I have a confession to make. I have many items that were sent to me that I have on tap to review, and I will start hammering those out in the next couple of weeks. Good for all of you for content, good for me for content, and good for my publicist friends who are being patient!
Now, I have another confession to make. I love burgers, and I found these most excellent Kobe beef burgers at Trader Joe’s. You let them defrost for a day in your fridge (or under cold water in the package if you have less time), and either grill or make in a skillet on your stove. Yesterday I remembered that I bought some Melinda’s Habanero Ketchup, and so I paired the two items for lunch. Even better, I picked up a nice big kaiser roll at the grocery store to put it on. Man, I’m getting hungry again.
So since it was about 95 degrees at lunchtime, and my deck is right in direct sun, I cooked this burger inside, with a dome over the pan to keep the steam and juices all locked in. And for some burgers, you just can’t load on lettuce, tomato or even (gasp!) cheese. So I did this the way I like it–a little salt on the burger, and then just the ketchup on both sides. And I lucked out too by cooking the burger perfectly–a little pink in the middle, and with the juices intact. And with the spicy tang of the ketchup, it was a masterpiece.
The downside? I had to finish working rather than take a long nap.
Quirky, the folks that bring us “inventions” at the retail level, sent two items recently. The first is called “Stem,” and is simply a spray nozzle with little perforation ridges that make it easy to slide it right into a citrus fruit such as a lemon, lime or orange. This thing is amazing! I stuck one in a lemon and had instant lemon spritz, perfect for a natural blast of juice for a salad or in a beverage or on grilled chicken or fish. I haven’t tried it with limes or oranges yet, but wow. This one is a keeper. I haven’t tried it on a slab of bacon yet, but maybe that’s for another day.
Quirky also sent me “Sliders,” which are skewers–but not just any skewers. They are dual prongs so that your meat and veggies stay on there easily. They also have a function where you can push the items off the kebab once you are done grilling. That’s always a pain as you have to use a fork and try not to burn or stick yourself. But here’s the problem….the part where you push, which also has a handle, is suppose to be heat-resistant plastic. But mine started to melt from my grill’s heat. Oops. But still a cool product idea!
Finally, we were sent this awesome 10-in-1 gadget from 
I think I first had pimento cheese on a burger when I lived in Nashville. It was like crack on a bun, and I usually order it when I see it on a menu, no matter what form that it’s in. Well, you all know my favorite grocery store is Trader Joe’s, and last week I found two things to help celebrate Grilled Cheese Month–pimento cheese and these kickass ciabatta rolls. The rolls are those half baked ones that you finish in the oven, giving you the impression that you just baked them from scratch. Pimento cheese, if you haven’t had it before, is more of a spread–it’s usually make with a combination of cream cheese, cheddar, pimentos, and other spices and flavorings. And best of all, it melts into oozy goodness.
You are likely getting tired of hearing me pimp 