Rich's for the Home

The Best of Rich's 2011: Articles About Hot Tubs, Fireplaces, Grills and Outdoor Furnishings

1. Hot Tubs and Spas

1. 5 Tips for Heating Your Hot Tub Economically
2. Affordable Hydrotherapy: Clearwater Spas XS Series 
3. Experience Color and Light Therapy in Your Hot Tub Spa
4. Bling for Your Hot Tub

Stoves, Fireplaces, and Inserts

1. 3 Important Factors to Consider When Choosing a Wood Stove for your Home
2. How to Cook on Your Wood Stove
3. Features to Look for in a Pellet Stove
4. The Perfect Combo: A Flat Screen TV and a Fireplace

Grills & Grilling Accessories

1. Love to Grill? Short on Time? Try Jamie Purviance’s New Cookbook
2. The Best Grilling Accessories for the Outdoor Cook (Slideshow)

Recipes for the Grill

1. Jerky Lovers: Now There’s a Cookbook for You
2. Recipes: Warm Potato Salad With Beer, Grilled Honey Salmon, and Grilled Strawberry Kebobs
3. Delicious Holiday Grilling Recipes

Outdoor Furnishings

1. Outdoor Patio Heaters: Shapes and Sizes to Meet Your Needs
2.  Warm Up Your Patio with an Outdoor Rug
3. 3 Ways to Protect Your Patio Furniture from the Elements
4. The Most Popular Colors and Styles in Outdoor Furniture
5. Fire Pits and Chat Groups: The Hot Patio Furniture Trend
6. All-Weather Wicker: #1 Trend in Outdoor Furniture
7. Hardwood Furniture from Jensen Leisure: Perfect Indoors and Outdoors (Slideshow)

Entertaining & Ambiance

1. Decorate Your Winery, Restaurant, or B&B with Furnishings from Rich’s
2. How to Make Your Own Soda from Home
3. The Perfect Gift: Ceramic Fire Pot
4. Butt Rub, Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce, and Other Delights to Tempt Teenagers

How to Cook on Your Wood Stove

You know it's going to happen. We're going to have one of our famous Pacific Northwest wind storms and the power is going to go out. Depending on what neck of the woods you live in, your power may stay out for days.

When the inevitable happens, you don't have to bundle up in wool blankets or heat up cans of baked beans over your camp stove. If you own a Lopi or Avalon wood stove with a cooktop, you can simultaneously stay toasty and cook dinner.

A stove with a direct cooktop will run at about 600 degrees, so you'll want to put your saucepan or frying pan on a cast iron trivet to keep the heat flowing evenly. 

A stove with a cooktop will also have a warming surface, which has air circulating around it so it's not as hot as the direct cooktop. The warming surface is  is ideal for mulling cider or heating hot cocoa or soup.

In this video from our friends at Travis Industries in Mukilteo (manufacturer of Avalon and Lopi hearth products), you'll learn some good tips for cooking on your wood stove.

The video also includes some excellent tips for operating and maintaining your wood stove:

Cleaning:
Don’t ever clean all of the ashes out of the firebox. Always leave 1- 1 ½  inches of ash bed inside the bed of the firebox. This makes it easier to start a fire because it builds up the temperature more quickly, and will establish a coal bed faster.

Door Gasket
Once a year check the door gasket -- that’s the figerglass weave rope that goes around the inside of the stove's door. If the door gasket compacts too much, you’ll bring air in around the door feeding the fire and you won’t have as much control on your air control. Depending on how often you open and close the door, you'll want to replace the door gasket annually to semi-annually.

Chimney
Have a chimney sweep inspect and clean your chimney at least once a season. (Call your local Rich's store to arrange for a chimney cleaning.)

Wood
Burn dry, seasoned wood.

More Wood Stove Tips

• How to Choose the Correct Wood Stove Size for Your Home
• The Advantages of Zone Heating over Central Heating
• Saving Money with a Wood Stove
• Ten Steps to Stove Safety

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Visit  Rich's

For more details about our products and for directions to our five Puget Sound showrooms, visit Rich's website, richshome.com

Stop by any of Rich's 5 Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale and ask to see our Lopi and Avalon wood stoves with cooktops.

Delicious Holiday Grilling Recipes

While holiday meals traditionally mean “turkey and stuffing” or “ham," many of us dare to think outside the box. Last Thanksgiving, in addition to the usual big bird, my brother smoked a delicious roast in his outdoor grill.

If you’d like to try something different, here are some delicious recipes you can prepare on your Broilmaster grill or Big Green Egg.

Click the following link to download and print all the holiday grilling recipes displayed in this post.

The following three recipes are from our friends at Broilmaster

Click here to download the free Broilmaster Recipe Book
 

The following recipe is from our friends at Big Green Egg

Try this as a side dish with roasted turkey:

Veggie Noodle Stir-Fry
http://www.biggreenegg.com/recipes/veggie-noodle-stir-fry/

Serves 4 as a main course, or 8 as a side dish

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the carrots, zucchini, and squash into wide, thin ribbons, then cut the ribbons lengthwise into thin julienned slices with a knife. You will have a medley of brightly colored vegetables all intertwined like long, thin, beautiful noodles. This is a dish that cooks in a matter of minutes and would go well as a side dish with roasted chicken or pork.

Ingredients:

Sauce
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1 orange)
½ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons red curry paste
½ cup peanut oil
1 cup sliced shallots
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups julienned red bell pepper
2 cups snow peas
4 cups julienned napa cabbage
2 cups julienned carrots
2 cups julienned zucchini
2 cups julienned yellow crookneck squash
4 cups bean sprouts
18 to 20 scallions, green parts only, cut in half lengthwise
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup thinly sliced red radishes
1 cup chopped peanuts

Equipment:

Porcelain coated grid, Dutch Oven
Set the EGG for direct cooking with the porcelain coated grid.
Preheat the EGG to 400ºF.
Set the Dutch Oven on the grid and preheat for 10 minutes.
To make the sauce, use a whisk to stir the lemon juice, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and red curry paste together in a small bowl.

