It seems like any time I pick up a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips at the store I end up unhappy. Some are way, way, way too salt and vinegar-y. You know, open the bag, breathe in, pass out. Others, I swear the bag was mis-labelled because I don’t get even a hint of salt and vinegar. The solution? Quick fix chips that have just the right amount of salt, and just the right amount of vinegar! Score!
Use Ruffled Chips For Maximum Yumminess
I prefer wavy ruffled chips for my quick fix salt and vinegar potato chips. First, they’re thick, so they hold up to any tossing required to get the seasoning evenly spread on each and every chip. Second, they have ridges that hold more seasoning than plain old flat chips. That means great flavor in each and every bite!
Of course, you can make homemade potato chips in a deep-fryer and then toss them in the seasoning too! Just don’t over-drain the chips as they come out of the hot oil or the flavors won’t have anything to adhere to. Make sure you get them good and coated.
Franch dressing is more proof that sometimes easy is best. Sure, I could’ve made some French dressing from scratch. And I could’ve made some Ranch dressing from scratch. But hey, it was a busy weeknight and I wanted something a little different. So out came the bottled dressings. Boom, done. And what a delicious combination the two make! Quick fix Franch dressing is way better than just French and just Ranch dressings.
The Perfect Combination
I used a creamy French dressing and a buttermilk Ranch dressing when I made quick fix Franch dressing. You could also use a sweet French dressing, but to offset the sweetness you might want to then use a spicy Ranch or even Buffalo Ranch.
Check out my new site, Dress My Salad, for more great salad dressing ideas!
Who doesn’t keep a bag or two (or more) of frozen fries on hand at all times? Yep, easiest side dish in the world, ready in no time. But no reason for them to be boring. That’s where these quick fix herbed fries come in handy. Same fries, just amped up a bit with a few always-on-hand seasonings. Nothing fru-fru, nothing fancy. Just a nice different flavor.
For The Best Results, Deep-Fry Them!
I actually prefer to deep fry my frozen fries, when I can. They definitely crisp up better when fried. I can still make quick fix herbed fries. Instead of seasoning the fries before cooking, just toss them in the spice mixture right out of the deep fryer.
The Presto Fry Daddy is perfect for making smaller batches of food. It only uses a few cups of oil and comes to temperature quickly. Clean-up is easy too!
Who doesn’t keep a bag or two (or more) of frozen fries on hand at all times? Yep, easiest side dish in the world, ready in no time. But no reason for them to be boring.
I love baked potatoes. As a side dish or as a main, there’s a million ways to top them. But for me, there’s only one way to cook them: baked to a perfect 210 F internal temperature. These perfect grilled baked potatoes are guaranteed to be fluffy and delicious. Sometimes I make them in the oven. And sometimes I make them on my grill. Gas or charcoal, it doesn’t matter, you can make great potatoes on either one.
Do You Need Potato Nails?
You might notice a little something poking out of the middle of my perfect grilled baked potatoes. Those are potato nails. Yes. Potato nails. They direct heat into the center of the potatoes so that they cook more evenly. They’re available from Weber on Amazon. They’re not required, but they work and they’re cool. And they come with a little tool for removing them because trust me, you don’t want to forget and grab them with your hands!
Sometimes I make baked potatoes in the oven. And sometimes I make them on my grill. Gas or charcoal, it doesn’t matter, you can make great potatoes on either one.
Fire up your grill for indirect cooking. You want the temperature at the grates to be 350-400 F.
Rinse off the potatoes and pat dry.
Use a knife to poke 3-4 holes in the tops of the potatoes, going about 1/2 of the way into the potato.
If you're using potato nails insert them now.
Drizzle the potatoes with just a bit of oil. Use your hand to rub the oil all over the potato. If you don't want to get your hands oily just use a brush.
Sprinkle the potatoes with salt. Don't be shy with it and make sure you get all sides.
Transfer the potatoes to the grill and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If you're not sure how consistent or high your grill temperature is, I recommend checking them after 45 minutes.
Once the potatoes have reached an internal temperature around 210 F they are done. If the potatoes are different sizes you'll want to check the temperature in more than one place.
Remove and let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
At 210 F the potatoes are done. A degree or two isn’t going to make a big difference so don’t fret if you’re just ‘close’.
To say I’m a huge fan of ‘fried’ chicken using a Vortex BBQ insert would be the understatement of the decade. I have several Vortexes (Vortices?), using them for everything from wings to potato wedges to this hot stuff chicken. This hot stuff chicken using the Vortex is easily some of the most flavor-packed, crunchy skin, moist chicken I’ve ever had. You just cannot beat the Vortex and chicken (and other things!). You’ll be amazed that this dish was cooked on a grill using charcoal and not done in a deep-fryer.
