Why not? I've Grilled Pizza? Why not cake?

Grilled pound cake is my signature dessert. It’s a perfect match for my style of cooking, which is heavy on barbecue, the real, slow-smoked kind, as well as when I fire up the grill. Sure, you can make your own pound cake and ice cream from scratch or you can save some time and pick some up at the store.

The great thing is that you can replace ingredients as needed. No strawberries? Use pineapple, peaches, or mandarin oranges. Flavored pound cake and your favorite ice cream and toppings will help you make this dish one of your own. You can also trim calories by using low-fat, sugar-free items and dropping the butter and brown sugar.

Apple Butter Marinade & Sauce
Do you want to add some extra flavor to your pork chops? Do you have some apple butter in the fridge. Guess what? These two thing come together for great taste with little fuss. And, you can use apple butter one other items and as an ingredient for marinades, sauces and more.

It's not just for Toast!
Not that there is anything wrong with apple butter on toast or on a hot cat head biscuit! But why stop there? You can use this sweet apple flavored sauce on all kinds of items besides biscuits and pork chops. In fact, check out these bullet points.

• It’s easy and add flavor fast.
• It's not as sodium laden store marinades or sauces.
• With a few simple ingredient changes you can convert a simple marinade to a barbecue sauce and even a dipping sauce.

Burgers Voted Spring Favorite!

Guess what? People love grilling!  Guess what else... people love grilling burgers! The results are in for the latest Deck Chef Foodie Poll. When asked what would be the first items fired up on the grill an whopping 58.1% of respondents said Burgers.

The thing is that the choice of burgers included beef burgers, turkey burgers, pork burgers, turkey burgers and more. We love stuff on a Bun! That's a given, but how did your other grilled favorites come out?

Grill, Brunch or Lunch!
What’s your Mother’s Day Plan?

Mother's Day is approaching! What better time than now to offer up a few ideas on how you can treat your mom to a wonderful day. Here are a few ideas on how you can pre-plan her favorite meal. Hopefully these quick tips will inspire you to make the day perfect.

The Grill Tip!
Has mom asked for her favorite meal to be served up hot off the grill? For many families a cook out on the deck or in the back yard is the way to go on special occasions. If the occasion is something like Mother’s Day then the big tip is to make sure what you are planning on grilling is what she wants to eat. Sure, burgers, dogs, bratwurst and sausage may be your favorite items but mom maybe thinking about steak, chicken, fish or shrimp. All I’m saying is to check with mom. That’s a good tip in any situation.

Secondly - grilling means cooking outdoors so a backup plan in case of rain needs to be thought about. It may be a simple as an umbrella.

Charcoal 101

So, you're about to fire up the grill and you have run out of charcoal. (Gas grill guys, stick with me.) So you're out of charcoal and a run to the store is in order. What are you going to buy? In most cases... charcoal. "Ahhhh," I say. "What type? Are you buying Lump or Briquette?"

How this topic started. First, there was a beverage involved. That's a given. Next, I was talking with a buddy about charcoal when he stopped me after about five seconds and asked; “What’s lump charcoal?” Wham, there’s an article! Thanks to Ronnie at Kick Stand Up magazine in Chattanooga for allowing this important topic to grace the pages of his magazine. Lumps or Briquettes. I know, not really a hot social topic or motorcycle theme. But Ronnie thought it was pretty cool since it is the start of summer.

Diary of a Comfort Foodie: BBQ Bruschetta

Yep, I know....barbecue and Bruschetta?

I’ve had several people ask me to give the Bruschetta recipes that I did with on WRCB 3 NBC Chattanooga during the 3 Plus You program. The truth is that I did a very quick version to show how simple this dish can be. So, what is Bruschetta?

Broken down to its lowest level Bruschetta is bread lightly basted with olive oil and toasted over coals, or grilled, or baked… you get the idea. For general conversation, that’s all Bruschetta really is. I’ve been told the whole idea is that this was a way to test the flavor of a batch of Olive Oil back in the day. Everything after that is for fun. Traditionally you’ll see tomato, garlic, cannellini beans etc.

Monthly cookbook winner - De'An Ray! - Congrats to De’An Ray is this month's cookbook winner. She will be getting a signed copy of the Texas Hometown Cookbook in the mail just in time for summer cooking. Ray, a lover of horses and trail riding, professes a love of Chuck Wagon Cooking! “I really can cook, but I have a friend that is a chef and I always tell her "I'm just a fry cook"!

When it comes to having a favorite food De’An says that Mexican & Tex-Mex cuisine is the way to go. In fact, De’An may have figured out the real reason that breakfast is often called the most important meal. “Sometimes there’s nothing better than a Mexican breakfast and a cold beer to start your day!”