1. Pour the peanut oil into the preheated Dutch Oven.
2. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, bell pepper, and snow peas.
3. Close the lid of the EGG and sauté for 30 seconds.
4. Add the cabbage, carrots, zucchini, squash, bean sprouts, and scallions and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the sauce and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the Dutch Oven from the heat, then add the basil, cilantro, and mint and stir.
6. Place the mixture in individual bowls and garnish with the radishes and peanuts. Serve immediately.

—From Big Green Egg Cookbook/Andrews McMeel Publishing

Click here for additional recipes for Big Green Egg

 

More Delicious Grilling Recipes from Rich’s blog

Main Dishes:

• Brine & BBQ Your Holiday Turkey
• Honey-Apple Pork Chops
• Beer-Butt Chicken Recipe for the Big Green Egg
• Warm Potato Salad With Beer, Grilled Honey Salmon, and Grilled Strawberry Kebobs
• Char-Grilled Oysters Recipe for your Weber Grill

Desserts:

• Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe for the Big Green Egg, PLUS Win the EGG Cookbook!
• Berry Delicious BBQ Cheesecake

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Visit  Rich's

For more details about our products and for directions to our five Puget Sound showrooms, visit Rich's website, richshome.com

Stop by any of Rich's 5 Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale and ask to see our full line of outdoor grills and grilling accessories.

Jerky Lovers: Now There’s a Cookbook for You

Teriyaki Jerky. Pizza Jerky. Holiday Turkey Jerky. BBQ Jerky. Rumrunner’s Jerky.

These are just a few examples of the delicious recipes featured in the new Traeger's Jerky Cookbook.

The downloadable e-book features over 50 original recipes developed exclusively for owners of Traeger Pellet Grills. Even better, the recipes use ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, and no special equipment is necessary. You'll be making your own jerky in no time.

Around our house, we make our own jerky, particularly salmon, beef, and chicken. You can turn other lean proteins such as turkey and venison into smoked meat snacks, too.

And as for the health benefits of jerky, it provides a quick energy boost for athletes, students, outdoorsmen, travelers – even commuters. Homemade jerky also makes for a great gift, if you don’t eat it all yourself first!

Order your copy of Traeger’s Jerky Cookbook for the special introductory price of $7.99, and access the recipes instantly.

Oh, and if you need a Traeger Pellet Grill to help you make jerky, we have them in stock at Rich's 5 Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale.

More on Rich's blog about Traeger Pellet Grills:

• Pellet Grills: Sophisticated, Energy-Efficient, and Easy to Use
• Essential Ingredients for the Perfect Tailgate Party

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Butt Rub, Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce, and Other Delights to Tempt Teenagers

By Laura Christianson
Guest columnist

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce™. 

As soon as my teenage son (who puts BBQ sauce on EVERYTHING) spotted that on our recent trip to Rich’s, he announced, “Mom, we gotta buy that.”

And we did. The 18 oz. bottle (only $4.99) is touted to...

“...Give your BBQ a kick with the 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper combined with the slow-simmered, sweet and spicy seasonings… perfect for basting, marinating, or dipping.”

I’m not a Dr. Pepper fan, so I was more enamored with the Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce and the 7-Up Citrus Marinade.

And neither of us could resist Pappy’s Sauce for Sissies: 

“Good for Babies, Brats, and Bikers.”

The one that caught my son’s imagination was Bad Byron’s Butt Rub BBQ Seasoning® (try saying that three times, fast!).

“Butt Rub!” exclaimed my son, Ben, soon to be a culinary arts student at Edmonds Community College. “What is THAT?”

“Well… er… um,” I replied, quickly hefting the 24 oz container (it comes in 4.5 ounces, too) and checking out the label.

Apparently, Butt Rub originated as a seasoning or “dry rub” to barbeque meats.   But its “inventor,” Byron Chism, soon discovered it was good on many other things:

"A little Butt Rub® makes everything better.”

According to the ButtRub.com website,

“With less than half the salt content of most commercially available seasoning salts, about half the heat of the commercial cajun seasonings and a wonderful balance of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, paprika (for color) and chipotle (smoked sweet red ripened jalapeños), Butt Rub® enhances everything in the kitchen!”

So we’re thinking, “This Butt Rub could be good on salmon.” And since we grill a lot of salmon during the summer, we’re always looking for creative ways to season it.

Fortunately, we found a recipe on ButtRub.com for Butt Rub® Roasted Salmon:

Butt Rub® Roasted Salmon
(Contribution John Jacob, Santa Rosa Beach FL)

Ingredients:

• Fresh Salmon fillet with skin removed
• Butt Rub® Seasoning
• Molasses
• Crushed garlic cloves
• Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

Apply a liberal coating of Butt Rub® on both sides.  Let it sit while you prepare the glaze.

Molasses Glaze: 

• In a sauce pan combine molasses, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and balsamic vinegar to taste.  Be careful not to overpower with the vinegar.  Also if you have a strong molasses, you can add a small amount of good (grade B) maple syrup. 
• Let this mixture simmer for a few minutes.
• In a 450-475° oven, roast the salmon fillet on a sheet pan with the molasses mixture on top for about 10-15 minutes.

We’re going to tweak this recipe just a tad, and instead of roasting it in the boring old oven, we’re heading outside to grill it on a brand new Sawtooth Pellet Grill. 

This grill, new at Rich’s this season and currently on special for $999, has a monstrous cooking surface (670+ square inches). Definitely large enough to fit an extra large salmon fillet. Or two. Plus, it’s “made with pride” in Boise Idaho, so we can feel good about buying American.

Ben and I spotted 20 lb. bags of flavored BBQ pellets near the Sawtooth grill, in delectable flavors such as cherry, oak, alder, mesquite, pecan, hickory, and apple.

Here’s a recipe for Cedar Plank Salmon from the Sawtooth Pellet Grills website:

Cedar Plank Salmon

Ingredients:

• 2 Salmon Fillets

Sauce:

• 6 Tables Spoons Dijon Mustard
• 6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Spices

• Fresh Ground Pepper
• Salt

Grill Hardware

• 1 Cedar Plank 6” x 14”

Preparations

• Soak cedar plank in salted water for 2 hours, then drain.
• Remove skin from salmon fillet. Remove any remaining bones. Rinse the salmon under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Generously season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay the salmon (on what was skin-side down) on the cedar plank.
• Carefully spread the mustard over the top and sides.
• Place the brown sugar in a bowl and crumble between your fingers, then sprinkle over the mustard.

