The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I’m not making any money off of this. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

This recipe is just so good, I had to cook it again this year. When I cooked it last year, I loved it, and this year is the same story. One bonus for the casual reader is that you can get this recipe for free on Weber’s site.

I have to give credit to Colonel Stewart Navarre, who took first place at MCB Camp Pendleton with this recipe.

Take some mushrooms, sauté them with some garlic, red wine and butter, then put them on an already delectable rib eye, bone in of course. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles or feta.

Simple right? Yes it is, but it doesn’t taste simple.

The cheese is strong enough to kick you in the taste bud, but the steak isn’t overpowered by the strong flavor. I couldn’t find portabello mushrooms, so I used “baby Bella” mushrooms. It still tasted great.

Have any doubts about buying the book? Try this recipe and tell me it isn’t worth $10.

Posted in Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling 3 Comments »

The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I’m not making any money off of this. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

While I was thinking about using Disco’s Recipe on some different meats, this one seemed like a no brainer. Amy time I think about meat on a stick, I have to think about chicken.

The original recipe took third place in the MCBH Hawaii competition, and was concocted by Major Kevin McCoullough. I cooked it last year, and used a flank steak, just like the recipe wants. This year I figured, heck, let’s try it with some chicken.

The sauce is made up of Soy Sauce, Rice vinegar, and a host of other ingredients. This is one of the recipes that is only in the book. It’s also one of the recipes that I would have paid $10 for by itself.

The recipe calls for the meat to marinate for 20 to 30 minutes. I would go at least 3 – 4  hours, maybe even overnight. One other note, after the meat is removed from the marinade, the marinade is discarded. The next time I make this recipe, I’m going to boil the  marinade, and use it as a basting sauce. Although if you do so, remember that sugar burns really easy, so be careful.

The end result? Delicious. Really really delicious. It reminded me of Yakitori. I love the crispy pieces, and the sweet flavor. The next time I make this with chicken, I will make sure to let it marinate a good while longer, but it was really good the way it was.

Now, I know all of you steak lovers are yelling wondering where’s the beef. Don’t worry, this was the last of the alternate meats I used. All the recipes from here on out are with wonderful, delicious steak.

Posted in Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling 2 Comments »

The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I am not making any money off of this. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

When I first cooked Disco’s Hot and Tangy New York Strips, the recipe just blew my mind. I loved it so much, that I figured that this sauce would be oh so good on other meats besides New York Strip Steaks.

If you’re new to Command of the Grill Week, Disco’s Hot and Tangy Strip Steaks is the second one of the free recipes, so try it out and let me know what you think. I decided I would see what it would taste like on some pork.

The sauce, not shown, consists of Cola (Pepsi in my case), Soy Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, Orange Zest, and 1 Habanero Chili Pepper, and some other ingredients.

The result is a sweet, salty, spicy sauce that is delicious. Now, if you aren’t familiar with the Habanero Chili, it is very spicy. No really, it’s spicy. If you told me you wore gloves to work with it, I would consider you prudent.

But just like any pepper, if you remove the seeds and the white “ribs” before dicing the pepper, you’ll take the majority of the heat away from it. I usually save these in case I want to add them later to spice things up.

Now In the off season, I’ve actually used the Disco’s recipe on Chuck Roasts, and have been pretty pleased with the result. I figured, why not try it on some pork?

So, pictured above is two Pork Loins, that I grilled directly, after soaking in Disco’s Marinade. Although a little on the salty side, they were still delicious.

This was a great post to illustrate two very important points that I want the reader to keep in mind:

1. I am not a perfect grill jockey. I did have to put the pork loin back on the grill and cook it a little longer. Although pink is OK with pork, the meat should still hit a internal temperature of 160 Degrees Farenheight. Unfortunatly, my thermometer is broken, and I need to find another one. There’s no shame in having to go back to the grill. When in doubt, cook it a little longer.

2. I am not a expert photographer. The pictures I took just didn’t come out like I wanted them to. The one I used above is pretty fuzzy when you look at the full sized version. Looks pretty good smaller though.

I do plan on trying his recipe on some chicken, I’m willing to bet it’s very tasty.

Posted in Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling 1 Comment »

Last year I did the same thing, cooking 7 steak recipes so I could make a week of posts for “Command of the Grill”. Well, I enjoyed cooking the steaks and posting about them so much, that I decided to go ahead and make this an annual event. Not to mention it’s all for a good cause. So, let’s get the 2nd annual Command of the Grill Week going!

Over the next week, what you’re going to see is 1 steak recipe a day a day for the week leading up to the Marin Corps Birthday on November 10th. I’ll be updating this post with the link to each post.

The Recipes for this year are:

- Day 1: Disco’s Hot and Tangy Pork Loin

- Day 2: Chicken Satays

- Day 3: Combat Steaks

- Day 4: Garlic and Balsamic Marinated Steaks with Rosemary

- Day 5: Isaacs’s Inspiration

- Day 6: T-Bone with Bistro Dipping Sauce

- Day 7: Rosemary Crusted Strip Steaks with Gorgonzola Sauce

All of these recipes come from “Command of the Grill”, which take the best steak recipes from a series of grilling competitions held on Marine Corps Bases, and puts them in a book. The book is a whopping $10, and it all goes to charities.

I’m not making a penny off of this, I just want people to buy “Command of the Grill” from Weber, (also available at 1-800-446-1071 and Amazon) so that the entire $10 purchase price can go to some terrific charities, which directly support military members who have been wounded in the line of duty, or to help the families of those military members who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Do you believe in “Support our Troops”? Well this is a painless way to do it. Christmas is coming up, and this makes a terrific present for your friends and family.

If you want to know what charities this goes to help, scroll down. If you want a sample of the recipes in the book, click here for 2 free recipes, both of which are worth the $10 by themselves.

Mike, how Can I Help?

You can help in so many ways, here are a few ideas:

- Buy 1 or more copies of the book.

- Link to a favorite recipe on my blog, and let your readers know it’s for charity.

- Cook up a recipe, post it, and let me know. We can cross link.

Basically, anything that gets people aware of this book, and gets more copies sold, is a winner in my book.

What Charities will the Proceeds for this book go to?

The Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund – Provides financial assistance to injured Marines, and other service members injured while assigned to Marine Units.

The Wounded Warrior Project – Provides programs and assistance to severely wounded service members.

The Fisher House – Provides a home away from home for the families of patients receiving medical treatment at Military and VA medical centers.

The Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation – Assists the Children of Marines and Law Enforcement who were killed while serving their country.

Posted in barbecue, Charity, Command of the Grill 2 Comments »

You may remember that last year I did a week of recipes to promote “Command of the Grill”. Well I’m getting ready to do it again this year, and I would like to get some others involved too. Last year, the wonderful Kellypea did a delicious version of “Disco’s Hot and Tangy New York Strip Steaks” on her blog, Sass and Veracity.

All this involves on your part is picking a recipe, cooking it, taking a few pictures. Of course, you get to eat the tasty beef as well.

All of the proceeds to the book go to charity, and these are charities which help our troops.

The book itself is a whopping $10, and I don’t get a penny of it. It makes a great gift, and with Christmas coming up, it makes a wonderful present. I bet you know someone who is either a Marine, Loves grilling, or even both.

There are two recipes on the internet already, and I can email others to willing participants. If you want to help, comment here, or email me at Mike AT port16 DOT com. I’m starting on November 4th, and finishing on November 10th, the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Support your troops, cook a steak.

Semper Fi!

Posted in Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling, LinkLove 2 Comments »