Category: Blog Kitchen

Charcoal grills are the most versatile types of grills because unlike their gas-fuelled counterparts, you can use alternative types of fuel to heat them up. In addition to charcoal, one of the things you can use is wood pellets. With wood pellets, there’s more to the efficient and eco-friendly fuelling, and the best thing I love about them is the different flavours they add to food.

So if you’re looking forward to doing something different with flavours, you can choose from the cherry, alder, maple, apple, hickory, oak and mesquite pellets depending on what excites your taste buds. One thing that you should know before heading to the store to grab a few pieces is that not all the wood pellets are suitable for charcoal grills.

Therefore, insist only on grilling wood pellets because other types like heating pellets are infused with chemicals that can easily contaminate your food. Many still don’t know how to use wood pellets in a charcoal grill, and if you’re one of them, we’ve got you covered. We will walk you through the basics that you have to observe once you have decided to use wood pellets for your next grill.

Step-step guide on how to use wood pellets in charcoal grill

• Fire up the grill

It’s always recommended to mix wood pellets with charcoal when grilling. This is to let the charcoal do the heating as the latter brings flavour as you desire. A combination of the two will have your food ready in relatively shorter duration unlike when you heat up the grill with pellets only, helping you conserve energy.

There’re many ways to start-up fire in a charcoal grill,but I prefer to use a chimney starter. It will have you incurring extra expenditures, but it’s relatively faster and effective. They’re also durable, so you won’t need to make any replacements any sooner.

• Transfer the coals to the grill

With lit coals at hand, your grill will heat up in no minute after you’ve transferred them from the chimney starter.  After this, remember to put the grill lid on to retain the heat. To speed up the process further, leave the vents fully open. Leaving them closed will have your already lit charcoal dying-out and you may end repeating the first process, which is already time-consuming.

• Add the wood pallets

Before adding wood pellets, you have to see-to-it that the grill is heated to the desired temperatures, depending on what you’re planning to grill. There’s absolutely no limit to the amount of pellets that you should add. You should be guided by how much smoke and flavour you want in your food and for how long you’ll be cooking.

On average, half a cup of wood pellets will keep the flavour flowing for close to 30 minutes. Today we have different flavours of wood pellets as we have seen. This makes it easy to match the flavour with whatever you’re preparing for a tastier outcome.

• It’s time to cook

After adding wood pellets over the charcoal, you’re required to give them time to ignite before placing your food on the cooking grate or grilling mat. This takes time depending on the quantity that you used. This helps in actualizing the needed amount of smoke and also allows heat from the coal to fully reach the food.

• Close the grill lid

The final step is to close the lid and let your grill handle the rest. Having opened the grill vents the entire time, you should ensure that they are only half-open at this point. This is key, especially for foods that need slow cooking. Leaving the vents fully open will run out your fire, prompting for addition of fuel.

However, you may also require to have them closed, and the best way to know this is by using a grill thermometer that helps figure out if the cooking temperatures are running high or low. For foods that require cooking times that go up to an hour or more, always check on your grill to know if you need to add extra wood pellets or charcoal to keep the process going.

Summary

There you have it; all made simpler. Learning how to use wood pellets in a charcoal grill makes it easier to embrace this modern aspect of grilling that will leave your guest amazed at how flavourful the food is. You don’t even have to worry about the pellets getting the grill all messed up.

Unlike charcoal or regular wood, they leave minimal traces of ash after burning out, giving you easy times when cleaning afterwards. However, it’s important to note that they burn out way faster than charcoal. Therefore, if you choose to use them without adding charcoal, you might need to keep adding them to the fire in order to bring your grill to the desired heat levels. 

Another thing that you should note is that for genuine flavour, always buy from trusted brands. This applies to all stores, whether you’re buying them online or at the local store.  With them you’ll only need a few pieces of pellets to actualize the true flavour, saving you money. It also guarantees you safety, with no fear of any added harmful substances during preparation.

Thank you! briberybakery.com

The weather will be getting cooler (although you wouldn’t know it here in NYC because it’s currently 76 degrees!) and that nothing warms the bones better than a nice bowl of soup. If you haven’t experimented with making soups, it really is an amazingly versatile dish. Soups are perfect family food for a few reasons. You can make a soup out of almost anything, it’s easy to make for a crowd, very cost effective and most soups freezes beautifully. I don’t know about you, but any dish I can make in one pot is my kinda cooking. Less cleanup makes for a happier mama!

This soup was inspired by my son Griffin, who just turned one. I want him to try things and have new experiences with food and I realized that he never tried veal. I’ve found that the best way to get a kid to try a new meat is to make it into a meatball. Of course, I couldn’t just make a plain ‘ol meatball, I layered in some extra nutrients by adding shredded carrots and shredded zucchini.

Mini Meatball and Rice Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1/2lb ground veal
• 2 carrots, (one shredded and one coarsely chopped)
• 1 yellow (or green) squash
• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 c seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4c chopped parsley
• 1/2c brown rice
• 1/2 c green peas

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine, veal, shredded carrots, shredded yellow squash, chopped garlic, breadcrumbs, eggs and chopped parsley. Mix until just combined. Roll veal mixture into 20 tiny meatballs (about 1 tablespoon of meat per meatball).

2. In a medium stock pot set over medium heat, bring chicken broth to a slow simmer.

3. Carefully drop in the meatballs, celery and remaining chopped carrots. Stir in the rice and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until rice is tender and meatballs are cooked through. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in peas. Serve  with a piece of crusty bread or freeze.