Cooking Instructions

• Set grill for medium-high.
• Place the cedar plank in the center of the grill
• Close the grill until cooked through, around 20 to 30 minutes.
• The internal temperature should read 135 degrees F.

Serving:

• Transfer the salmon and plank to a platter

Coming Next

In my next post, I’ll continue “Ben and Mom’s Amazing BBQ Adventure” as we explore the grilling accessories department at Rich’s.

Visit Rich's

As Ben and I discovered, Rich's has a huge selection of sauces, rubs, and spices, plus more grilling pellets and charcoal flavors than you can imagine. Stock up at any of Rich's five Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale.

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Recipes: Warm Potato Salad With Beer, Grilled Honey Salmon, and Grilled Strawberry Kebobs

To help you celebrate summer, we’d like to share three delicious recipes from our friends at Vermont Castings:

1. Warm Potato Salad with Beer
2. Grilled Honey Salmon
3. Grilled Strawberry Kebobs

Warm Potato Salad with Beer
http://vermontcastings.com/recipe-details/Starters/Celebrate-with-Beer---Warm-Potato-Salad-with-Beer/

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 0 to 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy to do
Cook Time: 15 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

Beer Dressing:

6 tbsp of olive oil (90ml)
1/2 cup of red onions, finely chopped (125ml)
3/4 cup of lager (175ml)
4 tbsp malt (60ml) or 4 tbsp cider vinegar (60ml)
1 tsp of sugar (5ml)
2 tbsp dijon mustard (30ml)
salt and pepper to taste

Potato Salad:

2 1/2 lb. of red potatoes
2 cups of yellow onions, finely chopped (475ml)
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped (60ml)
4 tbsp of chives, chopped (60ml)
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced

Directions

Beer Dressing:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the red onion andcook until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the Lager, vinegar and sugar and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Put into a food processor with the mustard. With the motor running, slowly poor in the remaining four tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Potato Salad:

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until a knife point can be easily inserted, about 20-25 minutes. Remove, and as soon as you can handle them, peel, slice and cut into ¼-inch rounds.
2. While the potatoes are still warm, gently mix them with the yellow onions, parsley, and beer dressing. Do not overmix or the potatoes may break into pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.
3. Sprinkle chives and eggs over top

Grilled Honey Salmon
http://vermontcastings.com/recipe-details/Fish-and-Seafood/Grilled-Honey-Salmon/

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy to do
Grill Time: 10-12 minutes 

Ingredients

2 large portions of fresh salmon
1/8 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Combine brown sugar, honey, butter and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl and microwave until you have a creamy consistency.
2. Place the salmon into the bowl and marinate for about 15 minutes.
3. Place the salmon on a sheet of foil and then put it on the grill. Continue to baste the salmon while it is cooking with the extra marinade. The salmon will be done in 10 - 12 minutes. Do not overcook the salmon!

Grilled Strawberry Kebabs
http://vermontcastings.com/recipe-details/Desserts/Grilled-Strawberry-Kebabs/

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy to do
Grill Time: 10 seconds

Ingredients

500 g/1 lb strawberries, halved
1/4 cup/60 ml/2 fl oz balsamic vinegar
1 ½ cups/220 g/7 oz confectioners sugar
vanilla ice cream

Directions

1. Preheat barbecue to a high heat.
2. Thread strawberries onto lightly oiled wooden skewers. Brush strawberries with vinegar, then roll in icing sugar.
3. Cook kebabs on oiled barbecue grill for 10 seconds each side or until icing sugar caramelizes. Serve immediately with ice cream.

Tips

Remember to soak bamboo or wooden skewers in water before using; this helps to prevent them from burning during cooking. Before threading food onto skewers, lightly oil them so that the cooked food is easy to remove. For this recipe, use a light-tasting oil such as canola or sunflower.

Visit Rich's

Stop by any of Rich's five Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale. We have an excellent selection of Vermont Castings Grills.

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Love to Grill? Short on Time? Try Jamie Purviance’s New Cookbook

Grilling doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.

That’s the theory of Jamie Purviance, author of a new cookbook called, Weber's Time to Grill: Get In. Get Out. Get Grilling.

Purviance, a New York Times best-selling author and 2010 James Beard Award nominee, came up with an ingenious idea for presenting the 200-plus recipes in this new cookbook. He pairs the recipes on two-page spreads. On the left-hand page, you’ll find “easy” recipes that require 15 minutes or less of prep time. On the right-hand page are “adventurous” recipes, with prep times of 30 minutes or so.

Each pair of recipes use a common set of easy-to-find supermarket ingredients.
 
 “This is the only place you will find a barbecue classic such as slow-cooked ribs, right beside a version that takes half the time ribs normally require,” says Purviance.

When you purchase the cookbook, you will get access to the exclusive "timetogrill.mobi” website, where you’ll find a grocery list for all the recipes and you can search by recipe titles, category, or page number. The site also includes a grill timer that can you can set for any recipe, and you can add notes to your favorite recipes.

The 304-page cookbook retails for $24.95 (MSRP). We stock Weber's Time to Grill at Rich’s Bellevue and Lynnwood stores.

Grilling Tips from Jamie Purviance

Here are a several excellent grilling tips from Jamie Purviance that I adapted from in the June 2011 issue of The Costco Connection:

Check Fuel

You don’t want to run out of gas or charcoal while cooking your meal. So before you crank up the grill, make sure you’re stocked up on fuel.

Preheat the Grill

Close the lid and preheat on high for about 15 minutes, until it reaches about 500 degrees. This will give your meat a nice sear (and will make it easier for you to clean the grate).

What NOT to do

Don’t grill a cold steak

A dry or burned steak isn’t very tasty. And the longer a steak cooks, the more dry it gets. Let the steak stand at room temperature for 15-30 minutes.

Don’t open the lid too often

Resist the temptation to keep peeking at the steak. Opening the lid frequently slows cooking time. And to repeat the mantra above, “the longer a steak cooks, the more dry it gets.”

Don’t poke at the meat

Poking, turning, or fiddling with the meat doesn’t help matters. It merely releases the flavor-infusing smoke into the air (instead of into your meat).

