I hope you don’t have to drag your grill out of storage in the middle of winter, as grilling is an all season experience, but if you do you’ve picked the right occasion. Just think of the benefits to grilling in this Valentine’s Day.

Less cleanup. Grilling naturally bodes well to producing minimal mess. There ain’t nothing romantic about a kitchen full of dirty dishes. Plus, who wants to spend their quality time cleaning all that up? Best of all, what mess is left can be easily left outdoors, behind the curtain if you will, while you enjoy your evening.

Keeping it fresh and light. Romantic meals should never be rich and heavy. Grilled food is less fatty, maintains more nutrients and generally doesn’t rely on starches, carbs or heavy sauces to carry it through. After all, who wants to feel weighed down when it’s your time to relax and enjoy the evening. Do I need to go further?

Simplicity. Grilling doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it shouldn’t ever be. The beauty of grilling is that it lets the ingredients shine. It maintains their integrity and natural delight. There’s no need for complex French culinary techniques. Using just a few ingredients that you both love let you skip the stress and and achieve success. Knowing and trusting your food brings out a natural passion and glow that your partner won’t help but recognize.

More quality time. One of my favorite things about grilling is the time savings. Remember, grilling is not barbecuing – its brother from another mother. Unlike the low and slow style of BBQ, grilled food cooks quickly. That means less time in the kitchen and more quality time for you and your squeeze. Maximize that time even more by doing all your prep work the day ahead.

So there you have it. Valentine’s Day plans solved. Cancel those reservations, pick up a fresh bag of charcoal, some wine and perhaps a movie. Here’s some quick tips to remember as you’re prepping for a special day.

• Perhaps your partner has a favorite meal. See if you can translate it to a grill. Just remember, keep it simple and keep it light.
• Choose ingredients that cook quickly. There’s no need to slave 12 hours over a pork butt.
• Prepare ahead of time.
• Make sure you have fuel for the fire (perhaps multiple puns intended)
• Buy lots of wine, lots.
• Don’t forget about presentation. We eat with our eyes first.
• Relax. It’s your time.

We want to know what sort of spice rubs pique your tastebuds’ interest. What would you grill or BBQ with most often?

Let your voice be heard! The first line of spice rubs shall be decided by the Grilling Addict Nation!

Vote now via our Facebook Poll!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or challah bread

Directions:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.
2. Preheat grill to 375° F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 15 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Oil the grill grates thoroughly using a towel or paper towel in between each batch of French toast. They can stick very easily.
4. Over direct medium-low heat, place bread onto the grill and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove from direct heat and place in foil over indirect heat for at least 5 minutes. Repeat with all remaining slices. Serve with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

We haven’t set up our RSS feed to make this an official podcast yet, but hopefully soon we’ll get that rockin’!

The show has been a blast, but the limited time always leaves us with stuff we wanted to talk about but never got a chance. Starting this week, Joe and I are continuing the talk through an informal audio recording on one of our iPhones.

Basically, we find 20 minutes during our busy lives to sit down over some beers and talk grilling.

Unedited and unscripted, we present to you what will eventually become the official Grilling Addiction podcast!

There’s not to be said much of features, but with simplicity comes quality construction – not to mention a variety of vibrant colors. I love the clamp down lid; something I wish Weber kettles had being as often as I tote mine around.

Something I wouldn’t recommend, however, is transporting it in your backseat after a quick grill-out. The ash mechanism looks pretty basic and a blazing backseat is not an event you’d want post meal.

The grill runs around $115 too, so where there’s style comes a price tag. Supplies are limited and tools are sold separately.

Ingredients:

• 6 Tablespoons of Joe’s Everyday Dry Rub
• 1/2 Cup of Vinegar (I like Apple Cider Vinegar)
• 1/2 Cup of Apple Juice (or Water)
• 4 Tablespoons of Ketchup or Barbecue Sauce (Homemade or Store Bought)

Available in 6″x12″ or 6″x7″ rustic hunks, these babies are sure to amaze your next dinner guests and take your favorite grilled delectables somewhere they may have never been. aFire offers planks in Sugar Maple, Northern Cedar, Black Cherry and Golden Alder in two or four packs from $9.99 – $10.99.

Photo from Uncrate.

One gift I have used several times is Steven Raichlen’s Chili Pepper Roasting Rack. If you enjoy stuffed jalapeños, you will enjoy making your own with the heavy gauge stainless steel rack and pepper corer.

The pepper corer works great. It takes a lot of work out of making stuffed jalapeños. It used to be consuming and cumbersome to use a paring knife to hollow out jalapeños, but the corer makes quick time of removing seeds and membrane (which carry most of the heat). One thing I will make note of is with larger jalapeños the corer can’t quite get all of the seeds and membrane out. This can make for a pretty hot bite in the very tip of the jalapeño (learned that the hard way).

The roasting rack is quite nice. It is made of a heavy gage stainless steel, not a flimsy thin walled aluminum. It comes in handy when slow roasting peppers on the grill or in the oven. The only knock I have on the rack is it can only roast jalapeños or chilies of similar size. It doesn’t serve multiple purposes. With that aside the rack does solve a problem that before had no solution, so for that I applaud it.

When cooking stuffed jalapenos on the grill, or in the oven, be sure to cook with a low temperature, otherwise you will burn the bottom of the pepper well before the flesh is tender (cook 30 minutes at 250-300° F).

Photo from Sur la Table.

The tips are pretty basic, and I find it funny that a James Beard Award winner is playing the role of not knowing how to cook a steak, but it’s fun to watch nonetheless.

If there’s meat and heat… I’m in. Wait, what? Just watch.