Grilling tips: Charcoal

Grilling with charcoal rather than gas may take a bit more effort but it's almost always worth the pay off. The smell of a fresh charcoal burning away on the grill is one of the classic smells of my summers during my childhood. If you've never used charcoal before, I really think you'll be surprised at the difference in flavor you'll get in your food. Here are a few tips I wanted to share with you guys in hopes that you'll dig out your charcoal grills this weekend or this upcoming 4th of July holiday.

A charcoal chimney (pictured to your left) is a very inexpensive and essential tool to have when grilling with charcoal. The charcoal chimney is the best way going to light your charcoal without using any harmful starting fluids. It's best to avoid charcoal lighting fluid when you can because you're taking the risk of the residual fumes from the fuel getting into your food. Charcoals that are marketed as instant light or self starting are no better.

To start charcoal in the chimney, you'll first need a few sheets of newspaper. Usually no more than 3 or 4 sheets are needed. Crumble the newspaper and place it underneath the charcoal chimney. Remove the top cooking grate from your grill and place the chimney onto the bottom.

Next, add the charcoal into the top portion of the chimney. Knowing how much charcoal you need is usually easy to determine, you just want to have enough to form a single layer of coals on the bottom of your grill.


With either a lighter or a long stem match, carefully light the sheets of newspaper in a few spots through the openings around the bottom of the chimney.

Once the newspaper has caught fire, smoke will start to rise through the top as the flames begin to burn the bottom layer of charcoal. Allow the charcoal to burn for about 15 to 20 minutes or so until you can see the coals glowing orange and they have an ashy surface to them.

Now depending on what you are grilling, you may want direct heat or indirect heat. Direct heat is when we cook the food right over top of the burning coals to cook them relatively fast. Usually burgers, boneless chicken, or steaks you'll want direct heat as we aren't looking for a slow cooking time. Now indirect heat is the opposite where we'll place the coals on one side of the grill and the food on the opposite side. Good for slow cooking ribs, whole chickens, or other cuts of meat that require a bit longer cooking time.

Once the coals are ready, using an oven glove for protection from the heat, carefully dump the charcoal out of the chimney and onto the grill grates. Carefully place the top grate back onto the grill over top the coals and you're ready to get cooking.

Summer Pasta and National Lampoon's Vacation

Light but satisfying dinner ideas sometimes run thin when the heat of the summer months weighs down on me. I'm more of a cooler weather type of guy so when its in the upper 80s and humid, the only two places you'll find me are in the pool or inside with the air conditioner going! Fresh basil and freshly grown tomatoes can be found year round now but the summer months are by far the best time to use them. Since the two go together like peanut butter and jelly, I wanted to make a quick and easy pasta dish using them as my key flavors - along with some fresh mozzarella. This pasta dish screams summertime for me so this week I'm choosing a movie that does the same, National Lampoons Vacation.

1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
12 fresh basil leaves
1 8oz fresh mozzarella ball
1 medium sized shallot (sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (Minced)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of dried Italian spices
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar
1 box of Penne Pasta
Fresh Parmesan cheese for grating

Fill a large pot with water and season with a generous amount of salt and preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cut the tomatoes in half and place them on a baking or grilling sheet along with our shallot. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over top of the tomatoes (just enough to coat them all) and season with a pinch of kosher salt, black pepper, the teaspoon of sugar, the Italian seasonings, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Toss everything together and place them in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.

By now your pasta water should be boiling or close to a boil. Drop your pasta into the boiling water and cook according to the boxes specifications. Take your fresh basil leaves and chiffonade them into thin cuts. The recipe calls for about 12 leaves but if you ask me you can never have too much basil so feel free to use more of less.

Set the sliced basil aside for now and cut your fresh mozzarella ball into small chunks. No need to be exact on size but you want to make them on the smaller side so they melt quickly once they hit the warm pasta and the tomatoes.

Your tomatoes should just be about ready to come out of the oven. Set them down on a heat proof surface and add the minced garlic over top of the roasted tomatoes. Gently toss them together and place them back in the oven just for another 3 to 4 minutes, just to cook off the raw garlic flavor. Once the garlic has been roasted, you can remove the tomatoes from the oven for good and drain your penne pasta once it's cooked.

