Eggs, plants, and sooty hammocks

Unknown · July 2005

Howdy all... [p]My folks have built themselves a new beach house on the NC coast. Since they like to have people over for dinner, buying a grill was a given. While deciding which grill to buy, we were talking to a caterer who's providing food for a company party in a few months. He strongly endorsed the Weber Genesis, which was no surprise -- we were leaning toward it already -- but then he started waxing poetic about the Big Green Egg. We'd never heard of it before... "big green what?!" But he said it can do wonderful things for the way our family cooks so I started searching around, found this forum, saw some other fan sites, talked to a distributor who recently started carrying the product because the owner is a big fan, etc. and eventually decided to take a chance. I've been a relatively unskilled gas grill user for some time but have always liked the idea of charcoal. The Egg certainly sounds like it's the best of both worlds. It also sounds like it could stand up to beach air better than other types of grills. We're hoping our first Egg, a large, and its wheeled "nest" stand (along with a bunch of other accessories) will arrive next week.[p]There are a couple of questions I have that I'm hoping somebody can help me with.[p]First question: Much of my family is vegetarian. [p]This is an alien concept to a lot of grilling experts... if you need to take a minute to get past the shock factor, feel free [p]Things like brisket and ribs and chicken etc. are squarely in the "only when we throw a big party" category for us. For day-to-day cooking, we're much more likely to be grilling portobello caps, squash, onions, potatoes, vegetable kebabs, corn on the cob, and stuff like that. There will be some seafood, depending on who's there, but mostly just plants. I've cooked a fair amount of plants on gas grills but would really like to see what the Egg can do with them. A gas grill imparts zero flavors to vegetables and the Egg promises to do better. Can anybody recommend cookbooks, approaches, recipes, or any tips etc. that would help me take full advantage of the Egg's abilities with these kinds of foods? Is there much info in the cookbook that comes with the grill?[p]Second: Until we build or buy a table, the Egg will be sitting on a wheeled egg nest. I'd like to be able to put it on a raised deck but I'm afraid of dropping ashes (or possibly food) onto the deck and possibly to the driveway below, which, ironically, is where we hang our hammock. Any suggestions for catching spills and such? For now we may just keep it on the driveway.[p]

SSN686 · July 2005

Morning Will Thinkofgoodnamelater:[p]Below is a link to some veggies I did quite some time ago that turned out nicely. This one only had yellow squash and zuccinni (sp?), but have also added and/or used carrots, mushrooms, spaghetti squash to name a few.[p]Welcome to the cult (club) and be prepared to enjoy some fantastic eating.[p]Have a GREAT day!
Jay

[ul][li]veggies[/ul]

fishlessman · July 2005

Will Thinkofgoodnamelater,
look under recipes and submitted recipes on this forum. the egg is good for vegitables, fruit, pies, pizzas and breads, maybe more than your hoping for. the book is lousy, better to ask questions here and use the archives.

YB · July 2005

Will Thinkofgoodnamelater,
These are really good.
Larry
[ul][li]Nature Boys Veggies[/ul]

Unknown · July 2005

Will Thinkofgoodnamelater,
Think of the BGE as a exceptional outdoor oven in addition to a grill. Any recipe that is baked can be done on the grill (usually cooked by the indirect method) once you get the hang of maintaining a stable temperature. So bake quiches, veggie pies, tortes, and the best pizza you ever had. Roast vegetables with oil and garlic. Consider recipes you like and adapt to bake, wok cook or grill on the BGE.[p]Anything you tried on a gas grill will taste much better; grilled veggies is one of my favorite things. Actually, sweet potatoes are probably my favorite right now and I never really cared for them before. When I grill them (assorted veggies), I do enough for dinner and then stuff the rest into sandwiches with pesto or other similarly flavorful spread. I have roasted whole eggplants and slabs. I have gotten lots of ideas to adapt from foodtv.com and this forum.[p]Just experiment with what you like and I doubt you will be disappointed. If you travel through the archive you can see spaghetti squash, butternut squash, vidalia onion pie and lots of other ideas. [p]enjoy

katman · July 2005

Will Thinkofgoodnamelater,
I keep one of my eggs on the deck (in the nest). Never had a problem but if you are concerned get one of those grill mats. As for veggies, I cook them all the time. Smaller stuff goes in a grill basket, the larger stuff right on the grid.[p]Now, you didn't say where on the NC coast the egg will sit, but some darn good fish to be had on the outer banks.

Unknown · July 2005

Larry,[p]I would sure agree with you on Nature Boys Turbo Veggies and it is one of the best recipes that has been posted on the forum. It's just wonderful and we do it about twice a month. [p][p]Dave

Truck 511 · July 2005

Will Thinkofgoodnamelater,[p]I like the name you are using now. It is cracking me up! Must be time for a beer.[p]Matt

Unknown · July 2005

fishlessman,
I think people arent vegans because they love animals--it's because they hate plants.
360guy-Gary

Unknown · July 2005

Will Thinkofgoodnamelater,[p]Because we're on a low fat diet due to health problems, we grill a lot of vegetables. Just about every one of them can be grilled/baked/stir-fried in some manner. [p]A grill mat will help protect your deck, as previously mentioned. You may also want to consider laying a small square or rectangle of ceramic or natural stone floor tiles. Don't make it too large due to the weight on your floor joists. You can lay a small number of them without an adhesive. Just lay them, then attach a wood strip of the same thickness around the edges to keep them from slipping. Will be simple to move or re-arrange as your needs change.[p]Love your handle, too! :-)[p]Longmill

YB · July 2005

Old Dave,
Those look great Dave...Have a good weekend.
Larry

Unknown · July 2005

Now that's funny.

Eggs, plants, and sooty hammocks

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