Amazon also has the book here (this is a non-affiliate link) for $12.

If you haven’t seen it already, you should check out my Command of the Grill Posts.

Announcing the Second Annual Command of the Grill Week

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

Yup, today was the end of the “Command of the Grill Week”, I hope you enjoyed reading the posts at least about half as much as I enjoyed cooking and eating all of that steak. Maybe now I should go get my cholesterol checked.

Of course, I chose today as the end date because it’s the 233rd birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

If you know a Marine, active duty or not, wish them happy birthday.

To all of my brothers and sisters, both home and abroad, I hope you have a happy and safe day today.

Happy Birthday Devil Dogs!

Semper Fi!

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!

The original recipe calls for Filet Mignon, but being a man on a budget, I made them with New York Strip. To come a little closer, I should have made this with either Rib Eye, just because it’s so tender, or with a T-Bone, since it has a piece of filet mignon on it.

This recipe is Ken Norton’s. Ken Norton fought Mohamad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1973, and won. Ken was introduced to boxing while serving in the Marine Corps, and is in the Marine Corps sports hall of fame.

This steak has a rub of rosemary, salt, black pepper, orange zest and fennel seed. The sauce has shallots, white wine, orange juice, Gorgonzola cheese, and some other spices.

Like all of the others, I really liked this steak. I think it would have been better if I had used the Filet Mignon, like it called for, just because there are more pores and cracks to absorb the herb run, but it was still pretty tasty. If you haven’t had a shallot before, it’s like a cross between a clove of garlic, and an onion. Many people who don’t like either garlic and/or onion like shallots.

The cheese in the sauce really adds a stiff accent to the meat, without overpowering it.

As a side note, I cooked these steaks about one every weekend. Well, last weekend, I realized that I was going to be short 1 steak, so I had to cook one on Saturday, and one on Sunday, right? Wrong.

We had some plans for that Saturday, and ended up not getting home until very late. So I ended up cooking both the T-Bone with Bistro Dipping Sauce, and this steak on the same night. So, long story short, I had 2 steaks for dinner. Yes folks, that’s an example of the lengths I am willing to go, and the sacrifices that I’m willing to make for you. Brings a tear to your eye.

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!

Now, I’ll have to be honest with you on this one. I was really wondering if I should make this recipe. The bistro dipping sauce is mostly ketchup, and I was worried it wouldn’t be that good. I decided to go ahead and give it a try, and boy am I glad I did!

The dipping sauce has Ketchup, butter, molasses, Worcestershire sauce and some spices, and it doesn’t taste like ketchup at all. The sauce was really terrific.

This was one of the celebrity recipes, and was attributed to Ed McMahon, who was a Marine Aviator in both World War 2 and Korea, being promoted to a full Colonel during his service.

Besides Ed’s wonderful bistro dipping sauce, the steaks also have a rub applied to them  before they are grilled. I highly suggest this recipe, and it’s free on the Weber site, so you can give it a try too!

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!

I’ll have to say that I’ve been introduced to some really great stuff making these recipes this year. For today’s steak, Isaac’s inspiration, I learned about Adobo and Sezon seasoning. Mmmm! That stuff is going to find it’s way onto a whole lot of my meats in the future.

This recipe took second place at the MCB Quantico competition, and was created by Sergeant Isaac Gonzalez.

One interesting thing about this steak is that it uses a paste, rather than a rub or marinade. Several ingredients, whiskey, Teriyaki, orange juice, and lime juice, just to name a few, are combined to create a paste. The paste is then smeared over the steak, both sides, and sits like that, in the fridge, for 4 – 6 hours.

I’m a big fan of stuff that smells good while you’re grilling it, and I’ve been known to cook some corn on the cob, in the husk, just for the aroma. This steak smelled terrific when it was being grilled. Not only did it smell good, but it tasted delicious.

This one is going to have to go onto my favorites list for sure.

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!

One of my new favorite cooking ingredients is Balsamic Vinegar, and I have these steaks to thank for it. Sure, I’ve used it before, but what a terrific flavor it has!

This recipe is Bum Phillip’s. These steaks are marinated in the previously mentioned Balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, minced rosemary, and some other ingredients.

The steaks smell absolutely heavenly when you’re cooking them, and the flavors stick with the steak after it comes off of the grill.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

(Clicking on the picture opens full sized version in a new window)

Of all the poorly planned pranks. We went to see 3 Doors Down, and I had the right blankets, but I forgot my camera. The next week, we went to see The Foo Fighters, and I had the camera, but the wrong blankets.

I know, it’s not quite the same, but it should be close enough. Can you tell what I was trying to do with this picture taken at Red Rocks?

Click here if you need a hint.

Now, hopefully I’ll have my camera the next time I’m in Fort Collins, not to mention my keys.

This wallpaper is titled "The Island of Lost Hopes" by George Grie. I found it on Fantasy Art Design.