In a large serving bowl - add the mozzarella, freshly sliced basil, and the roasted tomatoes and shallots. Stir everything together, sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese over top for an added flavor and dinner is served! A nice loaf of crusty Italian bread never hurt anything either! Some of my favorite flavors or summer are in this dinner so I wanted to share with you all my time favorite summertime movie! The classic 1983 comedy National Lampoon's Vacation. One of the funniest films you'll find and it never fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I've seen it. 

In today's age, The Griswold's are a national treasure and their crazy adventures are known to just about everyone. In the fist installment in the franchise, Clark W. Griswold Jr (Chevy Chase) becomes fixated on the idea of taking his family across the country on a road trip to visit the theme park Wally World. While the rest of his family doesn't see the allure of driving several hundred miles when they could just fly there, Clark refuses and soon piles his wife Ellen(Beverly D'Angelo), his son Rusty(Anthony Michael Hall), and his daughter Audrey (Dana Barron) into their station wagon and head out onto the holiday road.

Like most things that Clark envisions in his head, they never quite work out the way he hopes. Their good old fun filled family vacation turns out to have more speed bumps and detours than Clark could have imagined. Some of the funniest scenes take place when Ellen insists they take a little detour to visit her cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her eccentric husband Eddie (Randy Quaid) at their dysfunctional homestead.

National Lampoon's Vacation is truly a classic American comedy that has kept audiences laughing for 30 years and shows no sign of loosing any of its appeal. I'm sure 99% of you have seen this movie at least once but I think you'll agree it's one that never seems to get old! I hope you enjoy this weeks film and flick combo. Here is the original trailer for National Lampoon's Vacation.

Movie Review - Insidous

In 2010, the movie Insidious hit theaters and haunted audiences across the world. When teacher Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) move their young family to a new house, all seems ideal. One night, while exploring the house attic, their son Dalton falls from a ladder and hits his head. The next morning, Dalton fails to wake up and doctors are mystified. Dalton has fallen into a coma with no medical reason to be found.

Soon after the tragic incident, Renai begins to witness strange occurrences and believes that the house is haunted and that could be the reason behind Dalton's unexplained coma. Dalton's condition and the ghost sittings follow and when Josh's mother sees a figure lurking near Dalton's unconscious body, she fears she may know the reason for the events. Confronting a hidden and haunting past may be the only way to save Dalton before his mind is forever lost. Insidious is a gripping horror film and certainly one with 

Without giving away any spoilers, a sequel entitled Insidious: Chapter 2 is set to hit theaters later this summer and it looks even more horrifying than the first. The spirits that haunted the Lambert family years ago aren't through yet and more heart pounding moments are sure to accompany. Though horror is not my favorite genre, I'll be looking forward to seeing if the same director, writer, and the cast can deliver the screams and thrills they did in the first film. Insidious is available on DVD/Blu-ray and Netflix and Insidious: Chapter 2 will hit the big screen on September 13th (Friday the 13th). If you're looking for a good old fashioned ghost story, watch Insidious in the near future so you can be ready for chapter 2!

Trailer for Insidious

Trailer for Insidious: Chapter 2

Vacation time!

 I'm heading out for a little vacation tomorrow morning and won't be posting much this up coming week. My regular posting will resume on Monday June 24th!! See you then!!!

Quick 15 minute Homemade mini Pizza and "Horrible Bosses"

You've had a terrible day at work, we've all had them and we're all bound to have them again. Some are fortunate to enjoy what they do and who they work for but that's a rarity today. Working for a horrible boss is sure to ruin a day that otherwise wouldn't have been so horrible. Trust me, I worked for one and he ruined more days than I care to admit. Sometimes the last thing you want to do when you get home after a terrible day is make yourself dinner so that inspired to come up with a homemade pizza that you can make in under 15 minutes. We'll take a little help by using a store bought pizza crust (Or flat bread like Naan works great) today but when pair it with freshly made sauce that's done in 5 minutes, a delicious blend of Italian cheeses, and finished off with some great toppings - you won't know the difference. Pizza to me is the ultimate cheer up kind of food and a lot of laughter never hurt either. This week I'm pairing my quick pizza recipe with my very favorite comedy, the 2011 film Horrible Bosses. The perfect combo to end a horrible.


