No?

Well, I think you’re missing out. Check it out . . .

Yes, siree. Our friends at SteakBrands.com have found a way to get our favorite cuts of meat in on the pigskin action.

Freaked out a little? Wait ’til you see the NASCAR brands. And the one that says “Road Kill.”

Nice.

Go here to see all your branding choices for your next cookout.

Photo courtesy of SteakBrands.com

Say you’re looking to serve something other than potatoes with your juicy, tender steak tonight. Then, say you’re up for something quite different than your ordinary fare.

This just might be what you’re looking for. It’s fresh. It’s peachy. It’s cheesy.

Try it!

Italian Grilled Peaches
Serves 4

2/3 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar
3 T sugar
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 large peaches, unpeeled, halved and pitted
2 to 3 oz Gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled
2 T mascarpone cheese, for garnish

In a small, non-reactive saucepan, combine the balsamic vinegar, sugar and pepper, and simmer until reduced by half and thick enough to use as a glaze.  Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat grill to medium-high, 350º to 400º.  Place peach halves on the grill, cut side down, and grill 5 minutes, or until flesh is slightly charred. Brush the rounded tops of the peaches with the glaze, and cook 1 to 2 minutes.  Flip peaches, brush the cut sides with glaze and grill an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer peaches to 4 individual serving dishes, and spoon any remaining glaze over the tops. Sprinkle each serving with an equal amount of Gorgonzola and place a small dollop of mascarpone on the side.

This weekend we went to visit some friends and, once again, tried to enjoy our alma mater’s attempt at football.

Lo and behold – we won!

We think this had something to do with it . . .

Or, the fact that we were not the hosts.

Either way, we’ve become very superstitious and we’ve decided that we must now camp out in our friends’ living room for the rest of football season . . . wearing the same clothes.

And, of course, we’ll expect the same meal of filets and ribeyes to be served as well.

We’re taking one for the team.

Just go with it.

Good Monday to you! Here’s a great way to start your week off right . . . a recipe for a sumptuous prime rib with cherry glaze.

Can’t you just see the colors in the cherries and smell the aroma of the garlic and prime rib?

Oh, it’s making me hungry.

Try this one and your family will rave for days.

Mt. Morency Cherry Glazed Prime Rib
(serves six to eight)

1 5 lb. Prime Rib Roast
3 cups Beef Stock
3 Cups Dry Sherry
1 Cup Dried Mt. Morency Cherries
1 Shallot Minced
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1 Cup Honey
2 Tbsp. Sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp. neutral oil, like canola
Salt and Pepper

Sweat the shallot and garlic in the oil and add two cups of the sherry and the cherries.  Reduce by half and add two cups of the beef stock and reduce by half.  Strain out the cherries, shallot and garlic and discard.  Bring the liquid back to a boil and add the honey and vinegar and reduce by half.  Season to taste, it should be both salty and sweet.  Using a pastry brush or basting brush, apply the glaze liberally over the roast and cook in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 250 and continue cooking until an internal read thermometer reads 130 degrees, about two hours.  Remove the roast from the oven and let rest 30 minutes before slicing.  Degrease the pan, reserving the liquid and deglaze the pan over high heat with the remaining sherry and beef stock.  Reduce by half and add reserved drippings.

. . . a side salad that is the perfect complement to a prime rib roast, steaks — or just about any dish.

Enjoy!! And have a great weekend! Eat outside while you still can . . .

Greens and Berry Salad
Serves 4-6

1  (8 oz) pkg. mixed greens (about 8 cups)
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
2   ¼” thick slices red onion, separated into rings
1 cup fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries
1  (2 oz) pkg slivered almonds, toasted
¼ cup bottled balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard

In a large salad bowl, combine the greens, blue cheese, onion, raspberries and almonds.  In a small bowl, whisk together the salad dressing and mustard. Pour dressing over the salad and toss well.

This recipe is for a fancy-Dan prime rib that is to-die-for. It’s gently smoked and garlicky. YUM.

I have an outdoor smoker that I love. You can check out the one I have here. I have the model 1400 and I really dig it.

