Outdoor Furniture, Patio Furniture and more!

Naturally, most of the people who are hosting Labor Day cookouts will have made meticulous preparations to ensure that there will be ample food, drinks, and tableware for everyone.  They will also have music and lawn games planned in advance; and if people are going to be swimming, they will have lounge chairs by their pools, and extra towels in their pool houses.

Undoubtedly, they will also have places for everyone to sit and eat comfortably.  If their picnic tables are not large enough to accommodate everybody, they will surely have outdoor settees, Adirondack chairs and chaise lounges with wide armrests, outdoor accent tables, and even ottomans, where people can set their food and drinks.

While this is the ideal scenario, in reality, there will be many not-as-well-put-together get-togethers, because a lot of people will decide to have parties at the last minute.  After all, there are those who like to, uh, fly by the seats of their pants, as I believe the expression goes (you know, I’ve never quite understood where that saying came from; but one of these days, I’ll get to the bottom of it!).

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with doing things on the spur of the moment; actually, sometimes, that’s when you have the most fun.  So, if you suddenly decide to invite people over this weekend, don’t worry about things being unplanned.  Even if you never entertain, and you don’t have a lot of outdoor furniture – or even a picnic table – you can always use a table from your house, and scrape up some folding chairs.

Once you have your friends together, simply add some food and a grill, and it’s a party.  But, wait!  What if you don’t have a grill, either?  That’s okay, too, because you can make one on the spot.  Just take some cinder blocks, and stack them, at least a foot high, in the shape of a ‘U’ on a patch of concrete or bare ground; then put a rack on top of them (your oven rack will do), and start cooking.  In a pinch, you can also use an old, metal wheelbarrow with a rack across the top.  That should really get things rolling!

Just as there are several creative ways of getting the festivities started, there are many techniques for getting the fire started.  For example, a half-gallon waxed milk or juice carton makes an excellent disposable starter.  Just fill it with charcoal briquettes, and set it aflame; the container is easy to light, and will heat things up quickly.  You can also use a brown paper bag, filled with charcoal, twigs, and pieces of paper.

To make a reusable starter, use the sharp end of a bottle opener to punch triangle-shaped holes around the edge of a large coffee can, and remove the bottom with a regular can opener.  Then, place the can in your grill, open side up, put in some scraps of wood and paper, fill it to the top with charcoal, and light it through the holes at the bottom.  After the briquettes get hot, use tongs to lift the can and spread the coals.

In any situation, there are ways to improvise.  Mind you, I’m not saying that they will always amount to gracious living; but they don’t always have to.

The important thing is to have a fun – and safe – holiday weekend.

Happy Labor Day!

Kathy

Tags: adirondack chairs, chaise lounges, grill, lounge chairs, ottomans, outdoor accent tables, Outdoor Furniture, outdoor settees, picnic table, picnic tables, pool houses

In the coming months, millions of people will be hosting backyard parties, and cooking all sorts of meats on their grills.  Whether they are charcoal grills, gas grills, or electric grills, they will produce tempting aromas that will have all of the guests who are sitting around picnic tables, on porch swings, gliders, and patio chairs, waiting eagerly for the main course to be done.

Of course, that aroma will be even more tantalizing if the food is being smoked.  Indeed, smoke has been used for centuries, to preserve meats for long periods of time; and now, using barbecue wood chips is seen as the ultimate way to enhance their flavors.  Moreover, the variety of woods that can be used is just as extensive as the assortment of meats that can be grilled or barbecued.

Hickory, which is commonly used for most of the brands of bacon, and other meats, that we always find in grocery stores, is probably the most familiar of all, and is recognized as the leader among the smoking woods.  It smokes intensely, for long periods, and penetrates deep into the meat, giving it a nice, pink hue, and a savory, smoky flavor.  It’s great for smoking pork, red meat, poultry, and game.

Certainly, however, hickory is not the only option, as there are tons of other chips, made from all kinds of woods.  Each one creates its own, distinct flavor, and is thought to be particularly suited to specific types of meat.

