Patio grilling April and May 2023

I grill outside year around, despite the weather, thanks to my covered patio, which always makes for great grilling weather! However, when the rainy winter is finished, and the temperature begins to warm up, it really brings out the "grilling" in me!

Photo: It's late Monday afternoon, May 08, 2023, and I've fired up my "tricked out" Weber charcoal grill and I'm getting the fire going.

By "tricked out" I mean that I've built a table, a fire-resistant cooking stand, and a place to hang useful utensils. All of this makes for easy grilling, as I don't have to stoop down to tend to the grill, and there is always plenty of room for utensils. Co-located to my grill there's a handy work table. I like to have fun when I'm grilling!

Photo: Tonight's dinner is fresh corn, yellow squash, potatoes, and two chicken legs.

I get the fire started using charcoal, but the grilling is accomplished using oak wood - a "sister" to hickory - that grows locally here in Roseville. All I have to do is to gather oak wood - it is everywhere - bring it home and cut it to size with my handy sawsall. Oak makes great wood for grilling ANYTHING!

Photo: I'm a happy guy as my potatoes, chicken, squash and corn are working out perfectly, on my little Weber Smokey Joe grill.

Photo: Grilled chicken, corn and baked potatoes, off the grill and almost ready to serve. Almost? ... at the last minute I decided to "twice bake" the potatoes. You'll see what I mean in the next photo.

The Valentina Mexican hot sauce mixed well with Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce to add flavor and "tang" to the meal.

Photo: "Twice Baked Potatoes," or should I say "Twice Grilled Potatoes?" Anyway you look at it, this took a baked, stuffed potato to an absolutely new level, thanks to the oak-fired Weber grill.

After the chicken, corn, squash and potatoes were grilled to perfection, I removed everything from the grill and took it inside to cool down. I kept the fire hot, as I had desired to stuff the potatoes, and "twice grill" them.

When the potatoes were cool enough to work with, I scooped out the inside, leaving just the skin, and put the potato pulp into a bowl. I added couple of diced jalapeño chili peppers, a couple green onions, four cloves of chopped garlic, along with salt and pepper to taste. When that was accomplished, I mixed in a tablespoon or so of butter, and an equal amount of "Ranch" salad dressing.

I mashed everything up, stuffed it back in equal amounts into the potato skins and placed it on the grill. I topped each potato with shredded Mexican cheese, and in about 20 minutes, the potatoes were ready to enjoy.

Photo: Dinner on this Monday evening of a chicken leg, marinated in Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce and covered with barbecue sauce, yellow squash, a half ear of corn, along with a "Twice Baked," or more appropriate for today, a "Twice Grilled" potato.

A mixture of Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce and Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce made for the perfect sauce topping to the potatoes.

Photo: It's Saturday, May 06, 2023, and the weather is a tad on the "brutal" side outside, so I'm grilling dinner inside, in the kitchen, on my electric George Foreman grill.

The "foreman" is a great grill, and will do a great job, but don't expect any "smoky" taste from this grill, as it's all electric.

Photo: A George Foreman grill is perfect for the person who wants to grill, but who lacks an outdoor place to grill, or lives in an apartment or condo where outdoor fires aren't permitted. It's also great for a "lazy griller" - which was me today - as there is no start-up hassle and clean-up is a breeze.

You'll enjoy great grilled flavor, with a lot less your, but you won't get any smoke flavor, and you'll miss the "old school" ambiance and technique.

Photo: My Saturday evening dinner was an Italian sausage, a baked potato, an ear of corn, along with a grilled jalapeño pepper. I simply used a little salt and black pepper to season the meal, which worked out perfectly.

Photo: Saturday, April 28, 2023 turned out to be our first 90+ degree day in Roseville, so after taking a dip in the pool, why not get the fire started and grill a pizza outdoor, on my Weber Smokey Joe grill?

I use a chimney starter to get the fire started, with a mixture of about 1/3 charcoal and 2/3 locally-gathered oak wood. I alllow the wood to burn until it's all very hot - about 15 - minutes, and then I'm ready to grill. Oh yeah!

Photo: The grill is "smokin'" hot, and I've put on the lid and it's time to head to the kitchen to assemble the pizza.

Photo: My pizza is ready to place on the grill. I was lazy today, so I used a "personal size" pre-made pizza crust that I purchased at my local supermarket. When I'm in the mood, I can make my own pizza dough from scratch. I suppose I'd spent too much time in the pool before I fired up the grill.

Photo: Pizza likes to cook over a hot grill, fired by direct heat. It only takes about ten minutes for the pizza to be ready. Grilling pizza outside, over an oak-fired grill is easy, a lot of fun, and the pizza is simply delicious.

Photo: My small, "personal size" pizza is finished, and ready to remove from the grill. This is a "Hi Mom Hi Dad" kind of photo, as I'm showing off my pizza grilling effort.

Photo: My "personal size" pizza is cut into four slices, grilled and ready enjoy.

I confess I was lazy so I simply used a ready-made pizza crust I purchased at my local supermarket. I used my Texas Redeye BBQ Sauce for the pizza sauce... click on the link to get the recipe. I truly wanted to give this pizza an "earthy" taste, and I think the barbecue sauce did the job.

I topped the pizza with Italian sausage, diced jalapeño chili pepper, diced white onion and diced mushrooms. A couple minutes after the pizza was on the grill, I added shredded Mexican cheese. The total grilling time for the pizza was about ten minutes, over direct, high heat, with lots of flames and smoke.

Yes, this isn't your "mama's pizza" and I'm not saying it's authentic anything, but it's authentic to etrench.com and it all worked out for me.

Photo: I say "Hello" to a slice of pizza, grilled over oak wood.

It's always time to grill at my place, as the grill makes the food delicious, it's healthy, and grilling is simply a lot of fun! I always look forward to grilling outdoors, on my patio, which is truly set up for fine grilling...