Consider pairing Weber's Time to Grill with a new Weber grill. The May 2011 issue of Consumer Reports gives two Weber grills top ratings, and we have an excellent selection of Weber grills at Rich's five Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale.

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How to Make Your Own Soda from Home

I’m always on the hunt for unique, affordable gifts for graduations, weddings, Father’s Day, and birthdays. I recently discovered the SodaStream at Rich’s. These sleek, stylish machines turn tap water into sparkling water or soda in seconds.

Here’s what sold me on the SodaStream: Once you make the initial investment of $99 for the Genesis Bundle Kit, plus purchase syrup flavors (each concentrated bottle makes the equivalent of 33 cans of soda), you’re set. This baby doesn’t even use electricity!

If you drink a lot of sparkling water or soda, you’ll definitely save a ton of money over the long haul; the folks at SodaStream estimate their concoctions cost 25 cents per 12-ounce can of soda or 25 cents per liter of sparkling water.

How it Works

Fill SodaStream’s carbonating bottle with tap water. Secure it to your soda maker. Then press the carbonating button a few times to add the fizz. Presto! Sparkling water.

If you want soda, add a capful of the concentrated sodamix to the carbonating bottle and shake gently.

30+ Flavors

SodaStream offers more than 30 soda flavors. Each 16.9 ounce bottle of concentrated sodamix syrup costs about $4.99 at Rich’s. 

Here are a few flavors that caught my eye:

• Regular Soda – 16 flavors, including Cola, Cherry Cola, Lemon Lime, Root Beer, Dr. Pete, Cream Soda…
• Diet Soda – 16 flavors, including Diet Caffeine-Free Cola, Cola Free, Diet Orange, Diet Pink Grapefruit…
• Energy Drink – Regular and Diet
• MyWater – Unsweetened, all-natural flavor essences, including Lemon-Lime, Orange, Raspberry, and Mint
• Sparkling Naturals – 9 flavors, including Apple Mango, Black Currant and Pear, Green Tea, Orange Pineapple
• Sparkling Water – Basic soda water, club soda, or seltzer.
• Sparkling Teas – 8 flavors, including Mixed Berry, Pomegranate Peach, Lemon, and two diet flavors

Carbonating Bottles

These specially designed, high pressure-resistant bottles are BPA-free and may be reused for up to two years. The glass carafes included with the Penguin soda maker may be used indefinitely, with proper care. Every SodaStream bottle and carafe comes with a fizz-preserving cap that helps to keep drinks fresh and fizzy longer than store-bought bottles.

Speaking of Fizz…


SodaStream Carbonators are made of lightweight aluminum and come in two sizes, to make up to 60 or 130 liters of soda or sparkling water per carbonator. A full, licensed CO2 carbonator is included with the purchase of every SodaStream soda maker kit. I recommend investing in a spare CO2, which costs $24.99 at Rich’s.

SodaStream takes back the empty cylinders to be cleaned, inspected, refilled and reused. Carbonators may be exchanged online, or at select SodaStream authorized retailers.

Raves about SodaStream

Rich’s customer, Brenna Douglas, posted this on our Facebook page:

"We just love our SodaStream that we got at Rich's. Thank you for having all the refills and flavors. We now have so much less recycling and save money!!"

  Share Your SodaStream Thoughts on Facebook

Do you have a SodaStream? What do you think of it? Tell us about it at Rich's Facebook page. Hope you’ll “like” us, and encourage your Facebook friends to join us, too.

Visit Rich's

Stop by one of our five Puget Sound showrooms and ask to see the SodaStream. Rich's is located in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale.

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A Must-Have Grilling Accessory: Big Green Egg Cart

Which outdoor cooking appliance can you use year-round in the Pacific Northwest, even during our typical drizzly weather?

A Big Green Egg, of course. That’s because the EGG is a smoker, a grill and an oven all rolled into one.

• You can grill steaks and chops perfectly, cooking at temperatures up to 750°F for steakhouse searing.
• You can smoke fallin’-off-the-bone ribs or a juicy brisket at a low temperature of 200° to 250°F.
• Whether you’re searing or slow cooking, you can prepare the entire meal on the grill by adding any of your favorite vegetables to the cooking grid.
• You can even bake cornbread, biscuits, bread, pie, or cobbler in your EGG!

It’s no wonder Big Green Eggs have a rabid loyal following -- called EGGheads -- throughout the country. You’ll find plenty of EGGheads in the Puget Sound area, as well, as evidenced by Rich’s 67 percent increase in the sale of Big Green Eggs and EGGcessories.

The EGG Cart

To kick off our celebration of National Barbecue Month, we’d like to introduce you to an EGGciting new product we’re carrying this season: The EGG cart.

Frankly, I’m delighted about this cart, because the ceramic EGGs, while durable, are a tad unwieldy to haul around. The Mini EGG weighs 30 pounds, while the XL EGG weighs in at a whopping 205 pounds (and has a 24-inch diameter cooking grid).

The powder-coated cart (pictured above) brings the EGG up to a comfortable cooking level and includes a stainless steel surface for food preparation (you can choose a right- or left-handed orientation).

The table’s heavy-duty wheels lock for easy maneuvering and stability, and the handle doubles as a towel rack and grate holder.

There’s ample storage space for charcoal, propane tanks, racks, and tools, plus there’s vertical cabinet space for storing accessories such as pizza stones or a ceramic plate setter.
There’s also a large drawer with soft-close slides for holding grilling accessories.

The Cart's Dimensions

• Length: 54”
• Width: 30.66”
• Height: 34.38”
• Weight: 185 lbs.

Also available are easy-lift straps for grill installation and a cover to keep your table, EGG, and EGGcessories protected.

Learn More About the Big Green Egg 

All About the Big Green Egg

Big Green EGGcessories (we carry a full line of EGGcessories & lump charcoal at Rich's) 

Lump Charcoal vs. Briquettes: Which is Better?

Your Barbeque Questions Answered

Big Green Egg Recipes

A Cookbook to Get EGGcited about

Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe for the Big Green Egg

Beer Butt Chicken Recipe for the Big Green Egg

Recipes for the Big Green Egg

Visit Rich's

Stop by one of our five Puget Sound showrooms to see our huge line of Big Green Eggs and EGGcessories.  Rich's is located in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Tacoma, Southcenter, and Silverdale.