One popular choice, mesquite, is a southwestern wood that’s ideal for use with beef, chicken, fish, pork, and lamb, and is ideal for making jerky.  You have to be careful when using it, though, because it is one of the hottest burning of all of the smoking woods, and has an extremely bold, rich flavor that can rapidly overpower the taste of the meat.  To prevent this from happening, many experienced outdoor cooks recommend mixing it, in equal parts, with hickory, unless it’s being used to make jerky.

Cherry wood smokes for a fairly long time, and creates a delicate, fruity, sweet smoke, that does not overwhelm the flavor of the meat.  It can be used for burgers, steaks, chicken, pork, seafood, quail, and game hens.

Oak is also a well-known and widely used wood.   Although, like hickory, it smokes strongly for long intervals, its flavor is not as strong.  Considered one of the most versatile of all of the smoking woods, oak can be soaked in anything from wine to whiskey, to create various flavors on all kinds of meat.  Wine barrel oak, which has been aged in wine for at least ten years, adds a wonderful, fruity smoke to burgers, beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and wild game.

These are but a few of the woods that can be used to make any meat more succulent and delicious.  You can experiment with these, and many more, to add diversity to your outdoor fare.

So, if you can’t afford that trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, you will, at least, be able to enjoy some great, smoky flavors.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy.

Tags: charcoal grills, gas grills, gliders, grills, patio chairs, picnic tables, porch swings

Right now, millions of people are preparing for summer, and their upcoming backyard parties, by setting up their outdoor furniture, picnic tables, and patio umbrellas, and making their yards, gardens, and outdoor décor look spectacular.  While that may seem like an awful lot of work, in many cases, it’s the easy part.  After all, once porch swings, patio chairs, outdoor sofas, and accent tables are in place, they’re good to go.

Grills, on the other hand, are a different story, because cooking on them – safely and successfully – requires some know-how, and even a degree of finesse.  No matter how fantastic a grill is, or how many wonderful features it has, if the person who is cooking does not know how to use it correctly, the food can still turn out to be, well, disappointing, to say the least.

The first thing to be aware of is that all grills are different; so, if you’re getting a new grill, whether it’s your first, or your fifth, read and heed the manual that comes with it.  Actually, the more experienced you are, the more you realize how important it is to become acquainted with your grill’s specific characteristics, and that it takes some time to do so.  For example, only after using it for awhile will you find out whether it has hot spots, where they are, and how long it takes to heat to proper cooking temperature, especially on windy or chilly days.

Indeed, weather is another factor, as it will affect cooking times, not only on charcoal grills, but on electric and gas grills as well.  While your manual may offer tips for using your particular grill in various climates and conditions, there are some general rules that apply in every situation.

For one thing, even though you should never use the grill indoors, it should be placed where it will be shielded from the wind; otherwise, neither it, nor the food, will stay as hot as necessary.  Food will cook faster on charcoal grills on warm, calm days, than it will on windy and/or cold days, when you will need more coals, which will take longer to heat.  Even gas grills will take a bit more time to heat, and you may have to use higher heat settings.

Like everything else, in order to obtain top performance from it, you must keep your grill clean.  One easy way to do this is to prevent foods from building up on the grill rack, by coating it with a non-stick cooking spray, or brushing it with vegetable oil, before you use it.  After cooking, remove any remaining bits of food from the grill rack with a wire grill brush, or a piece of aluminum foil (unless your manual says otherwise).

Usually, you can clean the racks in electric and gas grills by closing the covers and turning the burners on to a high setting for about 15 minutes.  If you line the bottom of the firebox with heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side up, it will catch any drippings (and, if it’s a charcoal grill, ashes), and act as a heat reflector.  Then, after everything has cooled off, you can just bundle up and discard the foil.

Truly, there are dozens of fine points to learn about outdoor cooking; and I will be touching on many of them in upcoming entries.  So don’t worry; before you know it, you’ll be able to thrill with your grill!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: accent tables, charcoal grills, gas grills, grill, grills, outdoor decor, Outdoor Furniture, outdoor sofas, patio chairs, patio umbrellas, picnic tables, porch swings