Nice ‘N Crispy
Whenever I cook this hot stuff chicken using the Vortex I always give it a quick, light brushing of oil just at the end. This helps crisp up the skin. Some folks also recommend using spray duck fat or oil. Or butter. Whichever you use, it’s a good thing to do since it really makes great chicken into superb fried-like chicken. I brushed it on about 5 minutes before my hot stuff chicken was completely done and let it finish cooking. That’s all!
PS: If you have duck fat spray, I highly recommend using it any time you make chicken on the Vortex. It’s a real game changer.
Oftentimes, it’s the simple recipes that taste the best. These grilled potatoes with onion and garlic are proof of that. You can throw this together for two people, six people or even twenty people in no time. It’s the perfect side dish for anything grilled, from burgers to hot dogs to chicken, you name it. No need to mess with this recipe, just make it and enjoy.
Simply Fantastic
These grilled potatoes with onion and garlic remind me of the days when I would go camping. I’d be lakeside, somewhere, trying to catch fish, and often without any luck. I didn’t worry, though, because I always had some hot dogs or burgers in the cooler, waiting for a hot grill. Back then it was park grill, today it’d be my portable Weber. I’d pre-make packets of these potatoes and toss them on too. In no time, I was enjoying a great meal in the great outdoors. You can’t beat that. It didn’t matter whether I caught any fish or not.
My wife proclaimed these sous vide then grilled shrimp with spicy lime butter to be the best shrimp I’ve ever made. I was shocked. No, not because these aren’t fantastic shrimp. They are fantastic shrimp. No, I was shocked because I have made literally 100s of shrimp variations. Almost all were great. So it’s saying something when these rocketed to the top of her list. And I have to agree. The perfect combination of citrus and garlic and a touch of heat, these truly are great shrimp! And easy to make to boot!
Grilling Is Preferred, But Not Required
You don’t have to have a grill to finish off these sous vide spicy lime butter shrimp. Just get a skillet (cast iron works best) nice and hot and toss the shrimp in. Cook for 30 seconds per side and remove immediately. No, you won’t get that wonderful grill flavor, but you’ll get that nice little crust on the shrimp, and that’s still great stuff!
I use an Anova sous vide cooker. It’s my immersion circulator workhorse!
A grill basket makes grilling these shrimp much easier. And clean-up is much easier, too! I use a heavy-duty basket that has lasted me for years. I have a big one for jobs like this, and a smaller version for when it’s just the two of us.
For years and years I’ve seen TV chefs and restaurant cooks making spaghetti sauce from scratch. And yet for some reason, I never did it… until now. This fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce blew me away. Not only is it easy to make (with ingredients I almost always have in my pantry and fridge) it tastes absolutely amazing. I’ll never have any other pasta sauce again. Ever.
Fantastically Easy And Tasty
You can make this fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce without adding either the meatballs or Italian sausage and it’s still out-of-this-world great. I happen to like them, so I added them. This is a great pantry sauce and one I’ll make again and again, and the meat can be optional.
Make sure you get the best canned whole tomatoes your store has to offer. They won’t be cheap, but trust me, the difference in taste and consistency is worth the few extra bucks.
This fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce blew me away. Not only is it easy to make (with ingredients I almost always have in my pantry and fridge) it tastes absolutely amazing.
They’re not anything fancy. Heck, you might even consider them to be ‘kids’ food. But for some reason I really, really enjoyed these easy French onion burgers. I made mine on the grill, but you can just as easily make them on the stovetop. Think of them as French dip burgers in a way. The patties soak up some of that French onion yumminess. And just in case you want more, there’s a little bowl of more French onion on the side for dippin’. And I did a lot of dippin’, I tell ya!
The Key To These Burgers Is…
The key to these easy French onion burgers is to not overcook the patties before they go into the soup to ‘finish’. Get them close to done, then remove them and let them go for a soupy swim to soak up all that great oniony flavor. The patties will come out juicy, dripping good stuff, ready to devour!
Fire up your grill for direct cooking 400 – 450 F.
Pour the soup into a pan and place on the grill near the direct heat so it begins to warm.
Grill burgers as desired but do not cook completely. When they reach around 140 F remove from the direct heat and transfer to the hot French onion soup.
Continue cooking the burgers in the soup until they reach 165 F.
