Labor Day Menus Made More Memorable With Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Grilling Tips

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Chicago, Ill. – August 12, 2010 - Labor Day. It is one of the three most popular grilling occasions of the year, according the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. It is also a high-pressure event for those people who are striving to close out the summer grilling season on a high note with perfectly grilled food.

Russ Faulk, vice president of product development and grill master for Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet™, the recognized leader in high-end outdoor cooking and entertaining equipment, offers his top 5 tips that will kick up your grilling skills and add tastes that will make your holiday meal more memorable.

“We encourage everyone to get out there this Labor Day and change up their menu,” says Faulk. “Try new tastes, or just do something completely different like cooking a pizza on the grill.”

1.    Grill fruit. Faulk says fruits take on sweeter flavors when they are kissed by flame. He says skewering is one of the easiest ways to cook fruit and suggests grilling skewered red grapes or creating kabobs of pluots, plums and nectarines. “The key to getting grilled fruit right is taking it off the grill at the right time,” says Faulk. “The grill should be at 500 degrees and you should leave the fruit on until it is nicely marked.”

2.    Cook the harvest. This is the best time of the year for fresh local produce, says Faulk. Grill green beans and bread to make a warm summer salad with grape tomatoes and baby greens. “The key with this dish is making sure the grilled beans are still crisp, says Faulk. “You want them warm, but they should still snap when you bite into them.”

3.    Pizza anyone? Pizza is the perfect canvas for late summer ingredients. “You can absolutely load pizzas with summer flavors,” says Faulk. His Fiery Barbecue Chicken Pizza uses a chipotle barbeque sauce as the pizza sauce, adds the smoky and spicy tastes of the season – chicken, corn, onions, cilantro, chipotles and serranos – and puts them together on a crispy pizza crust.

4.    Use a new sauce. Try a glaze with asian-inspired tastes to twist up Labor Day staples. Faulk’s Grilled Asian Hot Wings offer up new tastes by combining soy sauce, honey, lime juice and habanero chiles. “I really enjoy a dish that balances sweet, savory, tart and spicy,” says Faulk. He says the glaze burns easily and to only apply it during the last few minutes of grilling. “Keep a close eye on the grill and keep the food moving if necessary to avoid too quick a char,” says Faulk.

5.    Bake. That’s right. Bake. But use the grill to do what you can’t do indoors. Specifically, smoke. Faulk suggests baking a three cheese and macaroni dish in a “smoking chamber” made out of roasting pans. “This is not kids’ macaroni and cheese,” says Faulk. “This is a smoky and flavorful dish for grown-ups. This creative approach can be applied to any baked dish you desire.”

To help you and your readers take on the challenge of changing up the Labor Day grilling menu, Faulk offers this list of recipes and cooking techniques.

Grilled Fruit Skewers with Pistachio Yogurt Dipping Sauce Even though Labor Day signals the unofficial end of summer, we think grilled fruit is a great tribute to the season. When the skewered fruit comes off the grill and is combined with the pistachio yogurt dipping sauce, it is a light, sweet, unconventional treat for your party guests.

http://www.gourmetpatio.com/hotg_sep_2009.html

Grilled Green Bean Salad with Garlic Croutons and Kalamata Olives Like a Niçoise without the tuna, this quick salad makes a perfect lunch or an ideal side dish for your grilled entrees. Grilled bread and beans are complimented by home made lemon pepper vinaigrette, baby greens, Kalamata olives and sweet grape tomatoes.

http://gourmetpatio.com/?p=1269

Fiery Barbecue Chicken Pizza

It’s called "Fiery" not only because it brings the heat, but also because of the smoky flavors of chipotle chiles and the fire-marked corn. This pizza is absolutely loaded with flavor. For less spicy palates, you can try halving the chipotles and the Serrano.

http://gourmetpatio.com/?p=1779

Grilled Asian Hot Wings

Readers of our newsletter know that Russ really enjoys a dish that balances the key components of sweet, savory, tart and spicy. That's what these wings are all about. Honey provides the sweet, citrus offers the tang, soy sauce is the savory component and habanero brings the heat. How much heat is up to you. He describes this recipe as mild, so if you want it hotter, use more chiles and leave them in the sauce longer.

http://gourmetpatio.com/?p=1153

Smoky Three Cheese and Macaroni

This is not kids' macaroni and cheese. The mahogany-colored top says it all -- this is a smoky and flavorful side dish for grown-ups. You can cook it before starting on the burgers. If kept covered with foil and wrapped in a towel, it will still be warm enough for serving when the burgers are ready. The creative approach to smoking can be applied to almost any baked dish you desire… even on a gas grill.

http://gourmetpatio.com/?p=1724

EDITOR'S NOTE: High resolution photography for each recipe is available upon request by contacting Chris Mordi, email-cmordi@kalamazoogourmet.com, direct phone-312.423.8714.

About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Kalamazoo builds outdoor kitchen equipment. Exclusively. Hybrid Fire grills – the only gas grills that let you burn wood and charcoal at the same time. More than 20 refrigeration units engineered to beat desert heat. And to complete the outdoor kitchen of your dreams, a collection of hand-built, weather-tight cabinetry. From James Beard Award winning chefs to individuals who simply appreciate the finer things, those in the know recognize us as the best.

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