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The Best Blog Posts About Fireplaces, Hot Tubs, Grills and Outdoor Furniture

We’re so grateful that you’ve chosen to spend time reading Rich’s blog; our goal is to provide you with the best information about stoves and fireplaces, hot tubs and spas, outdoor grills and patio furniture.

Here’s a look back at some of our most popular articles during 2010, organized by category:

Stoves, Fireplaces, and Inserts

The Advantages of Zone Heating Over Central Heating

How to Choose the Correct Wood Stove Size for Your Home

Morso European-Style Wood Stoves: Where “Green” is a Way of Life

Heritage Pellet Stove: The Prettiest Pellet Stove in Town

A Greener Way to Heat Your Home

Illuminations: The Most Romantic Fireplace Ever

Hot Tubs/Spas

Hot Tub and Spa Safety Tips

How to Shop for a Hot Tub or Spa Cover

How to Turn Your Hot Tub into a Salt Water Spa

Clearwater Spas: Committed to Energy-Efficiency


Outdoor Grills

How to Clean Your Outdoor Grill

Pellet Grills: Sophisticated, Energy-Efficient, and Easy to Use

Lump Charcoal vs. Briquettes: Which is Better for Grilling?

Consumer Reports Gives Weber Genesis Grill Top Marks

Recipes for the Grill 

Delicious Grilling Recipes from Traeger

Beer Butt Chicken Recipe for the Big Green Egg

Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe for the Big Green Egg

Outdoor Furniture

How to Choose Outdoor Furniture that’s Best for the Northwest

Ipé: Truly Sustainable Furniture

Stay Toasty Year-Round with an Outdoor Heater

Contemporary Wicker Furniture from Ebel

The Latest Wrought Iron Furniture from O.W. Lee

Join Us in 2011

You won’t want to miss a single blog post in 2011. Subscribe to our blog via your feed reader or receive our latest posts in your e-mail Inbox. Simply click “Subscribe to this blog’s feed” or fill out the form located in the righthand sidebar of our blog.

We also provide daily tips and Internet-only specials on our Facebook page. Hope you’ll “like” us, and encourage your Facebook friends to join us, too.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2011, from all of us at Rich's!

Rich’s for the Home has five giant showrooms in Bellevue, Tacoma, Silverdale, Lynnwood, and Southcenter. Our displays are designed to give you ideas, inspiration, and to open your eyes to possibilities for your home. Come see us!

Brine & BBQ Your Holiday Turkey

My son and I attended a cooking demonstration last week, and the chef showed us how to brine a turkey. I’ve brined plenty of salmon, but never a turkey. We just purchased “the bird” (as my spouse refers to the turkey) and we’re going to try the brine method.

I found a recipe for Brined and Barbequed Turkey with Pan Gravy at the Weber Grills website. The recipe is from Weber’s Charcoal Grilling™ cookbook by Jamie Purviance.

Be sure to stop by any of Rich’s five Puget Sound showrooms (Silverdale, Tacoma, Southcenter, Bellevue, or Lynnwood) early this week to pick up whatever you need in the way of Weber cookbooks, grills, and accessories. 

Before we get to the recipe, you’ll want to read this helpful illustrated excerpt from Weber’s Charcoal Grilling™ cookbook, courtesy of Weber:
How to barbecue a turkey

How to brine a turkey

Marinating Time: 18 to 24 hours

Brine

2 quarts apple juice
1 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

And don’t forget the main ingredient:

1 turkey, 10 to 12 pounds, fresh or defrosted

In a large pot combine the brine ingredients. Stir vigorously until the salt is dissolved. 
 
Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey and reserve in the refrigerator for the gravy. Cut off and reserve the wing tips for the gravy, too. If your turkey has a trussing clamp, leave it in place. Do not truss the turkey. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water.
 
Partially fill a cooler with ice. Open a large, sturdy plastic bag in the cooler. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the bag. Carefully pour the brine over the turkey and then add 3 quarts of cold water. The turkey should be almost completely submerged. If some the back is exposed above the brine, that’s okay. Press the air out of the bag, seal the bag tightly, close the lid of the cooler, and set aside for 18 to 24 hours.

Aside: The chef at our cooking demonstration told us you can brine a turkey in a large bucket (large enough to submerge the turkey). If the weather’s cold, you can cover the bucket and stick it in your garage, or on your back porch (just make sure the neighborhood wildlife doesn’t catch wind of your delicacy!).  To be on the safe side, though, brining it inside a cooler is probably the best idea.

Barbecuing the Bird

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Grilling Time: 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours
 
 Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
4 small chunks apple wood or 4 small handfuls apple wood chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
 
Fill a chimney starter to the rim with charcoal and burn the coals until they are lightly covered with ash. Spread the coals in a half circle or crescent-shaped fire on one side of the charcoal grate. Carefully place a large, disposable drip pan in the center of the charcoal grate and fill it about halfway with warm water. This will help to maintain the temperature of the fire. Put the cooking grate in place, close the lid, and let the coals burn down to low heat (250° to 350°F). Keep all the vents open. 
 
Remove the turkey from the bag and rinse it, inside and out, with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine. Lightly coat the turkey with some of the melted butter. Season with the pepper.
 
Place one foil pan inside the other and pour the chicken stock into the top pan. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the reserved turkey neck, giblets, and wing tips. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the foil pan.
 
Place the pan in the center of the cooking grate. Position the pan so the turkey legs face the charcoal. Drain, and then add 2 wood chunks or 2 handfuls of chips to the charcoal. Cook the turkey over indirect low heat, with the lid closed, for 1 hour.
 
After 1 hour, to maintain the heat, add 10 to 12 unlit charcoal briquettes to the lit charcoal, using long-handled tongs to tuck the unlit charcoal between the lit charcoal. Drain and add the remaining 2 wood chunks or 2 handfuls of chips to the charcoal. Carefully turn the turkey over in the pan so the breast faces up. Continue to cook the turkey over indirect low heat, with the lid closed, for a second hour.
 