I really liked this one, and from the sounds in the description, the building was based on an actual piece of architecture. I know one thing, you can forget about pizza delivery if you lived here.

There’s actually a couple of reasons, but this is one that I wanted to share. What you are looking at in this picture is the driver side wheel of my Jeep CJ-7.

This may not look too familiar to you because there is usually a tire, lug nuts, and brake drum on in front of what you see.

Long story short, my axle broke off, and my tire went traveling down the road without me. Art and I talk a great deal about it on Episode 21 of The Two Guys Tech Podcast, and Art actually even used it for the title “My Wheel Just flew right off”.

The round thing in the middle, with the shiny spot, is the axle shaft, and my guess is that it has had a couple of cracks for a long time, and it just finally weakened enough to let go. I don’t have any experience doing a repair like this, so there is a bit of a learning curve.

Just to make things more interesting, I have been running into three other obstacles. One, I can’t go into the auto parts store and buy one of these, after all it is a 24 year old vehicle.

Secondly, the used stuff I am buying is proving impossible to disassemble, so I’ve been going to a machine shop to take care of it.

The final obstacle is that I keep getting bad or incorrect parts. The first axle was damaged, and the second one is too long.

Now I have to wait until Tuesday to get another axle, then get it disassembled.

I will have to say that I feel really blessed that I was only driving about 20 MPH when the wheel came off, and that there were no other cars around. If it had happened on the highway, I could have killed someone with the tire, or myself with the ensuing accident.

So, hang in there, and I’ll try to get to posting a little more frequently, although I haven’t heard much of an outcry about the lack of wallpaper Tuesday and Friday link posts. If you guys actually enjoy those, let me know.

Sorry that I’m so late on this Wallpaper Tuesday, things have really been piling up, and then to make matters worse, I broke my Jeep and have been having lots of problems getting it squared away. Without any more delay…

For this week’s Wallpaper Tuesday I figured I should pick a local attraction. The picture to the left is of Bishop’s Castle, located near San Isabel and Rye Colorado. It’s my photo, so feel free to download it and use it for your wallpaper.

The castle’s construction was started in 1969, and has been built by one man.You can read more about the castle on it’s web site.

It’s really an impressive site, especially considering that one man has built it. The dragon head you see is actually a chimney, but has also been fitted with a propane torch so that it can breath fire. Visitors are allowed to climb around the castle, although those afraid of heights may want to stick to ground level.

If you’re in the area, it’s worth the stop, and you won’t complain about the free admission.

I was feeling a little nostalgic today, so I started looking around for some pictures of some of my favorite places. I ran across this picture, which is of Pyramid Rock beach in Kaneohe, it’s on the Marine Corps base, and you can see a couple of the radar balls in the back ground.

I used to love to go hit this beach for boogie boarding. Lots of times I would get a couple of hours in during the wee hours of the morning before I had to go to work. My friend Bob would always try to get me to laugh right before the waves crashed down on me, so I wouldn’t have any air when it did. I can still feel the salt burning my sinuses.

Of course, this shot is taken from the water, and Pyramid Rock is directly behind the photographer. Thanks to HawaiianBeach for making the photo available on Flickr.

A year ago I had just started getting into Podcast books, and told everyone about a great site to download Podcast Novels. I still make great use of this site. As a matter of fact, just today I posted about how to help a podcast novel author, and I first discovered her work over on PodioBooks.

Continuing on with the podcast novel theme, I also did a review of EarthCore and the author, Scott Sigler, was kind enough to drop by and leave a comment. Scott illustrated one facet of podcast authors, they love their audience, and really respond to their fans. Just the other day I received a response to an email I sent him.

On the technical side of things, there was a huge Skype outage, which was blamed on Windows Update rebooting a whole bunch of computers at the same time, and I told you how you can manually download definitions for Windows Defender.

There’s another free weekend for Team Fortress starting tomorrow. I posted about it over on Two Guys Tech. Lots of neat stuff being added. If you’re interested in Team Fortress 2, you should check it out.

Thanks to Mark at BlueHost for figuring it out and fixing it!

I was really impressed because I called them, and only had to wait for something like 3 seconds before I was able to talk to him.

Although the classics stick with me, I hadn’t really explored any of his other writings, but looking through the bibliography in the link above, I already see many things that I would like to read.

Britain’s “The Orwell Prize”, an award for political writing, is publishing George Orwell’s diaries, in blog format. The Website is The Orwell Diaries.

Besides the fact that it’s a look into the life of a great writer, one interesting aspect is that the diaries start on August 9th, 1938, and the blog was started on August 9th, 2008, exactly 70 years after the entries were written.

If you’re interested in reading more about the diaries, read the blog’s about page. I know I’m interested in reading the blog, and seeing what Orwell’s thoughts were. I hope you’ll join me.