Store bought Pizza crusts
2 to 3 Roma tomatoes
a pinch of Red pepper flakes
¼ Teaspoon of dried Italian Spices 
½ Teaspoon of sugar
About ½lb of Cheese - I used a combo of Asiago and Provolone
8 fresh Basil leaves
4 Fresh oregano leaves
Pickled sweet peppers (for topping)
Fresh Arugula (for topping)
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

As thinly as possible, slice the tomatoes and season them with some salt and pepper. Next sprinkle the dried Italian spices over top. In a small saute pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the tomatoes to the pan and cook them for about 3 minutes. Give the fresh oregano leaves a rough chop and add them to the tomatoes as well as the sugar. Add just a small pinch of red pepper flakes and stir together. Cook for another 2 minutes and our pizza sauce for the night is done! Told you this would be easy.

Shred the cheese you selected for your pizza. Mozzarella is probably the most recognized cheese used for pizza making but for this recipe I wanted to use a cheese with just a little bit of sharpness to it. Stop by your cheese counter at the grocery store and just ask them for a small chunk of asiago and a good sharp provolone cheese so you can shred them at home. It's always best to shred your own cheese, I haven't found a good pre-shredded cheese in a bag that I like yet. Remember though, this is your horrible day pizza so use whatever kind of cheese you like!!

Place your pizza crusts on a baking sheet. Evenly distribute our warm and freshly made pizza sauce over the crusts. Next, sprinkle the shredded cheese over top of the sauce. The heat from the sauce will start melting the cheese from underneath. Chiffonade (Click here for how to) your basil leaves and evenly distribute them over top your pizza. Nothing takes the place of fresh basil on pizza if you ask me. Now it's time to add any additional toppings you might want to have. For these pizzas I used a few pickled sweet peppers and I added some arugula to the one pizza as an experiment and I really liked the flavor combo.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil over top and place your pizza's in the oven and bake just until they are warmed through and the rest of the cheese is melted to perfection. As soon as the pizzas come out of the oven, top them off with a fresh shaving of fresh parmesan cheese and dinner is served! Time to kick back and laugh to the hilariously funny and star filled, Horrible Bosses.

Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) all  have three of the worsts bosses imaginable. Nick has to deal with the ruthless corporate "A" hole David Harken (Kevin Spacey), Dale is being sexual harassed by his beautiful but completely inappropriate boss Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Ainston), and Kurt has to take orders from a complete tool and drug addict Bobby Pellit (Colin Farrell).

After Harken gives himself the promotion that he's hinted that Nick would receive, Julia threatens to tell Dale's fiance that they've had sex, even though they haven't, unless he does have sex with her, and Kurt just can't take another day working for Bobby - the three decide they can't work for their bosses any longer. Quitting is not an option for any of them and after a few beers they decide they only have two choices. Work for their horrible bosses and be miserable all their lives, or murder the their three bosses. They devise a plan that would allow each of  them to get rid of their bosses with no trace of it leading back to them.So begins the hilarious turn of events for the three friends that at first seems foolproof. Like most ideas, not everything goes as planned and the three friends soon find themselves way over their heads.

The chemistry shared by leading actors Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis, wonderful supporting performances by Ainston, Spacey, and Farrell, and a hilariously funny script all come together to make this movie my all time favorite comedy. A black comedy for sure and one for a mature audience, I have never laughed more at a movie than I did when I saw this film in theaters. It still remains my "go to" movie when I need a good laugh at the end of a really horrible day. Here is the trailer for Horrible Bosses.

Movie Review - Casablanca

Until a few days ago, I've never seen the 1942 classic film Casablanca. Seventy-one years after it's creation, Casablanca is still widely considered the greatest Hollywood film of all time. The movie has an unexplained aura about it that captivates you right from the start. I couldn't help but picture what it was like to be on set of this film back in the heyday of Hollywood. Whether or not they knew it at the time, Casablanca became an instant hit winning the Oscar for best picture, director, and screenplay that year and still garnering the respect and admiration it deserves.

