500,000 Visitors

Hard to believe but sometime in the next couple of hours my blog will have it's 500,000th visitor...if it happens to be YOU, take a screen shot and send it to me and I'll give you a copy of my draft cookbook. 

Who will be # 500,000? 

 

Will we ever know?????

 

You can follow my blog posts on Facebook as well...Keep On Eggin'

Big Green Egg Large Table (Winterized)

Took a good look at the table before last nights cook and decided that it was time for the Bi-Annual cleaning (spring and winter); cleaned the grout, coated the exposed boards with another layer of deck stain, scrubbed the BGE, washed all the Eggessories and painted the wire rack under the table that had begun to show pitting with some Rust O Leum...Now it's so clean I don't want to get it dirty...

Large Gasket Replacement - Winterizing the Big Green Egg

The gasket on my BGE has been shot for most of the life of my egg...hasn't seemed to make any difference.  However, I took the day off and while thinking about meal planning for the weekend cooks, I was cleaning up around the egg and said, "heck, why not?"  A couple/three hours later and one trip to the dealer and the job was done.  Now I'm a captive of some low temperature cooks for a couple weekends in an attempt to not burn off this one right out of the box.  No directions, just sharing my experience...would I do it again? Not if I can avoid it. Maybe it will help hold in the heat better during my snow cooking sessions...Keep On Eggin'

Big Green Egg Large Table (Winterizing)

Had a hour to kill this morning before we leave for the MIZZOU game against Colorado so I decided it would be a good time to clean the BGE table and winterize it with a new coat of stain. 
   I realized that while many people have named their Eggs' (mine is still sans name) I don't recall anyone naming their tables, so I coined the name 'The Chuck-Wagon' today...all I need is a small dinner bell and a conestoga cover and and hitch, ha. (I am looking for a small dinner bell!)
     It sits under a porch roof and under a cover (when I am not too lazy to cover it) but you know we'll cook on it rain, shine or snow, so keeping it up to par is key.  Anyone remember when I first joined the forum and posted my 30 hour table build (start to finish and first use)? Its out there in my earlier (2008) blogs...ADHD carpentry at it's best, Ha!

Big Green Egg Large Table starting to look like a Chuck Wagon...

Okay, all you Eggers'out there know what I am caught up in...this BGE CULT known as EggHeads!  Frankly there is nothing to stop us all from spending untold amounts of money on special cuts of meet, cookware, knives, lump and whatever else makes us happy.  It's  just as expensive as having a model train hobby or other disease.

Well, tonight is our 25th Anniversary, and Jenny has decided to cook up some Cincinnati Chili (not on the egg) but since I was having Egg Withdrawal, I thought I would post a picture of my new toys...my 2 cup Mario Batali enameled cast iron dutch oven (it is so small it is out of this world and I bought it for 50 cents on the dollar) and my newly installed work light on the end of my table.  I'm not sure there is much more that I can do to this table now unless it would be to replace the top with Granite...hey, that's a good idea.  I'll be back................ 

I cut off the bracket that would normally screw onto a table top and mounted the light permanently.  I use it every night we cook out.

Keep On Eggin'

Legacy Beef Tenderloin MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH!

Cookin' for One:
Cooking on a Large Big Green Egg for one is not tough, but it does seem like a little overkill, especially in the Lump Charcoal department. However after 3 months without having ANY BGE I just need to shut up and COOK! Maybe there is a mini BGE in my future???? If Santa is listenihng.

Tonights Dinner:
After a day of reading stuff for work, a quick trip to the Earth Day festival downtown and two naps, count them TWO naps, I thought I should get busy and think about supper. Tonight I cooked up some fresh asparagus (organic) and a .3 oz Beef Tenderloin from Missouri Legacy Beef I picked up at the Farmers Market here in Columbia Saturday morning. After first arriving and seeing the NO DOGS ALLOWED sign I almost turned around (I had both my dogs with me). After walking them around for a half hour I put them in the car and jogged to the market to get a steak, a cherry pie and the asparagus (and yes, it was cool and the windows were down about 6 inches).

Preparation and cooking:

1. Bring Tenderloin to Room Temperature and rub on BAD BYRON's BUTT RUB...let marinate while you fire up the Big Green Egg and bring it up to T Rex temperatures.

2. Washed up the asparagus, trimmed the butt ends and sprayed the bamboo steamer with olive oil (keeps bamboo from taking on the smell of the food you cook).
3. Sprayed the asparagus and coated it with garlic and parsley (ground).
4. Fired up the egg and brought three (3) cups of water to a boil and placed the steamer on the wok for 15 minutes.
5. Wrapped my twice baked potato (store bought and NOT organic, ha) in foil and placed it on the second layer of the bamboo steamer.
6. Removed the steamer and seared the Tenderloin on both sides (about 1 minute and 30 seconds a side) and removed it for 10 minutes.
7. Finished the steaming of the asparagus for another 10 minutes then plopped the tenderloin back on the t rex hot grill for 2 minutes a side and DONE!

KEEP ON EGGIN'

Big Green Egg Table Upgrade

Just finished my Cedar Handle for the Large Green Egg. I've been putting off this project for awhile but decided to get off my back side and do something special for myself.

Big Green Egg PLANTER BOX

Worlds most expensive garden planter box...the base from my cracked Large Egg is now the home of my green pepper garden.

Organic Lump Charcoal

I would LOVE to have some of this LUMP...wonder what shipping from that part of the world would cost? Ouch. http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/

Produced close to Graig Farm on the English/Welsh border, their charcoal is produced by an independent producer, Woz Young, who works alone to produce high quality, sustainable hardwood charcoal.

It is produced with materials sourced from sustainably managed woodlands. These hard woods are produced by the practice of coppicing (cutting stems on a 10-15 year cycle), thinnings (removal of poor quality stems in a stand), and 'Lop and Top' (waste material from mature felled timber).

Small diameter materials are preferred. These are then slow cooked in situ in large steel bins for 24-36 hours, removing all moisture and volatile gasses from the wood, leaving its basic carbon structure - charcoal.
The charcoal relights and burns well at far greater temperatures than the original wood and without the smoke. It also weighs 1/6th of the weight of the wood.

Charcoal can be used for a variety of purposes, including drawing, dying, smelting metals and water purification and improving the quality of our local native woodlands.

Big Green Egg Table Project Update

...okay I know, everyone has these on their table. Unfortunately I couldn't think of anything original so I jumped in with both feet!. I 'think' the table is all done now.

Big Green Egg Table Project - All Done!

Pic's not previously posted of the final touches.

Day 2 - ALL DONE (p.s. Never try to catch an egg when it falls off your new table)

All done, 30 hours after the first trip to Lowes...and one cracked egg and a trip to the Grill Store to order a new bottom bowl; nothing some JB Weld won't temporarily fix until it arrives.

Feast your eyes on this!

Big Green Egg Table Project DAY 2 (A.M. entry-Stay tuned!)

I used 'Scoop' (our 30+ pound cat) to test the table top strength after my midnight deck staining had dried and I had moved the cart into place.

Next up was the 'test fit' of the Large BGE-Success!

Not it's back to Lowes to get the tiles that I am having cut so I can put in the ceramic top today...I've got to get that thing a cookin' by suppertime!

Big Green Egg Table Project DAY 1

My soon to be BGE table!!!

Noon today and 7 PM tonight!