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Blueberry Pie

With a pie like this, I don't think anyone can call my patriotism into question.

Grilling on the Beach

Here's my man Rob showing off his fine laid back beach grilling form. It's a simple fact - food tastes better if you apply flame to it nearby a body of water. This is San Onofre State Beach, one of the few So Cal parks that supply fire pits. A word to the wise - they are seriously cracking down on open containers - so keep the Jesus juice in the car and pour it into a different bottle before enjoying. Iced tea or long island iced tea? You decide.

Braised Cock-a-Leekie

My wife and I (did I mention that Lady Friend Grind and I are now legit?) are back in London once again, and living on the cheap -- a financial-geographic situation that has lead to an increase in experimentation with simple, good, inexpensive new dishes. Today I knocked one out of the park with a little something I call "braised cock-a-leekie." CLICK THROUGH for the rundown.

MARKET REPORT: Santa Monica

It's one of those funky periods at the Virginia Park market. The tomatoes are not quite there yet, and a few winter vegetables are still hanging around. I did score a bunch of these squash blossoms for $5 a pound. These are for more than just stuffing with goat cheese and frying, amigos - feel free to chop them up and add to your pasta primavera, or throw them into a fritatta. On a side note, here's a brilliant send up of farmer's market culture, courtesy of my buddy Juanus.

Ropa Vieja

In answer to Wonderwood's query (yeah, give me a break: it was days ago, but Mean Willie's been crossing oceans in the meantime), this here is what happened to that celebratory flank steak.

Grilled Veggies

If you're gonna do it, do it right! Oil them up, cook two minutes a side over the hottest coals to get your grill marks, then five to ten off the direct heat to finish. Julia Child famously complained the grilled veggies were "burnt and raw at the same time" Let's honor her memory by avoiding that less-than-tasty scenario.

Breakfast of Campers

Last weekend, wonderwife and I hit the trail with 7 of our closest friends for a camping stint in Sequoia National Park. As you can see from Brett's skills on the camp stove, we were more or less glamping (glamour + camping = glamping). But hey, if you've got to sleep on the ground, you might as well eat like a king.

The Great Chicken Roast-Off of 2008

So my friend Lucy and I have been talking smack about our respective chicken-roasting skills for the good part of a year now. Most of this has been idle school-yard chatter, but just last week, Lucy threw down the gantlet. Not one to shy away from a culinary rumble, Mean Willie picked it up.

Obama!

We here at Grindbros are big fans of Barack. It's high time, I think, that we had a signature cocktail to aid in the celebration. My brother is the mixologist in the family, so I offer Wonderwood the following challenge: if I came up to you and asked for an "Obama," what would you mix up?

Sandwich Bread

As I talk about over here, one of the best features of the new bread dough is its amazing malleability. Another of the new tricks I've worked up is making a loaf that's perfectly 2-sandwich-sized all on its own. They key here is in flattening out the loaf so that you can split it in half lengthwise after you cut it through the middle, and put your sandwich stuffings in between. I've been doing this -- no joke -- with a meat tenderizer. I pound that shit flat flat flat, let it rise for maybe 30 min, and bake it up. And so a sandwich is born. (The specimen above was made from a dough that was 5 cups white flour, 1 1/2 whole wheat).