BBQ and Dalmatians

It's that time of year, and especially with our unseasonably warm weather, the Thrill of the GRILL is on my mind. My company sells a lot of grilling products from brushes to BBQ pizza pans to an old favorite called the BAR-B-Boss. "The Boss" always got a few giggles when described, with it's beer bottle opener built in.  I wonder why they changed the name! HA!

So last year, Pizza on the Grill was all the rage - and on a gorgeous but hot day in the middle of the summer I planned with my hosts an outdoor show. I arrived that July day, at the home of twin ladies that own three large dalmatian dogs. When I have done shows in the past, they gated off an area so that the dogs were not part of the demonstration. They are quite exuberant dogs!   But this time, we had to keep going through their gated area to get to the porch. The dogs attacked me as I walked to the porch, with my bags and the food, and for everything I kept forgetting in the kitchen, again, and again. And as the guests each arrived one by one they too, had to fight the pack to get outside, each being attacked, jumped on and licked. (Keep in mind these dogs are human-sized)... And at one point the dogs escaped outside to the porch and started to eat the food off the guests plates as they snacked before the demonstration and I guarded with my life the main ingredients for the demo! I believe one of the guests was actually knocked off her chair in the struggle for the snack plate! We finally got them locked back inside, and I made it to the grill with everything and was ready to begin.  As I began the demonstration, and started to talk about the recipes, and hand out the catalogs, I turned to light the grill and the grill was out of gas. Ug.

The show did go on, and the host ran and got some more gas... and we had a lovely party and everyone loved the pizzas. But wow, I needed a nap and a mojito or two when I got home. Now if you would like to recreate the scene at your house (sans the dogs- or not!)  And you don't own a grill pizza pan - here is an easy recipe that I like. And then following that is a new recipe for a delicious easy Grilled BBQ Chicken pizza with the fantastic pan...

ENJOY! I'm thinking that fan of the week this week is going to get one of our delicious Rubs, perfect for the grill! So if you haven't done so yet, Like Confessions of a Direct Seller on Facebook - and be sure to make a comment or LIKE something on the page to get in on FAN of the WEEK. 

ENJOY! 

Grilled Pizza

Ingredients

Assortment of vegetables

Pizza Dough - or Mini- partially baked pizza crusts (found near pita breads)

Pre-cooked meat of your choice

Olive oil

1 garlic clove

½ cup pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Grill spray (I used Pam for grilling)

Directions

1. Clean cool grill and spray with non-stick spray. Pre-heat grill.

2. Cut up the vegetables for topping

3. Coat a large piece of aluminum foil with olive oil and put vegetables in middle of foil.

Fold up the four sides to make a foil packet.  OR Saute vegetables in sauté pan.

4. If cooking vegetables on grill – cook for 5-10 minutes or until your liking.

5. Roll out dough onto wax paper or parchment paper. Put on a large round stone. The pizza stone does not go on the grill, it is used to carry the pizza and then to put it back on when done. 

6. Brush top of crust with olive oil and press on a clove of garlic.

7. Put oil side down onto grill for 1-2 minutes over indirect heat. Watch it carefully so that it does not burn. Bush top with oil immediately upon removing parchment.

8. Turn crust over and spread on pizza sauce and top with veggies meat and cheese, close lid.

9. Open after 2-3 minutes and take off of grill after cheese is melted. & ENJOY

For EASIEST way - use a dough that has been partially cooked, like a Boboli, or a pocketless pita bread for an individual size. 

Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1	small red onion
2	garlic cloves, peeled
2	cups (500 mL) shredded cooked rotisserie chicken
1	cup (250 mL) Beer Barbecue Sauce, divided
2	tsp (10 mL) finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/2	tsp (10 mL) coarsely ground black pepper
	Cornmeal for dusting
1	lb (450 g) frozen prepared pizza dough, thawed (see Cook's Tip)
6	oz (175 g) marbled cheddar cheese (see Cook's Tip), grated
	Additional fresh oregano leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare grill for indirect cooking over medium-high heat. Slice onion crosswise usingSimple Slicer on #3 setting. Separate onion slices into rings. Slice garlic using Garlic Slicer. Combine chicken, 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the sauce, oregano and black pepper inSmall Batter Bowl; toss to coat.
2. Generously sprinkle Pastry Mat with cornmeal; place dough onto center of mat. UsingBaker's Roller®, roll to a 12-in. (30-cm) circle. Place dough onto BBQ Pizza Pan, gently stretching to cover bottom.
3. Spread remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) sauce evenly over crust to within 1/2 in. (1 cm) of edge. Top with chicken mixture, garlic and onion; sprinkle with cheese.
4. Place pizza pan on grid of grill. Grill, covered, 18-22 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown, carefully rotating pan occasionally using Silicone Oven Mitt. Remove pizza pan from grill. Sprinkle pizza evenly with additional oregano, if desired. Remove pizza from pan; cut pizza into 12 slices.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrients per serving: (2 slices): Calories 430, Total Fat 16 g, Saturated Fat 7 g, Cholesterol 65 mg, Sodium 730 mg, Carbohydrate 50 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 24 g

Cook's Tips: Regular barbecue sauce can be substituted for the Beer Barbecue Sauce, if desired.

Marbled cheddar cheese is a block of white and yellow cheddar cheeses. Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend can be substituted for the marbled cheddar, if desired.

