Now the fun begins...

Pictured below in the group picture of Robbie, myself, Evan, and Mark and (I'm sorry) I for the life of me can't remember the fifth gentleman's name. I met so many new people this year and I was so focused on what I was doing that I forgot some names (my bad) so I owe an apology to them.

Sorry guys...I'll do better next year with remembering names.

But, back to my original reason for this post. Do you realize (as well as myself) that I am standing beside probably one of the most famous men from New York?

Evan Lobel and his brother Mark. So I would be standing beside two of the most famous men from New York. Lobel's of New York is one of our many fine Sponsors that helps our team out every year.

I met Evan for the first time last year, and I was in awe of the man. Here I am, a total rookie (but a accomplished cook in my own right) meeting the man I had read about in many magazines.

And what I had heard about Lobel's, their stature and skills was enough in it self, but to actually meet the man...me...just a plain old southern country boy trying to learn a thing or two.

I watched Evan as he worked his magic (I stayed out of his way) afterwards I asked him some questions about what he did. Did he look at me like...who the hell are you? No...He talked to me about everything, this busy man, took the time, his time, to answer all my questions. The man gained my utmost respect that day.

As he watched me work and saw my passion for wanting to learn barbecue, I began to earn his respect, and by the time it was all over, we were friends.

Now...we are good friends, he knows my loyalty to Carey can never be questioned, I'm all about this team doing the very best we can do and all about having fun too. We bust our butts all week doing what we love to do...that's cooking baby.

So...here I am standing beside one of the most well known men in New York when it comes to beef.

But...that may work two ways. After last night, doing my grilled hot wings on the Weber, they looked awesome... no blip in appearance what- so- ever...these babies were perfect in every way.

So next year when I bring the Weber to Memphis in May for the Hot Wings contest, Evan may be standing next to the most famous man from Tennessee...

After last night...

I will be World Champion in Hot Wings next year.

So Evan, I saved that cigar you gave me this year, we will fire it up next year when you take first place in beef and I take first place for wings. And if we break the top five for shoulders, I'll buy the beer to go along with that fine cigar.

Peg Leg Porkers will be Grand Champions, just wait and see...

B.D.

Weekend Report...

Yesterday, was a long day. We had to do our tour of duty at the concession stand at the ball park. I cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries, while Julie looked pretty and ran the cash register.

Then, we had to go to Robyn's dance recital that afternoon. So...it was a long day yesterday.

Today, We're going over to the in-laws for a pool party. I'm going to fix some of my 7th place championship grilled hot wings. My brother in-law is doing some ribs & chicken.

We will partake in a few cold ones & have some fine eatin'. I emailed Henry to let him know how we did in Memphis. He wanted to know if I had bought the cooker (Lang) yet and if I did the wings on it.

No, not yet & no...

I haven't bought the Lang yet...I did the wings on a little $58 grill from Wally World. (Wal-mart)

What can I say?

But returning home, I have bought two Weber kettle grills that I will take next year. As for the Wally World grill... it served me well and I have retired it.

So...

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

Remember our brave men & women that have fought for us...and remember those whom still fight for us everyday. Keep all these fine men & women in your prayers.

Enjoy your day and be safe!!!

Life is good...

Beer is better...

B.D.

Long Weekend...

Enjoy your Day!!!

B.D.

This & That...

Carey's Sauce & Rub

Robbie, myself, Evan Lobel, Mark Lobel, and friends

Pat Martin

B.D. having fun. (last year in Florida)

Enjoy your day!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

B.D.

A Little R & R...

Well...

We have all returned to our families after our great adventure in Memphis. This Team really came together this year. We worked our butts off to get where we finished this year. Also...

We have the best Sponsors that any team could ask for. Lobel's of New York, Master Graphics, Woodsmoke Provisions and Jim Beam Black. These guys are great. But you know what impressed me the most?

Robbie Lunday of Master Graphics...(1st man on the left)

He designs and supplies your team shirts and hats. This is his contribution to our team.

