A Grate Christmas With Family & Friends

The Airbnb we rented for our family was perfect for our 2020 Christmas holiday.  It was well equipped for our group of 12.  Fire Pit, Hot Tub, a huge screened-in porch with outdoor seating for all of us. There was  even a hammock for 2 and corn toss area.

The grilling station was superb as well.  A new Weber Genesis got a new set of GrillGrates and related grate tools, so we were ready for non-stop grilling.  The only thing missing was outdoor lighting at the grill, but a head lamp from my son solved that problem and we were all set to grill wonderful family meals which Susan planned meticulously.

The first day we dove in made pizzas together.  Everyone helped knead the dough and topped the pizzas according to their tastes.  Julia made a pie in the shape of a heart.  Of course, mine was a meat lovers pie.  We used the Urban Slicer dough which has become a staple for many of our customers.  It’s so easy to just add water, knead and let it rise for a couple of hours.  We made 8 pies and had a good bit left over.  The next day for lunch those leftovers disappeared.  We learned one thing about the Urban Slicer dough- it’s fabulous the 2^nd day!

Day two of our holiday grilling was herb chicken with “Alabama” white sauce.  Always a hit.  We filled the grill, every inch of it.  This time there were no left-overs but some of the white sauce. We intentionally make more of the white sauce as it’s amazing on almost everything.

Day 3 was Christmas Eve and we pulled out all the stops. A seafood feast! King Crab Legs, jumbo shrimp and large scallops. (Thank  you Costco!) We marinated the shrimp in the shell and used two skewers on both the scallops and the shrimp.  Again, I filled the grill twice, and again no leftovers except for a handful of shrimp which I ate the next day with the left-over white sauce.

For Christmas Day Dinner we grilled up filet mignon.  We bought two nicely trimmed tenderloins from Costco and I cut them into filets and steaked up the tail section and grilled it all.  No leftovers save a few trimmings which the dogs enjoyed.  I cut the center of the tenderloin into relatively thick filets and used the “Ruth Chris” kiss technique to deliver that extra sear and sizzle.  I’ve been buying extra thick filets just so I can grill them on all sides followed by a hot sear using the flat side of the GrillGrates.   I use the Ruth Chris kiss most of the time I grill steaks and burgers.  To me it delivers the perfect sear and amps up the grilled flavor a lot.

To wrap up our holiday we grilled paddy melts for everyone.  We found some cheese at the local farmers market and even rye bread.   I used the Ruth Chris Kiss on the burgers too. On the second flip on the flat side I applied the cheese.   Burgers seemed to be the perfect sendoff food and a great finale for our holiday meals.

Now you may think our holiday meals were all about the grilling- not true.  I enjoyed myself immensely at the grill, but the real pleasure was hearing all the noise and laughter from our family.  They appreciated the meals to be sure, but I know the food was secondary to the companionship and fellowship we all enjoyed together.   Not going out for meals turned out to be a blessing as we enjoyed a more intimate, more engaged family gathering.  The gang is gone but the memories of a grate holiday gathering will be savored for a long time.  We most certainly lived up to our brand’s motto… GrillGrate, Eat Well!

#GrillGrateful #HolidayGrilling

-Brad