What Does Barbecue Mean To You?

Planet Barbecue by Steven Raichlen takes a look at barbecue from around the world.

Tonight Matt and I attended the book signing here in San Diego.

I had a wonderful time and enjoyed Steven Raichlen's lecture about his book and why he was driven to write it. I loved how he spoke about the beginning of his book and how barbecuing came about and has changed from century to century, and is different from country and country.

To celebrate this book we cooked up three out of the hundreds of recipes. And so far they all came out amazing... so we can't wait to cook up lots more.

1st - Piri-Piri Chicken Wings In The Style Of Nando's

I'm not sure how to get to this Nando's place, But I want to go! These wings grilled on the barbecue were amazing! They were cooked perfect (Thanks Matt!) and fell right off the bone. The marinade was a perfect amount of spice and it helped that we marinaded them over night! This recipe calls for a South African Piri-Piri sauce which after some googling we found Deli SA* here in San Diego which carried it. Piri-Piri is a type of chili pepper and the recipe includes other tips if the sauce is not available near you. That's not all... this dish also calls for a sauce to baste it with when it is finished cooking. Yum! We couldn't even keep them on the platter long enough... They came out so delicious and flavorful. Can't wait to make them again!

2nd - Hanger Steak With Marchand De Vin Sauce

Oh La La - Loved This! The recipe from comes from Paris from when Steven Raichlen was at school there. We were able to find a perfect cut of hanger steak from our local meat market. A hanger steak is a cut of beef steak which is said to "hang" from the diaphragm of the steer. With this recipe you just salt and pepper the steak and throw it on the grill for a bit... The secret is in the sauce! It was simply amazing! It uses shallots, mushrooms and BACON! Also, it calls for a Burgundy wine and parsley which I cut from my herb garden. It says in the recipe "If this book was about classic French cuisine, you'd strain the sauce. I prefer it with the bits of bacon, shallots, and mushroom, so I don't bother." And I couldn't agree more. I paired this with some mashed potatoes and left over corn on the cob. You should definitely try this recipe.

3rd - Jose Andees Grilled Bread With Chocolate

Wait what? Yes I said it... Grilled bread with chocolate... Awesome!

Chocolate sandwiched between two slices of grilled bread brushed with olive oil. Be sure the grill is set to medium-high and is cleaned off well. I accidentally bought a light sourdough ciabbatta but it was still amazing! I paired this with a vanilla ice cream but the chocolate sandwich was great all alone too.