Remove the patties and place on the bun bottoms.
Top with cheese and bun tops.
Serve with soup on the side for dipping, if desired.
On the stovetop
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the burgers and cook on both sides until medium rare, around 140 F.
Spoon out any fat from the skillet and stir in the soup.
Continue to cook the burgers in the hot soup until they reach 165 F, another 5-10 minutes.
Remove the patties and place on the bun bottoms.
Top with cheese and bun tops.
Serve with soup on the side for dipping, if desired.
Notes
Like like to serve these like French dip sandwiches. Just dip in the soup and get to eatin’!
I love my Kettle Pizza grill attachment. But I am by no means an expert at using it. I have, however, come up with a simple technique for using it that produces great pizza each and every time. Some day I aspire to be a pizza aficionado, baking completely scratch-made pizza after pizza without a single mistake. Until then, I prefer my easier method that still produces absolutely fantastic pizza with a crunchy crust and hot, bubbly, melted cheese.
I Was Dough-Challenged
When I first started making pizzas using the KettlePizza I ran into two obstacles. First, my homemade dough had too much moisture in it and it liked to stick to my pan or stone. A lot. Second, my heat was not even or didn’t last long enough for more than a few pizzas.
There are plenty of great dough recipes out there (Matt Frampton’s for instance) if you want to make your own. I prefer to use store-bought frozen (Tiseo’s brand), for now at least. I’ve never had anything but success with it. I can make a big batch of pizzas at once with no fuss at all. Each and every one comes out as good as the last. The dough is also great for making bread sticks.
Pizza Pans
I’ve tried pizza screens and cooking directly on the pizza stone, with some success but I’ve found the most success using pizza pans. I have 5 pans so I can pre-make several pizzas. I oil the pans very lightly by pouring olive oil onto a paper towel then wiping it around the pan. And I also sprinkle the pan with a light coating of cornmeal, as if I was cooking directly on a stone. I’ve never had a pizza stick with this technique. Well, the dough doesn’t stick. Cheese that melts and runs over the sides will stick to the pan. It’s going to happen, but it’s not the end of the world.
Arranging The Coals
My fire arrangement now is simple: make a horseshoe-shaped pile of unlit coals around the grill, but not underneath the tombstone-shaped stone. I then add lit charcoal on top of that, and then wood chunks. If the temperature drops too far I’ll add more fist-sized wood chunks around the edges and in the basket that comes with the Kettle Pizza. I use long tongs to add the wood so that it doesn’t fall beneath the stone. I press it lightly into the piles of charcoal to make sure it doesn’t roll off.
If you’re serious about making pizza on your 22″ charcoal grill, get the “Serious Eats” kit from Kettle Pizza. You can also make calzones on a Kettle Pizza in no time!
Place the dough in the fridge and let defrost overnight.
Two hours before cook time, remove the dough from the fridge and place on the countertop to come to room temperature.
I prefer to assemble my pizzas while the charcoal is getting hot. You can also make them ahead of time and keep at room temperature until ready to cook.
Place 1/2 chimney of unlit charcoal around the back of your grill in the shape of a horseshoe, with the open part towards the front of the grill.
Light another 1/2 chimney of charcoal. This is when I assemble my pizzas as it can take 20-30 minutes for the charcoal to get hot.
To make the pizza, lightly dust a flat surface with flour. Using your hands, shape the dough as desired. Try to not overwork the dough, and do not use a rolling pin.
Add sauce and toppings as desired.
Lightly oil a pizza pan. Yes, you can make the pizza directly on the stone but I've had more luck with a pan. You can read more about that in the recipe text in my post.
Lightly sprinkle the pan with cornmeal.
Slide the pizza onto the pan.
Once the charcoal is ashed over pour it over the unlit coals. Add 3-4 fist-sized wood chunks around the edges (I use tongs to keep them from falling beneath the stone) and a few good chunks in the charcoal basket. Add the KettlePizza grate and stone. Add the grill cover.
Let the stone get good and hot. Usually I let it go to around 600 F.
Transfer the pan to the grill. Bake for 5 minutes then spin the pan 90 degrees. Keep baking/spinning every minute or so until the pizza is done to your liking.
You can cook 3-4 pizzas without adding more wood or charcoal. If you do add fuel let it burn a while before adding more pizzas.
Let the pizza rest a few minutes before slicing.
Notes
These instructions are for the Kettle Pizza Tombstone-shaped baking stone. The same approach should apply when just using a round stone, but I have not tried it.
