Cooking With Fire

When trying to come up with a topic this week I began to think back to the staples that everyone should know how to prepare and grill properly. From steak to pork chops to chicken breast… and as I was thinking about these cuts it dawned on me. So much of the flavor we develop in these different meats is in the seasoning we use.

Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson share an easy recipe for these stay-at-home days. 4 servings 1 lb ground beef 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced 1/2 poblano pepper, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 cups canned San Marzano tomatoes (and sauce) 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained, rinsed 1 1/2 cups beef stock 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese 1/2 cup diced onion, for garnish (optional) Fritos Directions Preheat your pellet grill to 375ºF, set up for direct grilling (no diffuser plate/door). Place a 12” cast iron skillet on the main cooking grate, near the flame, to preheat. When the skillet is hot, add your ground beef. Add the onion and pepper and cook until the beef is browned and onions are translucent in color, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the beans, beef stock and seasonings, and cook until the chili is thickened to desired consistency. Serve the chili over Fritos, topped with cheddar and

Like many of you, I have been doing my best to stay home and distance myself from the outside world as much as possible these past few weeks.

This past summer my wife and I decided to take our family on a road trip to Minneapolis. The weather was beautiful, with highs a good 20 degrees lower than back home in Kansas — a perfect spot to vacation to escape the summer heat. But the food we had during the trip is what really stood out. The first few days of our vacation we stayed with our friends Raphael and Teresa. Raphael is originally from Germany and is a wonderful host, so we had quite a few home cooked meals while we were there. This included a traditional German leberkäse served with warm potato salad and bread. Leberkäse is a traditional Bavarian meatloaf that traces its roots back to the late 1700s. And while the term literally translates to “liver cheese,” there is rarely liver or cheese in a leberkäse these days. Instead it is made up of finely ground strips of beef and pork and bacon ground to a fine texture, much like bologna or a frankfurter. The loaf is then traditionally baked in a bread pan until the exterior is

This year Americans will buy nearly 60 million pounds of chocolate for Valentine’s Day.

It's all about the peppers.

January has arrived, and once again Americans are looking to change up what, and how, they eat to get the new year started off right. But this can be incredibly challenging with our busy schedules. Between jobs, kids, and a mass of activities, we just don’t seem to have the time to cook those healthy meals we all want. This was the challenge facing my wife and I when we started our new shop this past fall. We have two kids and we both work more than full-time hours, but we knew we didn’t want to rely on frozen meals and fast food to fill our stomachs on the go. This is when we got serious about meal prepping, and we have set aside Sunday as a day to cook and prep meals for the week that are quick and easy on the go, as well as nutritious. But we don’t just cook up our lunches — no, we plan our dinners and cook them ahead of time too. But what do we cook? One of our favorite meals is chicken breasts and Brussels sprouts. These are two incredibly versatile ingredients that can be made

A new decade is nearly upon us, and no matter how your 2019 went, rolling over into a new year brings new possibilities and opportunities. But before we slide in 2020 with hope, I challenge you to say goodbye to 2019 in style.

It's that time of year again. I’m not talking about the temperature suddenly dropping below freezing and the wind blowing us around like leaves. No, it’s that time of year when everyone has an opinion on how you should cook your Thanksgiving turkey, and what sides are best for your gathering. But I’d like to, instead, focus on the unsung hero of our holiday dinners, the spices and herbs we rely on to give us those classic flavors — especially sage. For centuries sage has been an important part of not only culinary traditions, but was praised for its medicinal uses as well. Sage tea has been known to calm the stomach, ease sore throats, and even help with memory loss. The Chinese were so enamored with it that they were willing to trade four pounds of Chinese tea for every one pound of sage tea from France. These days, of course, we rely on more modern medicine for our day to day ills, but sage has stuck around because it’s just as tasty as it is useful. Think of classic breakfast

Sometimes the simplest things are the best. Bacon and eggs, the grilled cheese sandwich, grilled lobster cover in butter — few ingredients, easy preparation, big flavor. The cheeseburger falls into the same category: a little beef, a few slices of cheese, buns and whatever toppings you like. But when you want to wow your guests, you need to take things to another level, and that is where the Juicy Lucy comes in.