At the end of the second hour, baste the turkey all over with the remaining butter. If any parts are getting too dark, wrap them tightly with aluminum foil. Once again, add 10 to 12 unlit charcoal briquettes to the lit charcoal to maintain the heat. Continue to cook the turkey over indirect low heat. The total cooking time will be 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 170°F in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone).
 
Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving (the internal temperature will rise 5° to 10°F during this time). Save the pan juices and vegetables to make the gravy.

Gravy

Reserved pan liquid plus enough chicken stock to make 4 cups of liquid
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 equal pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper

Strain the pan liquid through a sieve into a large fat separator and discard all the solids. Add enough chicken stock to equal 4 cups of liquid.

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and flour. As the butter melts, stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the mixture turns the color of peanut butter, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add 4 cups of the reserved pan liquid (but not the fat) plus the wine. Bring the gravy to a boil, whisking frequently to dissolve the lumps.

Lower the heat and simmer the gravy for a few minutes or until it reaches the consistency you like. If the gravy gets too thick, add more chicken stock a little at a time and simmer until it reaches the right thickness.

Turn off the heat. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Carve the turkey. Serve warm with the gravy.

Serves: 10 to 12

Try this holiday recipe, too:

• Beer-Butt Chicken for the Big Green Egg

Subscribe to Rich’s blog

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Beer-Butt Chicken Recipe for the Big Green Egg

We received three invitations to join various extended family members for Thanksgiving dinner. Three! How to choose?

I asked what the main dish would be, of course. When my brother told me, “I’m smoking a turkey and barbecuing a roast (or was it smoking a roast and barbequing a turkey?), I announced, “We’ll be there.”

Big Green Egg aficionados from coast to coast are firing up their ceramic cookers for some serious holiday entertaining, and my family is no exception. I thought I’d share a recipe for Rick Browne’s famous “Beer-Butt Chicken” from the Big Green Egg Cookbook, courtesy of our friends at Big Green Egg.

I know. The name "beer-butt" sounds kind of gross. But it’s really delicious! Really. Trust me on this. I’m betting you can easily adapt this recipe for your Thanksgiving turkey, too (although you’ll need more beer and a bigger “butt”).

A Bit of Background

People magazine dubbed Rick Browne “The Godfather of Beer-Butt Chicken,” but he humbly admits that he borrowed the technique from a barbecue contest competitor. However, Rick was the first in the country to publish the recipe and to prepare it on national television. When you try this fascinating, fun, and delicious way to cook a chicken, you’ll want to serve it again and again.

Equipment:

Porcelain coated grid
1 (12-ounce) beer can or “Sittin’ Chicken” Ceramic Roaster
 9 by 13-inch Drip Pan
Spray bottle
Big Green Egg cooker (if you don’t have one yet, we stock an amazing supply at all five Rich’s showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Southcenter, Tacoma, and Silverdale).

Set the EGG for direct cooking with the porcelain coated grid.
Preheat the EGG to 375ºF.

Ingredients:

Rub

1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried summer savory
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt

1 (4 to 5-pound) chicken
1 (12-ounce) can beer
1 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

To make the rub:

Combine the brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, summer savory, cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika, mustard, and salt in a small bowl. Stir until incorporated.

Apply the rub all over the chicken, even inside the cavity. Work the mixture gently into the skin and under the skin wherever possible. Cover the chicken and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour half of the beer into the spray bottle. Add the apple cider, olive oil, and vinegar and set aside. If using the Ceramic Roaster, pour the remaining beer into the cavity of the Roaster and slide the chicken onto the Roaster, through the tail end. If using the beer can, slide the chicken down over the can.

Place the chicken, still on the Roaster, on the grid and close the lid of the EGG.

Cook, using the spray bottle to baste the chicken once or twice, for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is just beginning to brown all over.

Carefully lift the chicken (still on the Roaster) into the Drip Pan and close the lid of the EGG. 

Cook, spraying the chicken with the basting spray several times, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 170ºF and the chicken is a mahogany brown color.

Using barbecue mitts, remove the chicken and present it on the Roaster to your guests. After they have reacted appropriately, remove the chicken from the Roaster.

Be careful: The can and the liquid inside are very hot.

Spray the chicken once more with the basting spray, cover with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve. Serves 4

About the Big Green Egg Cookbook (Andrews McMeel Publishing):

The 320-page, hardcover Big Green Egg Cookbook contains extensive color photography and more than 160 delicious recipes that range from modern twists on tried-and-true barbecue favorites to gourmet meals with sophisticated flavors. Of course, you can buy the Big Green Egg Cookbook at Rich's.

More Great Info about the Big Green Egg

A Cookbook to Get EGGcited about

Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe for the Big Green Egg

Recipes for the Big Green Egg

All About the Big Green Egg

Big Green EGGcessories (we carry a full line of EGGcessories & lump charcoal at Rich's)

Lump Charcoal vs. Briquettes: Which is Better?

Your Barbeque Questions Answered

Subscribe to Rich’s blog

Subscribe to our blog via your feed reader or receive our latest posts in your e-mail Inbox. Simply click “Subscribe to this blog’s feed” or fill out the form located in the right-hand sidebar of our blog.

  ‘Like’ Rich’s on Facebook

We also provide daily tips and Internet-only specials on our Facebook page. Hope you’ll “like” us, and encourage your Facebook friends to join us, too.

Char-Grilled Oysters Recipe for your Weber Grill

Last week, I introduced you to the Weber Genesis E320 grill, rated #1 by Consumer Reports among the medium-sized gas grills they tested (June 2010).

Today, I'll share a delicious shellfish recipe for  you can prepare on any Weber grill. Here in the Puget Sound area, fresh oysters are plentiful, so this recipe by chef and author, Jamie Purviance, from Weber’s Way to Grill™ cookbook is for Char-grilled oysters.

You'll also find a terrific, step-by-step video tutorial for how to shuck and prepare the oysters on the Weber website.