Dude is a sponsor...and what does he do?

He jumps up on the rig and washes bowls, pots, pans, knives, whatever is used...and he does this all day long and never complains.

Now... let this soak in for a moment. A Sponsor...people that aren't supposed to get dirty and do grunt work.

Every Sponsor we have...will do anything, and I mean anything, including washing dishes if that is what it takes to help this team out.

Thanks Robbie...

That's why I'll order my shirts from you...

You do one hell of a job...

B.D.

Home Sweet Home...

Oh man, it is great to be back home.
OK...here's the low down...

We, as a team, took 18th place in the Pork Shoulder Competition. Last year we finished 26th. That reminds me of the song "We're moving on up..." hey...that might be our theme song for next year.

I entered the Hot Wing Competition for the team for the first time...How did I do? I came in 7th...out of 96 entries in this division. "My" very first entry into any competition of this nature. Am I happy with that? You bet your ever-loving-sweet-cold-beer I am. Woo-Hoo!!! That is awesome...I'm very happy with that.

So...all is well, even though I am wore out, but that's great, we did one heck of a job this year.

The picture above is of, from left to right, top...John, myself and Pat. Below us are, Team Captains Carey and Dave. I will post some pictures later...
For now...I need some rest and time with my family...

B.D.

Update from Memphis (Part II)

Here's the latest update: B.D. said things were going good until Tuesday afternoon when it started to rain and everybody just about got washed out of their shorts. So they wound up having to leave and not getting much done on Tuesday.

Wednesday when the guys got down to the park, they walked into a big ol' mud hole but it wouldn't be Memphis in May without a little bit of rain. But the guys have good weather the rest of the week so everything is drying out.

B.D. did a test run on the hot wings yesterday and let the guys check 'em out and give their opinion and everybody said that they were the best hot wings they ever had. They were just right. (Hopefully he's got a real winner.)

They cooked some ribs last night and put some Boston butts on at about 10 o'clock last night. They've been on the cooker all night. The cooker's doing real good, holding a good temperature. Everything's going according to planned.

The guys are getting geared up getting ready to put the competition shoulders on for this weekend.

B.D. forgot to mention about Pat Martin being on the team. Pat Martin is the owner and pitmaster of Martin's Dixieland Bar-B-Que in Nolensville, TN. Pat's had great reviews about his restaurant and everybody says he has great "Q". B.D. really likes Pat. He's a real down to earth, tell it like it is, good ol' country boy. So, B.D. says when ever you get a chance, go check out Pat's place.

Besides that everything else is going good and the guys are pumped and ready to go. We hope everybody wishes them luck.

B.D. hasn't taken any pictures yet because they've been so busy getting caught up. But he will as soon as they get a break in action.

B.D. misses everybody and wants to tell all of his faithful readers "Hello."

I'll update you later on and let you know how the guys are coming along.

Enjoy your day!

Mrs. B.D.

Update from Memphis

Just to let all the readers and fans of Macdaddy's Grill know what's happening in Memphis from B.D. They left Sunday afternoon and got down to Tom Lee Park and unloaded the cooker and pretty much got everything set up and ready to go.

They made a supply run yesterday and their gonna make another one today. They should be ready to start cooking by tomorrow morning.

B.D. says the weather is great there, a little hot, but they have a chance of rain coming in late this afternoon and maybe tomorrow. That won't dampen their spirits any because the forecast for the rest of the week for the competition itself looks great.

B.D. says the guys can't wait to get started. The team believes they've got a good product and a good setup this year. So hopefully they can break into the top 10 this year in the shoulder competition. (last year they placed 26th out of 75 teams)

B.D.'s gonna fix some hot wings for the guys tomorrow and do a final test run and get their opinion and what they think about them. So cross your fingers and hopefully he'll come in the top 3.

That's all for now. We'll update again as soon as we can and let you know when the guys start cooking. All of us here at The Grill have our fingers crossed and wish the guys luck.

Enjoy your day!!!

