bill, 3 drinks typically come to 15 or 16 dollars and dinners with wine are about 30…there’s 40 dollars for ya… So for all those cooking shows out there that try to fool the Grilldog Fans with your tall tales, Grilldog Presents is now airing to take a Bite out of you! Yes, Grilldog has come to the tube (the first episode aired 2/25/06 on Cox Cable in San Diego and the Critics gave it a four paws and a tail salute!! Coming soon to a TV near you! Woo hoo)!!!

So that's the story of "George", "La Matre' de la Grillade", "Mango", "Grilldog" and "The Internationally Renowned Grilldog", a lesson in Grilling and a very humorous and one-sided look at my life (and I didn’t even have to clear it with anyone) LOL.  Thanks for taking the time to read my story and I hope share a chuckle or two.  In the mean time I'm off to create new and exotic delights.  Happy creating! Enjoy Life, remember we only get 1 life so don't waste it! 

Remember 
"The world is neither black and white nor shades of gray but ...
animated GIF by Grilldog

And Finally....always remember...

Grilldog's Golden Rule!
Grilldog and Grillpup Wuf's YA All!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Woof woof and Yip Yip!