happy Monday friends! 

I hope y'all had a nice weekend. I spent much of mine ( surprise) in the kitchen. 

and in front of the grill :) 

When we moved to Colorado, we were under the impression that having charcoal grills ( I'm a charcoal girl all the way) was frowned upon due to the dryness and the threat of wildfires. 

Before we moved, I gave my little sister my weber grill. ( and I happen to know that she is enjoying the heck out of it )

Scott and I have done a lot of research on which grill would be right for us. Gas, of course, is easy & quick. We also had the added benefit that we have a gas line plumbed right into our deck, so using gas would have ben very easy.

However, like I said, I am a charcoal girl.. always have been, always will be. 
When I asked my dear friend, Celia of River cat Chili her suggestion she said ' get a smoker'

about 10 times. 

In the past Scott and I had looked at the big green egg. A ceramic grill/ smoker like no other. It is designed to be used with the lid closed. The unique shape and the fact that it is ceramic , it utilizes the charcoal longer ( so it goes farther) and It basically can be used for many cooking methods. 

We started looking at gas grills once we were out here, and when we saw the egg, we started to re- think our choice. 

long story bearable, we have been the proud owners of a small green egg

I would not be exagerating one little bit if I were to tell you that I have used this 6 out of 7 nights since we brought her home.  

I have made pizza, calzones, veggies, steak ( better than steakhouse steak, since the temp of the egg can get close to 800 degrees), burgers.. I could go on and on. 

 Given that Celia kept telling me to get a smoker, I prepped myself to smoke a pork shoulder yesterday. By prepped I mean I read, and studied, and watched utube videos, and said some prayers, and set out early morning to attempt this.

( there is something very exciting about setting up and lighting a grill while still in my jammies drinking my first cup of tea. ) 

Now... I hope that I don't disappoint, but I'm not sharing a recipe or directions. ( I just made a simple rub and worked on the smoking part.. keeping the egg at 225 for the entire day)  

I just don't know enough about what I did, I just know that it came out amazing.

let me repeat

ah-maze-ing.

I went with chili- lime flavors and hickory wood chips.

My intent was to shred it for soft corn tacos, but I changed my mind. Once it was done, i wrapped the pork in aluminum foil for about 45 minutes and thought about what kind of sauce to put with it. ( this is what I will share with you)

I ran ( actually walked.. I'm loving this part of our new home) to the store  and saw a big display for Hatch peppers.

I picked a few up... after all, the sign said ' get em before they're gone'

I ended up throwing them on the grill since it was set up to smoke all day. 

So when trying to decide my sauce, I knew I wanted to incorporate them 

( btw.. they were not as spicy as the sign leads you to believe.. these were actually quite mild)  so here is what I came up with 

1 cup of orange juice
juice of 1 lime
1 chipotle pepper
3 scallions 
1 roasted Hatch pepper, seeds removed. 
( note.. I did not use the jalepeno in the end) 

add all ingredients to a blender and blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Add mixture to a sauce pan and bring to a slow simmer, allowing sauce to reduce.

The combination of flavors was crazy good. and so darn simple!  If you can't find the Hatch peppers, then try any mild pepper.  To char the pepper you can simply do it over you grill, an open fire ( like a fire pit, just like you'd roast a marshmallow) or right on top of your stove directly on the burner. 

this sauce would be great over chicken, or a dipping sauce for veggies, or a fantastic glaze for tofu.

the final dish.  The flavors were off the hook. You can see the sauce on the taco itself.  The little cup is my healthy-version of chipotle cream sauce. 
you can go to 

 http://barefootgirl27.wordpress.com/?s=greek+yogurt

for the recipe. 

I have a whole bunch of recipes lined up for you this week. 
I can promise you that this won't be the last time you will see these peppers ;) 

xooxox

Here's a few things that are helping me smile this week

my sweet pup trying to catch a fly on the back porch :) 

decorating with flowers from my yard... The Russian sage here makes me hope that the new owners' of our old house are thoroughly enjoying my  bed of it that I planted from seedlings so many years ago 

and this lone echinacea bloom from my backyard

this portable water bowl that I bought for Fenway.. best 10 bucks that I've ever spent....

it's flat and hangs on her leash, but when she needs a drink...

it pops open to become a water bowl!

the fact that I was able to 'freeze water' while playing with my camera ( this was done on purpose ;) 

and lastly.. since I've been having so much fun with my new grill, I knew I couldn't pass these flexible skewers up!!

happy weekend, friends! oxox

Folks, every now and then you come across a recipe that knocks your socks off. ( unless you are barefoot like me, then it just makes you jump a little ;) ) 

I made this dish over the weekend and Ryan ( who isn't crazy about pork) told me more than once how phenominal they were.

.. I hope that he really meant that, because I'm making them again tonight ( and you should too!)
( recipe from dave leiberman)

start by whisking together olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper and thyme leaves.  Next take a garlic clove ( not in original recipe, I added this for extra flavor) and run the whole clove on the bone of the chop on both sides

coat chops with mustard mixture, massaging into both side of pork 

next, cover the chops and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
prep onions.  I did my onion recipe on the grill. Start by peeling your onion ( I have red here, but a sweet white onion would work as well) Peel the onion, leaving the bottom in tact. Using a serated knife, cut through the onion about every 1/4 inch going one direction, then rotate half a turn and do the same on the other direction.  ( bloomin' onion style) 

next, place onion on 2 pieces of aluminum foil that are crossing each other. Drizzle 1 Tbsp each honey, balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp Olive oil.  sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap up like a big Hershey's kiss. 
 Remove the pork chops from the fridge about 30 minutes before grilling. 
light the grill to medium high heat. 
Place onion on grill ( note.. I cooked this onion on a different day, thus the burger & pepper action) 

grill pork chops until internal temp is 145. Cook the onions for about 15 minutes, or until they begin to soften. 
remove pork and onion from the grill and let rest.  

the amount of flavor in this little packet is out of control!  I have made these onions for burgers, chicken, pork.. and actually, just to snack on. so yummy! 

the picture is a little fuzzy, but there you have it!  for another great pork recipe form the past try this one...  http://barefootgirl27.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/dinner-surprise/

happy Thursday, friends!