Char-Grilled Oysters

Prep time: 30 minutes

Grilling time: 2-4 minutes

Ingredients

2 dozen large, fresh oysters
Lemon wedges
Tabasco® sauce
Cocktail sauce

Instructions

1. Grip each oyster, flat side up, in a folded kitchen towel. Find the small opening between the shells near the hinge and pry it open with an oyster knife. Try not to spill the delicious juices, known as the “oyster liqueur,” in the bottom shell. Cut the oyster meat loose from the top shell and then loosen the oyster from the bottom shell by running the oyster knife carefully underneath the body. Discard the top, flatter shell, keeping the oyster and juices in the bottom, deeper shell.

2. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat (450° to 550°F).

3. Spoon some of your favorite dipping sauce on top of each oyster (recipes follow).

4. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the oysters, shell sides down, over direct high heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the oyster juices start to bubble and the edges curl, 2 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove the oysters from the grill. Serve with lemon wedges, hot sauce, cocktail sauce, and your favorite dipping sauce.

Garlic-Thyme Butter

Makes: enough for 2 dozen oysters

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and sauté the garlic until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and wine and simmer until the sauce reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, whisk in the remaining butter, and stir in the thyme and salt.

Grapefruit-Basil Aioli

Makes: enough for 2 dozen oysters

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated grapefruit zest
2 teaspoons fresh grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a small bowl combine the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Asian Butter Sauce

Makes: enough for 2 dozen oysters

1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, combine the oil and ginger and heat until the oil begins to foam. Remove from the heat; stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, and mustard. Whisk in the butter a few chunks at a time until completely incorporated.

Gorgonzola-Tomato Sauce

Makes: enough for 2 dozen oysters

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup vegetable juice
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the shallot and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add the vegetable juice, horseradish, and salt. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then remove it from the heat. After you’ve added the sauce to the oysters, sprinkle the cheese on top, and then grill.

Serves: 4 to 6

Big Green Eggfest June 5 in Kent, WA

If you’d like to meet 400-to-600 Eggheads (Big Green Egg enthusiasts), cook your favorite recipes on the EGG for everyone to sample, and swap EGG recipes, you won’t want to miss the 4th Annual Pacific Northwest Evergreen Eggfest.

The event will be Saturday, June 5, 2010, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at “Egg Central” – Associated Energy Systems in Kent, the authorized wholesale distributor of Big Green Eggs in the Pacific Northwest.

The local Eggfest is one of 16 major egg festivals around the world. 

Thirty-six demo Eggs will set up, with area cooks showing off their culinary Egg-cellence in everything from wood-fired BBQ to baked goods.

If you plan to attend Eggfest, pre-register online.  Cost is $25/individual or $20/person for groups of two or more. Children 12 and under are free. Pets are not allowed at this event.  A portion of the proceeds from the event are being donated to Good Harvest.

Demo Eggs

Demo Eggs will be available to take home after the Eggfest.  A demo Egg is an Egg that you pre-buy prior to the Eggfest. The Egg will be cooked on the day of the Eggfest by a registered cook and you will pick it up at the end of the day (4:30 - 5:30 p.m.). This is a great way to get your first Egg or to add to your Egg family, as these Eggs are sold at a fantastic discount. 

The Demo Egg Package includes: Large Egg, Egg Mate, Plate Setter, Ash Tool, Large Egg Nest, Grill Gripper and a bag of charcoal (you get to take the charcoal home that the cook doesn't use).

Location

Associated Energy Systems – across from Ikea, around the corner from Rich’s Southcenter store
8621 S 180th
Kent, WA 98032

For more information about the Pacific Northwest Evergreen Eggfest, visit http://www.pnweggfest.com

And don't forget to visit any of Rich's five Seattle-area showrooms to browse our extensive line of Big Green Eggs and Egg-cessories!

Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe for the Big Green Egg, PLUS Win the EGG Cookbook!

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 9, and you can bet the mom in your life will enjoy this recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake, straight from the new Big Green Egg Cookbook.

Here are three excellent reasons you should be thinking “Molten Chocolate Cake” this week:

1. It gives you a good excuse to use your Big Green Egg®.
2. You can gift Mom with the cake AND her own copy of the Big Green Egg Cookbook (for sale at our five Rich’s locations)
3. You can enter to win a Big Green Egg Cookbook by submitting your favorite, original EGG recipe to our Facebook contest (we’ll announce the winner on Mother’s Day). Contest details immediately follow the recipe.

Molten Chocolate Cake

By Andy Husbands

Andy Husbands’s exquisite molten chocolate cake with its rich, saucy center is one of the most spectacular desserts you’ll ever taste and certainly not something you would expect to cook in a grill. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest to prepare. Serve it hot before the liquid center congeals.

Equipment:

• Plate Setter
• 10 (8-ounce) glass or metal baking cups

Set the EGG for indirect cooking with the Plate Setter, legs down.
Preheat the EGG to 450ºF.

Serves 10

Ingredients:

Granulated sugar for dusting (about 1 cup)
1 cup unsalted butter
3⁄4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream, whipped

Spray the baking cups with cooking spray and dust the entire inside with the granulated sugar. Set aside. Place the butter and chocolate in a saucepan on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes.

Place the eggs and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and ribbony.

Add the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar and beat for 1 minute more. Slowly add the melted chocolate and beat for 1 minute, then add the flour and beat for 1 more minute, or until just incorporated.

Fill each baking cup three-quarters full. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Place the cups on the Plate Setter and close the lid of the EGG. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until slightly firm to the touch. The cakes should be firm but not cooked all the way through.

Immediately turn out onto individual plates and serve with whipped cream.

—From Big Green Egg Cookbook, Andrews McMeel Publishing. Reprinted with permission.

Enter our Big Green Egg Recipe Contest on Facebook

Here's how to enter:

1. "Like" Rich's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Richsforthehome
2. Type your favorite, original EGG recipe on our Facebook discussion board: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=66670019700&topic=17401

The winner will receive the hot-off-the-press Big Green Egg Cookbook! We'll announce the winner on our Facebook page on Mother's Day, Sunday May 9.

Plus, we'll print the winning recipe right here on our blog, http://www.richshomeblog.com.

Tell all your EGGhead friends to enter now -- this contest lasts only one week!

Related articles on our blog:

• The new Big Green Egg Cookbook
• Big Green EGGcessories
• All About the Big Green Egg

A New Cookbook to get EGGcited about

Ceramic charcoal cookers – known in Japan as Kamado cookers, have been around for centuries. The folks at Big Green EGG®  contemporized the art of kamado-style cooking, incorporating space age ceramics that make the EGGs both durable and fuel efficient. As a result, the hot-selling EGGs have have gained a cultlike following in the U.S. and in 20 other countries.