For easier rolling, let pizza dough stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before rolling it out.

Triple Citrus Mojitos

I was just flipping through the news feed when I saw a picture of a Mojito and it reminded me of a funny story. I was doing a cooking show in Chicago a few years back.  I can trace this show to my first year in the business, when my X-boyfriend's sister (My beloved friend Kristi) hosted. A couple of gentlemen were guests at the party,  they loved all the products, and decided to host their own show. A month or so later, I'm doing a final check in call a couple days before, and my Host says, "I made a terrible mistake, I put on all the invitations that the party was tomorrow instead of Sunday! Any chance you can come then? I have about 20 gay couples coming to the party!"  Luckily, it worked out that I was able to do the show. I had never had an all-male straight show, let alone an all-male gay show, so I wasn't sure what to expect. 


To my delight, it was probably the nicest show I have ever had. Lawyers, Doctors, Realtors, a Dentist and a variety of Professional, extremely handsome, helpful and attentive guests. Triple Citrus Mojitos were on the menu, and we made some mini bbq sandwiches and I think they even applauded when I finished the show. I will never think of Mojitos in the same way.   Now if you happen to love Mojitos but do not want to make them, I have a wonderful Cucumber Mint Mojito mix that serves 16 - send me a message on FB. 
ENJOY this wonderful weather! 

Triple-Citrus Mojitos
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 pkg (.75 oz) fresh mint leaves (about 1 1/4 cups leaves), divided
1 orange
2 lemons, divided
2 limes, divided
1/2 cup white rum (optional)
5 cups chilled lemon-lime soda

Directions:
1.  Combine sugar and water in Small Batter Bowl. Tear six mint leaves in half and place into Quick-Stir(R) Pitcher; set aside. Finely chop remaining leaves with Chef's Knife and place into batter bowl. Zest orange, one of the lemons and one of the limes using Zester/Scorer; add zest to mint mixture. Microwave on HIGH 2-3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

2.  Slice orange, both of the lemons and both of the limes in half crosswise. Reserve half of one lemon and half of one lime for garnish. Juice remaining lemon and lime halves using Citrus Press; add juices to pitcher. Juice orange with Juicer; add juice to pitcher.

3.  Pour mint mixture through Strainer into pitcher; discard chopped mint. Add rum, if desired. Carefully add soda to avoid overflow. Slice reserved lemon and lime halves with Ultimate Mandoline fitted with v-shaped blade; place into pitcher. Place lid onto pitcher and plunge gently. Serve over ice.

Yield:  8 servings

Tornadoes, Life Lessons and Pistachio crusted chicken

As 95 tornadoes touched down in the Eastern Midwest on March 2nd, I was en route to a fabulous Leadership retreat for my company in the Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee. Of the 225 leaders there, 10% were at the highest levels of the company. I couldn't help but wonder how easily our company could have been crippled by Mother Nature. It flashed me back to that devastating 9-11 day, where some had their entire NY office wiped out. I had never before related that moment to how someone might feel who lives in a town wiped out by a tornado.  A freaky moment, reinforced on the drive home through the ravaged towns in Kentucky and Indiana, that I had driven through 48 hours before. I think how funny it is that in life, we periodically get reminders of our gifts and blessings.  Sometimes that reminder happens after a funeral, an injury or even a crime. This time, for me it was 95 tornadoes.



After Near-Death Friday, we emerged from the basement and a day later how different life was! Fantastic training, amazing food, a couple cocktails, a hot tub and some quality time with some great friends. Life can be so hard. (Heehee). I want to share three of the many things that I took away from this training,  besides a new energy and enthusiasm for my business, and my life... 


#1 I learned that I need to hear things repeated again and again for them to soak in and that I enjoy a good reminder of a great perspective. I remembered a training at a conference where I  learned about the difference between working for someone else, and working for yourself. An Entrepreneur by definition, "is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative." Thanks Wikipedia!   Often times we are tempted to count every hour spent, and have remorse over every call not returned or product not sold. But when you have the true entrepreneurial spirit you know that experiences that sometimes are called "failures" are small stones on your path to success. 


#2 As one of our speakers, Darla Oelmann, reminded us, in life we need to constantly be improving ourselves. I will have to paraphrase her great talk, but basically... school is never out! If you want to be better in life, love and business you should be constantly looking for things you can "sponge up".   "Leadership is not built in a day - it's built daily." 


#3 And the third thing I learned that I really thought you would appreciate is that I really love Pistachio Crusted Chicken. I'm not sure if this is the exact recipe I tasted, but it sounds darn good. So enjoy your day and let me know if you have any great ideas for me on how I'm going to improve myself today!


Kathy

Pistachio Crusted Chicken - Allrecipes.com

Rated: Submitted By: Julie Photo By: Hot Chilli Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 4

"Kids will love these quick pistachio chicken strips; adults will too! This recipe is very easy, and elegant. Anyone can make it, and everyone will enjoy it!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup chopped pistachios 1/2 cup bread crumbs 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey salt and pepper to taste 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch strips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2.	Mix together pistachios and bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together Dijon mustard, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper until smooth. Dip chicken into Dijon mixture to coat, then coat with bread crumbs. Place onto prepared baking sheet.
3.	Place into preheated oven and turn the oven down to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake until the chicken is no longer pink and the pistachio coating is golden brown, about 20 minutes.