This episode originally aired on October 21, 2016. There are many debates in the food world that will never be settled: who has the best barbecue; if chili should contain beans. One debate in my mind reigns supreme: New York- versus Chicago-style pizza.

This past month we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. But you can’t get to the moon without fuel, and no, I’m not talking about rocket fuel. Astronauts, no matter how superhuman they may seem, still have to eat just like you and me. And what they ate for breakfast on that July day in 1969 mimicked a breakfast consumed eight years prior before the first manned space mission ever taken on by NASA. On May 5th, 1961, Alan Shepard was launched into space aboard Freedom 7 as part of Project Mercury. He was the first human in space for the United States, and although his flight duration was only 15 minutes and 22 seconds, his voyage was a stepping stone for manned space exploration. In the early hours of that same morning Shepard was awakened by flight surgeon Bill Douglas, and after getting ready took in a breakfast of filet mignon, eggs, orange juice, and tea. This high-protein breakfast was designed in part to give Shepard the energy needed to complete his

Beef bulgogi is an incredibly popular dish in Korea and is one of the most successful culinary exports of the region. While the term "bulgogi," which literally translates to “fire meat,” is relatively new, these thin marinated strips of grilled meat have been a staple in the diet of those who live on the Korean peninsula since 37 BC. Back then, strips of beef or pork were marinated and then threaded on a small skewer and cooked, and then served in broth over rice. This was quite different from the bulgogi we know today. The reasons bulgogi has changed so much over the last half-century are various, but the two major factors that impacted the dish’s history are these: First, the introduction of Buddhism to Korea. While those who practice Buddhism are not forced to be vegetarian, many decide to do so on their own. This caused meat-based dishes to lose popularity. Also, as the kingdom’s history continued with periods of being ruled at times by both China and Japan, the culinary traditions

Canadian whisky simply doesn’t command the attention of the U.S. market like it once did. Imported whisky from Scotland and Ireland and our own local bourbon have continued to crowd out the spirits from our neighbors in the north, but at one point in time Canadian whisky was the most popular spirit in America.

Summer is officially here. With temperatures in the 90s we’re spending more and more time at the pool with our kids, and the smoke is rolling off of the patio for long portions of the weekend as we grill, smoke, and roast our meals over live fires. But soon enough a different kind of smoke will be floating overhead as my neighborhood fills with kids shooting off fireworks and running around throwing firecrackers at squirrels, and, invariably, each other. And to be clear, I love both kinds of smoke. In fact, the Fourth of July is arguably my favorite holiday. I love cooking food for large crowds and shooting off fireworks to entertain the family, but most of all I love to celebrate our country's history with a glass of our national spirit: bourbon. In 1964 Congress made a ruling on bourbon, dictating not only which products could be labeled as such, but most importantly that it was a distinct product of the United States. But this was not the first ruling on spirits Congress had made.

While the Scots seem to get all of the love from the whiskey world, the word whiskey itself comes from the Gaelic phrase Uisce Beatha [pronounced: ISH-ka BUH-ha], which means “water of life.”

Scotch has a long and storied history, much like the country it is named after.

Chicago is known for many things, from professional sports teams to deep dish pizza to systemic political corruption, but when I think of Chicago one thing pops into my head: the Chicago Dog.

Bourbon may be the United States' official native spirit, but you could make a good argument that rum deserves that title instead. Rum was distilled in the U.S. hundreds of years before bourbon ever was, and it has a rich history from the mainland through to the Caribbean. But rum starts with sugarcane, and the story of sugarcane does not start anywhere near the Caribbean islands. Instead, sugarcane was brought west, possibly from China or India to the Middle East, where it was first refined into sugar in the 11th and 12th centuries. Sugar was then introduced to Europe through the Mediterranean and quickly spread across the continent. It was when Portugal, wanting to control their sugar supply, began growing sugar in several places along the African Coast — including the Canary Islands in the 15th century — that the plant made its first move toward this hemisphere. In 1492, among the many things Columbus brought on his voyage was the sugarcane plant. Soon after, the Spanish and

Though it is a small Caribbean island, Jamaica has had major impacts on world culture. Jamaican music, athletes, and cuisine all are known well beyond their country’s borders.