Now EGGheads™ have something new to dig into: The Big Green Egg Cookbook. With 170 recipes developed exclusively for the EGG, you can sear, grill, smoke, roast, or bake everything from appetizers to desserts. Here’s a sampling of the types of recipes you’ll find in the cookbook:

• Pulled pork
• Eggplant fries with romesco sauce
• Beer-can chicken
• Corn bread
• Lobster
• Fennel slaw
• Oysters
• Molten chocolate cake

You’ll find recipes from celeb chefs and pitmasters, and over 100 color photos that depict the mouthwatering dishes.

The Big Green Egg Cookbook is available exclusively at Rich’s for the Home (and other Big Green EGG retailers) until June, so stop by Rich’s and pick up your copy, hot off the press.

Big Green Eggcessories

A Big Green Egg is a must-have for the avid griller in your household. The most versatile outdoor cooking device on the planet, the Big Green Egg is a smoker, a grill, and an oven rolled into one (it’s constructed out of heavy ceramic that holds heat in).

The EGG comes in five sizes to fit your needs—and your budget:

1. Mini EGG, perfect for picnics and tailgating.
2. Small EGG, good for individuals and small families
3. Medium EGG, for families of 2-4 
4. Large EGG, the most popular size Rich’s for the Home sells 
5. XL Egg, for the grilling aficionado  

Even more fun than owning an EGG is investing in EGGsessories. Rich’s carries an amazing variety of low-cost EGGcessories you can gift to the griller in your life. Here are a few we spotted at Rich’s Bellevue showroom:

Baking stone
Rich’s most popular EGGcessory, a baking stone is perfect for pizzas, breads, cookies, and other fire brick oven yummies.

Vertical roaster
This gizmo holds your turkey or chicken upright during cooking, which ensures your bird gets evenly browned.

Natural lump charcoal
Burns hotter and cleaner than briquettes. Comes in a big bag. Wrap it and put it under your Christmas tree – it’ll look just like Santa’s bag!

Grill gripper
Easily and safely remove the cooking grid, even when your EGG is hot. http://www.biggreenegg.com/thermo.html

Smoke Pellet Variety Sampler
Different flavors of pellets with which to smoke your meat - $31.99

Wood Smoking Grilling pellets (1 lb packages)
Mulberry, apple, orange, and Jack Daniels Whiskey – adds delicious flavors to your food- $6.00 (wonderful stocking stuffers, or gifts from the kids to Dad)

Big Green Egg Gourmet Seasoning (several flavors)
11.7 oz - $15.70; 5.5 oz - $7.10 (more stocking stuffers!)

Grilling Aprons

Rich’s also carries a good selection of “manly” grilling aprons for around $21

Salt and pepper shaker set

Unique, affordable gift - $28

Stop by any of Rich’s five Seattle-area showrooms to browse our selection of EGGcessories.  We’re located in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Southcenter, Silverdale, and Tacoma.

Related articles:

• What IS the Big Green Egg?
• What people are saying about the Big Green Egg
• What Archie Lopez has to say about his Big Green Egg

What's Cooking: Trout Grilled With Wild Rice

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 4 cleaned trout (8-ounce)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

STEPS:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté 3 minutes.
2. Add water, rice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until rice is tender. Drain rice, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid and set rice aside.
4. Return cooking liquid to pan. Bring to a boil, and cook 8 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat; set broth aside, and keep warm.
5. Place 1 thyme sprig in the center of each of 4 (10-inch) squares of aluminum foil. Place 1 fish on top of each thyme sprig. Sprinkle remaining salt and pepper over inside cavities of fish.
6. Stuff 1/2 cup rice mixture into the cavity of each fish. Wrap fish in foil, twisting the ends to seal.
7. Prepare grill, and place the foil wrapped fish on grill rack; grill 10 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Unwrap fish; remove and discard skin. Set the fish aside, and keep warm.
8. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Drizzle 2 tablespoons broth over each fish, and sprinkle with parsley. 

Recipe By Cooking Light, Sept. 1995, page 100 and featured on Grilling Recipes.

What's Cooking: Berry Delicious BBQ Cheesecake

Cheesecake is hands-down my fave dessert. Nothing beats it. So I love to find variations on cheesecake recipes and give them a try. Of course, I was delighted beyond words to find one that you can actually make on the grill. Yum! I can't wait to try it!

This recipe is courtesy of Lois Forsyth and was originally posted on The Recipe Center at the Vermont Casting website. A ton of great BBQ recipes are on there so make sure to check it out soon.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 3/4 of a box of Dare's Oatmeal Cookies
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 large packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 cups mixed fruit, fresh or frozen (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)

STEPS:

1. Put the oatmeal cookies into a food processer and chop until fine. Mix in the melted buttter to create a paste like texture. Pour mixture into an alluminum pan (approx 12 X 10 inches) greased or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and press firmly creating a crust.
2. In a bowl beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy and smooth. Add the the eggs, butter and vanilla all at once and beat until fluffy.
3. Coat the cookie crust with the honey spreading it thinly. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of the fruit on top of the honey and then add the cream cheese mixture. Keep the other 1/2 cup of fruit aside. Cook on a preheated BBQ at medium heat for approximately 20 minutes. Do not cover while cooking but do close the BBQ lid. Cool completely and then refrigerate.
   Serve cold and top it with the remaining fruit.

TIPS:

Check often. Mmmmmmm

What's Cooking: Honey-Apple Pork Chops

Thanks to Grilling Recipes for sharing this YUM recipe. My family members all enjoyed these chops. There are more recipes on the site so be sure and visit today.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 4 pork loin chops -- about 1-inch thick
• 1-1/2 cups apple cider
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 clove garlic -- minced
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

STEPS:

1. Combine all ingredients, except pork chops; mix well.
2. Place chops in a shallow dish; pour marinade over chops.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning meat occasionally.
4. Remove pork chops from marinade.
5. Place on grill approximately 6 inches above medium coals. Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning and basting with marinade frequently.