Mrs. B.D.

Weekend Report...

Well, it's time for me to get packed up and ready to leave for Memphis.

Julie, will post for me here so we can keep you updated on what's going on. I'll take my camera again this year, and I will take pictures when time allows me a break from the nonstop action.

We set sail in the morning, so I'll say 'Happy Mother's Day' to all now.

And to the gals that aren't moms, we still love you too. So have a great day!!!

Alright...I'm off to see the wizard...

Enjoy your day!!!
B.D.

Simply Thursday...

Let me get caught up here...

I cut the grass.
Planted the tomato plants.
Arranged some flowers outside the house.
Went to the doctor for some test.
Have to go back to the doctor today for more test.
Got the oil changed in the truck.
Changed the battery in the truck.
Washed the truck.
Still have to clean out the inside of the truck.
Drank some beer.
Drank some more beer.
Getting some stuff ready for Memphis.
Go to a T-ball game this afternoon.
Go to another T-ball game tomorrow afternoon.
Come home.
Drink some beer.
Drink some more beer.

That should, just about cover it on catching up...

Enjoy your day!!!

I'm off to be poked & prodded some more...

B.D.

Wordless Wednesday...

Oh yeah babe...

B.D.

Music to read by...

As some of you may have noticed, I change music venues from time to time. I think this one is here to stay. I have a lot more options with this play list.

Now... some tell me they can't hear the music because they have dial up for their Internet access. I don't think there is anything I can do about that...sorry, that's out of my hands.

What I have set up now, are some great tunes. You can minimize my page and surf somewhere else as you listen to the tunes. Also...you don't have to listen to them in order of the play list.

You can click on the player at the bottom of the page and play any song you want, or you can just turn it off. I have the capacity to list 75 songs...just haven't got that far yet.

I will change the mix from time to time...but I will try to find music that everybody likes.

So...

We bought some Tomato plants today, so I might plant them tomorrow after I get back from the doctor.

B.D. is anything wrong?

No...I just have to have my heart checked and be poked and prodded by the good doctor.

All is well...I hope...

B.D.

Weekend Report...

It has never rained as much at this house the whole time we have lived here, as it did Friday night and Saturday. My grass will be 2 feet high before it dries out enough to cut...

The hard freeze we had awhile back, after having days in the 80's, may have killed my Japanese Bloodworth Maple tree, I hope not...these things ain't cheap. It's just a wait and see.

Sweetie, senses something is going on...I think she knows I'm fixing to leave for Memphis. She is following me around like the Secret Service. I can't be out of her field of vision for one nanosecond before she comes looking for me.

Julie said, Sweetie was down in the mouth the whole time I was gone yesterday helping the guys sell barbecue at a Radnor Lake fund raiser.

Good crowd... good young talent playing Blue Grass music, the Park Rangers helping out, it was a good experience in dealing with the public from a paying for food stand point. Anyway...

I got home just a little bit after 11:00pm and Sweetie perked up then. Yes, my ever faithful bodyguard is right beside me, right now, as I type these annals of my adventures for all to read.

Speaking of food and Memphis...which is the week after this upcoming week, we are ready to do our thing.

I have done test runs on the grilled hot wings, tweaked the sauce recipe just a tad and I am highly satisfied with the end results. Now...if I can do this in Memphis...I should win or at least, place in the top five.

The barbecue...we do as a team. The team will help me in anyway they can for the wings, but ultimately...it's up to me.

It's my recipe, my challenge, my job, my place... to stand or stumble...

B.D.

Cinco De hold the Mayo...

Happy "Cinco De Mayo"

B.D.

Ketchup factoids

In 1896, Scientific American magazine names ketchup "America's Favorite Condiment."

In 1927, Heinz markets the first bottles of ketchup, selling for 10 cents apiece.

The world's largest ketchup bottle -- 170 feet -- is located in Collinsville, Ill. where it is the town's water tower.

Ketchup leaves the glass bottle at 25 miles per hour.