Set in the early days of World War II in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, many have escaped the path of Hitler and the Nazis and found refuge in Africa. There we find American Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), exiled from his home country he know runs the most popular night spot in the city. All is business as usual until Rick is informed that Victor Laszlo , an underground leader of Czechoslovakia, has arrived in Casablanca with his wife. The captain of police will do anything to please the Nazis - including handing Laszlo over to them. When Laszlo and his wife enter Rick's night club, Rick is surprised that laszlo's wife is his one time lover Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman).

So begins the epic and dramatic love triangle between them as Rick still loves Ilsa but can't forgive the fact that she left him without any notice. Rick soon finds out the true reason why she left and the two plan to run away together. Circumstances arise and the story for Rick and Ilsa becomes far more complex than they imagined. If you've never seen the classic film Casablanca, it's a must see for any fan of great film making.

Fresh Lemonade

Fresh Lemonade is the classic American drink of summer time. Countless glasses have been consumed on front porches all across this great country. Simple to make and loved by all, I hope this recipe gets a lot of use by all of you this summer. Let me say it now however that under no circumstances should this lemonade be made with lemon juice from a plastic container that's labeled "Lemon Juice". I don't know what that stuff is folks, but it's not lemon juice. There is no replacement for fresh lemon juice so please don't even attempt to do so! Now that I got that out of the way, here is what you'll need to make fresh lemonade.

1½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (About 6-7 Lemons)
6 cups of cold water
1 cup of sugar
1 lemon for slicing

Cut the lemons in half and use a citrus juicer, either electric or manual, to extract as much of the juice from the lemons that you can. A good tip to really get the juices inside the lemon loose is, before you slice them in half, rolling the lemon along to counter with a bit of pressure from your palm.

In a small sauce pan, add one cup of water and the one cup of sugar together. Over medium heat, stir the sugar and the water together just until the sugar has dissolved completely. What we did here is made a simple syrup - this is a great way to sweeten iced tea too! Allow the syrup to cool just slightly. While the syrup cools, slice the remaining lemon into slices.

In a large pitcher, pour in the lemon juice and the five (5) remaining cups of cold water. Add the lemon slices and the simple syrup to the pitcher - stir to combine. Chill the lemonade and pour into glasses half filled with ice and a sliced lemon wedge on the rim as a garnish.

Hey, you know what they say! When life gives you lemons...make some lemonade!! And sometimes....if life hands your more than lemons....just add a little vodka!!

Grilled Pork Chops with homemade Barbecue Sauce and Days of Thunder

The smell of the charcoal grill burning on a summer night never fails to take me back to my childhood. Add the smell of fresh barbecue cooking away and you've got one of the classic scents of summer. There are quite a few good quality BBQ sauces on the store shelves these days but I'm going to share my quick recipe to make your own. Sweetened with brown sugar, a splash of cola and spiced up with some chipotle peppers, it's the perfect balance of sweet and hot. Since the smell of charcoal brings me back to my days of summer as a kid, I wanted to pair this dinner with a movie that did the same. Few things capture the attention of a little boy than race cars and in the late 80s and early 90s, NASCAR was one of the hottest trends going.  Hollywood caught on fast and the movie Days of Thunder was released in the summer of 1990. Though I'm no longer the race fan I was a as a kid, I still love the watch this film every now and then to help me relive the excitement it brought me as a child. Here is how we'll make our dinner before we start with this weeks film.

2 thick cut boneless pork chops
For the BBQ Sauce
1 cup of Ketchup
½ cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon of butter
1 shallot (minced or grated)
2 cloves of garlic (minced or grated) 
2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 canned chipotle pepper chopped finely
¼ cup of Coca-cola
Freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and sweat the the shallot and the garlic together for about 2 minutes. Sweating is different than when we sauté because we aren't looking to achieve a browned color. All we are doing is heating them so that they literally sweat and release moisture. Next, add the ketchup, brown sugar, and the mustard to the pan and stir together until the brown sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients to the sauce and bring to a low simmer. Simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Sprinkle a little paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder onto the pork chops and rub the spices into the meat. Spoon a bit of sauce on each pork chop but make sure you don't touch the pork chops with the spoon and then dip it back into the sauce, you don't want to contaminant the whole pot of sauce. Once seasoned and sauced, leave the chops sit in the refrigerator while you prepare your charcoal, or gas, grill. If you don't know how to prepare or cook with a charcoal grill, an entire post is coming either this week or next on how to do so.