Note: Soup can be frozen in an airtight container for 1 month.

I know I know it’s supposedly Spring but today’s weather is crappy and you never know when a Summer cold will strike. A good chicken soup recipe is something that everyone should have in their recipe arsenal. It is very simple to make and freezes beautifully so there is no reason to have to buy it in a can. And everyone has their own little twist on this classic recipe (mine is a 1/2 of a peeled apple-it adds a creaminess to the soup). While this recipe isn’t for my classic Chicken Soup, I thought my take on a Mexican Chicken Soup would instantly become one of your family favorites. The garnishes are such a thrill! Kids will love the toppings for this soup. Put out tiny bowls filled with the avocado, popcorn and corn chips and let your kids go to town and build their own soup! Enjoy!

Fiesta Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 whole chicken, cut up, skin removed
• 1 small onion, cut in half
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced (optional)
• 1 box chicken stock
• 4 cups water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• ¼ c chopped cilantro
• 1 large avocado, diced (for garnish)
• popcorn or corn chips or corn nuts for topping soup
• 2 limes cut into wedges (for finishing soup)

Instructions:

1.In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add chicken to the pot and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Add in onion, garlic, celery and carrots.
2. Add chicken stock, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce soup to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Skim off any foam or extra fat that rises to the top and discard.

3. Stir in cilantro at the last minute (this keeps the herb bright and fresh tasting)Right before serving, top each soup with diced avocado, popcorn or corn chips and a squirt of lime.

Enjoy!

In our house, Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. This time of year I ramp up and get ready for the chaos that will ensue in the next coming months. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it, chaos AND ALL! I’m one of those people. That doesn’t mean I still don’t feel a little pressured to be super mommy and get it all done. In fact, I fall behind. A lot. Still…I try. That’s gotta count for something, no?

This year I have extra guilt because I’ve spent the last month developing all sorts of Halloween treats for work (like these and these) and left my sons nursery school party snack for the last minute. Luckily I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Yup. That’s right! I have Cookie Pops up my sleeve! LOL.

The dough for these cookies is basic, but very tasty (if I do say so myself). It’s a yummy sugar cookie dough which lends itself nicely to many different flavorings and spices. In this case, I flavored them using cinnamon and vanilla extract and decorated with candy corn. Feel free to add your favorite extract or spice and top it with any seasonal appropriate sprinkle or candy. How about dipping them in chocolate and rolling them in crushed candy canes for Christmas? I bet that would be good. OK, lemme stop. I even made some of the pops more, “adult” and topped them with pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds). Very fancy!

I made these with my two year old. It’s the perfect recipe to get the kids involved (they love inserting the sticks and adding the candy corn).

**Read on after the recipe for some more fantastic Halloween treats.

Cinnamon Candy Corn Cookie Pops Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
18 wooden popsicle sticks
candy corn for topping

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat liner.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars on low speed. Add in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add flur mixture to butter mixture until dough comes together, about 1 minutes. Roll dough into walnut sized balls place onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (cookies won’t spread much).

3. Top each ball of dough with one candy corn and press slightly to flatten. Gently insert popsicle sticks into each ball. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets before removing with a thin spatula.

Note: As you can see, I used some whole wheat flour in this recipe but I assure you, I wasn’t trying to make these healthy. Truth be told, I ran out of white flour so I gave these a try with a small amount of wheat flour. Luckily, they tasted great! Feel free to use all white flour in this recipe, just don’t use more than 1/2 cup of wheat flour for these. The texture will not be the same.

One thing my son will always eat is soup. He loves the stuff. His favorite is a noodle soup that we eat at a Chinese restaurant near our house. It’s a giant bowl of chicken broth chock-full of thin hand-rolled noodles, roasted chicken (amazing flavor!), bean sprouts and spinach. Griffin loves using the Chinese soup spoons and even brings his own chopsticks to slurp up the golden broth and slippery noodles. By the time he leaves the restaurant both he and the floor are covered in noodles. Thank goodness the waitress knows us else we’d be in trouble.

Noodles soups are easy to make and can be suited to anyones tastes. Even the pickiest eaters love soup because, let’s face it, slurping is fun! Try experimenting with different broths, noodles, meats and veggies to create your own perfect meal. For this recipe I decided to head to Japan for inspiration and used yummy Soba noodles. Soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour and can be eaten hot in soup or cold with a dipping sauce. They can be found in the ethnic aisle of almost any grocery store and are a great alternative to every day pasta. This dish takes all of ten minutes, making it perfect for a weeknight meal. Try it tonight.

This meal was a slurping success!

Soba Noodle Soup Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 cups low sodum chicken or vegetable stock
• 4-5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup baby corn, cut in half
• 2 baby bok choy, quartered
• 2 bundles of soba noodles
• sesame oil, to top
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Cook soba noodles according to package instructions. Once cooked, divide the noodles amongst 4 deep soup bowls.

2. Bring stock, soy sauce and ginger to a boil in a large saucepan. Lower the heat to medium and add in mushrooms and baby corn. Cook for about 5 minutes then add in bok choy. Cook for 2 minutes more or until the bok choy is slightly tender but still bright in color. Turn off heat and drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil over the broth. Ladle hot broth and vegetables over the soba noodles and garnish with chopped scallions.