Heinz produces 291,000 gallons of ketchup per day, 400 million bottles per year and 16 billion single-serve packages per year..

From Heinz North America

A ketchup time line

Earlier: Ketchups imported into Britain, mostly from "East-India'' (now Indonesia)

1727: First known English-language recipe for "English Katchop" published in "E. Smith's Compleat Housewife, or, Accomplished Gentlewoman's Companion." It contained anchovies, shallots, vinegar, wine and spices such as mace, ginger, cloves, peppers, nutmeg, lemon peel and horseradish. "Mushroom liquid" was optional.

1732: First appearance in English of a Southeast Asian ketchup recipe based on kidney beans (as a substitute for soybeans), from Sumatra, settled by the British in 1684.

1742: England's "Compleat Housewife" cookbook is published in North America.

1743: "Kitchup" is declared a kitchen staple in a British housekeeper's guide. Fish, mushroom and walnut emerge as the three main ketchups.

1795: Manuscripts for American cookbooks include walnut and mushroom ketchups, but also tomato ketchup. One of them, from Mrs. Michell, called for love apples to be layered with salt, allspice, mace and whole pepper, then boiled, sieved, cooled and pounded.

1812: First published American tomato ketchup of unstrained tomato pulp with spices -- more like tomato sauce.

1817: Criticism of commercial ketchup voiced by cookbook author Dr. William Kitchiner. His book, "Apicius Redivivus, or, the Cook's Oracle," included 11 ketchup recipes, including two each for mushroom, walnut and tomato ketchups, and one each for cucumber, oyster and cockles and mussels ketchups.

1829: New Englander Lydia Child opines that the best sort of ketchup is made from tomatoes. She uses it in beef soup, fricasseed chicken and fish chowder.

1830: Commercial bottling operations for ketchup begin in Boston, Baltimore and New York. Ketchup is bottled about 10 years later.

1850s: Sugar appears as an ingredient in tomato ketchup recipes.

1855: Anderson Preserve Co. incorporates and sells Boston Market Catsup throughout the United States.

1869: Henry J. Heinz partners with L.C. Noble to form Heinz & Noble in Sharpsburg, Pa., selling fruit and vegetable preserves.

1882: Heinz begins patenting ketchup bottles.

1888: H.J. Heinz Co. forms manufacturing operations in the United States and other countries.

1896: H.J. Heinz has agencies in London, Antwerp, Sydney and Bermuda.

1904: Homemade ketchup takes a dive. Survey shows only one-sixth of respondents ate homemade ketchup.

1940: Ketchup recipes all but disappear from cookbooks.

Info from "Pure Ketchup"

Simply Thursday...

It's almost time...

B.D.

The Reason for the Rant...

The reason for the rant on i think of you as... is I hate stupid people.

I don't know what makes people think they have the god given right to do 25 to 30 miles over the posted speed limit. I mean...what's your problem?

Are you in that much of a hurry?

Then quit your day job...

People do not show any respect for on coming traffic, this is my spot...screw you.

Then... there is the shopping cart thing...

I have dents and marks on my truck because people are too lazy to put the damn shopping cart in the rack. And I'm not talking about people that are 70, 80 or 90 years old. If you are that old...hell I'll put the cart up for you, I don't mind.

What I do mind, is people, that are perfectly healthy, but are just lazy. They leave the cart beside your car, stick them on the curb, or because it's raining, (I love that one) because they don't want to walk to the cart rack.

I was at a store and saw a women push her cart up to the curb.

Where was the cart rack?
Not 3 ft. away from where she parked.

So I said something to her, and I was not cruel in my saying anything to her. I said "please don't do that, it might roll down and hit someone's car." Her response to me?

"Oh...my stomach hurts, I can't take it to the cart rack." (3 ft. away and you can't walk that far?) After that...she ran like hell...

If someone left their cart parked up against her door, she would be raising hell, I bet.

People show no respect for anything or anyone anymore...

That is what pisses me off...stupid people that think they own the world.

B.D.