Pour a bit of our homemade barbecue sauce into a separate bowl that you can take out to the grill with you. Add just enough for the amount of pork chops you are grilling because like before, once we spread the sauce onto the pork and dip our brush back into the sauce we won't be able to use the sauce at a later time. You can always pour more sauce into your dish if need be. If you don't have a BBQ brush, look for a heat resistant silicone one like mine. There are much more sanitary and easier to clean.

Once your grill is ready, place the chops on the grates and grill for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. After you flip your chops the first time, spread a bit of your BBQ sauce on top. Continue grilling on the opposite side until done. The FDA recommends pork to be cooked to 145 degrees so if you're unsure you can always use a meat thermometer to see if your chops are cooked. Once your remove the pork chops from the grill, pour a bit more sauce over top and just like with steaks we want to let these rest for a few minutes before we cut into them. I know it's tempting to but slicing into the chops now will only allow all of our delicious juices to escape. Serve up your pork chops with any of your favorite summer sides and a nice cold coke and dinner is served.


Days of Thunder starring Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, and Nicole Kidman was a film based in the fast and unpreditable world of stock car racing. Robert Duvall plays Harry Hogge, a sucsessful pit crew chief who left the world of racing when his driver died in a crash during the Daytona 500 the year prior. When car owner Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) comes to try and talk Harry into working for a new race team he's putting together, Tim guarantees that he'll get Harry a driver capable of driving their car to victory. They turn to the young hot headed driver named Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise).

While Cole has raced his way to the top in other forms of racing, he'll have to learn to trust Harry's knowledge to survive in the world of stock cars. Cole's level of talent only rivals his temper, and it's not long before her builds a strong rivalry with other racers on the track. Just as Cole and the team begin to hit their stride, an accident threatens to keep the young driver off the track for good. In the world of racing, Cole soon finds you are forgotten about faster than he can drive a lap around the track. Cole will have to use every bit of determination he has to get in the drivers set and make his way back to the top. John C Riley, Cary Elwes, and Michael Rooker co-star in this fast paced early 90's classic. Check out the trailer here for Days of Thunder.

Movie Review - The Borune Legacy

The summer of 2012 saw the fourth installment in the Jason Bourne movie franchise and did so by taking quite a risk in that the character of Jason Bourne never once appears on screen. Writer/Director Tony Gilroy instead created a new character in the Bourne universe originally created by author Robert Ludlum and gave us a new and original story of his won with, The Bourne Legacy.

When events unfold that puts the a top secret program of the governments on the verge of being uncovered, panic and desperation soon sinks in. The head of the program, Eric Byer (Edward Norton) will now do anything to keep the secret intact, including destroying every agent left in the field. Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) however manages to escape the organizations attempt to exterminate him. Now fully aware of the manipulation he's been exposed too, Aaron will use his skills and training to protect himself and Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachael Weisz), who is also a target of the organization. Together, Aaron and Marta set out to finish what Jason Bourne started and put an end to the program.

Having seen only bits and pieces for the first three Bourne movies, I was concerned when I start watching The Bourne Legacy that I would be completely lost. However, the film does a good job providing the audience with enough information needed to be able to understand the plot. Coming in at just over 2 hours long, I never really found myself bored with the film and instantly felt a connection to the characters and the story. Jeremy Renner and Rachael Weisz (especially Renner) are both wonderful for this film. At times when the script doesn't always come together, the two stars shine in their roles and helped me look past that. Renner was perfectly cast as Aaron Cross and was very believable in the action sequences , as well as the character of Aaron Cross in general. Without giving anything away, the movie leaves room for more stories to be told about these two characters and I for one sure hope to see another Aaron Ross based movie within the next few years.

Despite a few flaws a long the way, a strong cast and a good amount of action and suspense keeps The Bourne Legacy together to make a good quality action movie that easily kept me entertained. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but if you're looking for a good action film to check out I'd certainly suggest The Bounre Legacy. Click here to check out the trailer for The Bourne Legacy.