One thing about the recipe below and my smoker is that I don’t have to soak the wood chips in water for use in mine. You just put the wood chips directly in the wood box — sparingly. So keep that in mind depending on what kind of smoker you’re using.

And check out the selection of prime rib here. Oh, sweet juicy goodness.

Grilled, Smoked Prime Rib
(serves six to eight)

1 5 lb. Prime Rib Roast
2 Clove Garlic minced
2 Tbsp. Ancho Chile Powder
1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. Oregano
1 Tbsp. Sage
Salt and Pepper
Wood chips for smoking, such as hickory, apple or cherry

Combine the spices and garlic in a bowl with the garlic, salt and pepper and mix to combine.  Coat the Prime Rib heavily and evenly and set aside until the coals are ready.  Get coals ready for grilling and soak wood chips in water, wine or apple juice for smoking.  When the coals are extremely hot, sear the roast over the hottest part of the grill evenly on all sides.  Add the wood chips to the smoker and move meat to the coolest part of the grill.  In a flat smoker, this is farther from the firebox.  In a column smoker, this is higher up from the coals.  In a separate outdoor smoker, this is at the very bottom. The ideal smoker heat and time is 300 degrees for two hours.  If you don’t have a thermometer on your smoker, continue checking the coals and/or wood chips.  Use a meat thermometer until your roast has an internal temperature of 130 degrees.  Remove from the smoker and let rest thirty minutes before slicing.

I think our steak dinner was my husband’s favorite birthday gift this weekend. The iTunes card, shirts and Wii games did not quite live up to the allure of meat on a grill.

Hey, can you blame him?

The grill really got a workout this weekend.

We like them kinda crispy on the outside sometimes.

These babies also got the Tabasco Worcestershire sauce treatment and that stuff is just as good on steaks as it is on burgers.

Needless to say, we needed a cool glass of ice water before bed that night. We had had some spicy fare. But it was all worth it.

Now, it’s back to work and real life. No more birthdayland/long-weekend days.

But . . . there is one more steak left over in the fridge to make the weekend last just a little bit longer. I might have to arm wrestle my husband for it.

Labor Day was a happy day at our house. The burgers were smoking (literally) and we swam and played all day long.

It’s these kinds of days that we live for. We’re relaxed, the kids are having fun and everything can wait until tomorrow.

Food plays a huge part in the happiness of our household. If we’re well fed, we’re a happy bunch.

If not . . . look out.

So, there are always well-laid meal plans on days like Labor Day. We make sure that’s in place and everything else just seems to work itself out.

We had a few friends over, we discussed our alma mater’s humiliating loss this weekend in football and we mostly were thankful to be gainfully employed and living in the greatest country on the planet.

We talked about our friends in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast and how we were glad most everyone left before Gustav got there.

And in their honor, we made our burgers nice and spicy with this . . .

Holy mackerel! That’s Tabasco Worcestershire sauce on the left. Yup, it’s spicy. But we’re all about keeping our Louisiana brethren in business. It’s our little way of helping out.

Then, we took those spicy burgers and put pepperjack cheese on a few of them. Yow!

Now that’s good stuff if you like ‘em hot and spicy. If you don’t, we’ll make ‘em with something a little more tame for you. We aim to please.

We were thoroughly satisfied with our great work and we patted ourselves on the back. And this was just lunch! Tomorrow, I’ll show you what we had for dinner . . .

I hope you’re having a great Labor Day weekend. We are.

(And if you are still reading this from New Orleans — please, please go north. Like now.)

Basically, we are having a festival of meat here with our family to celebrate a little time to kick back and share the foods we love.

Yesterday we had spaghetti and meataballas with my parents and we all left quite full and satisfied.

Meat always makes everything better. And we used this ground beef with the onions already in it. I love it because it eliminates a step – and that makes me happy.

Today, we are grilling burgers for lunch and steaks for dinner. Hello, meat! Welcome to my stomach!

My husband’s birthday was this weekend and we decided to wait to celebrate it tonight when relatives are gone and kids are in bed. Peaceful. And meaty.

We can’t wait. Enjoy your Labor Day and stay safe!