Tag Archives: Food

Date Night for Two with Kingsford Original

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingsfordFlavor #CollectiveBias

It’s hard to believe that it’s already July! The time has just flown by with get-togethers and trips leaving little time to just enjoy our surroundings and relax. One thing that we always say we’re going to do is stay home one night and cook dinner. Recently, I was at The Home Depot and saw the Kingsford Original Twinpack and decided it’s time to have that dinner.

That sweet scent of the grill is the best. With the cooler night air, it’s nice to just take it easy outside with some home cooking. The Home Depot is currently running a special on the Kingsford Original Twinpack – 2 bags for $9.88!!! Found in the camping/outdoor grilling section (right as I walked in) and huge in-store displays. The price is great too as The Home Depot is currently running a special that has nearly cut the cost in half! (The timing is perfect for this holiday weekend!)

Once I had the Kingsford Original charcoal, it was time to get the food in gear. We headed to the grocery store determined it was going to be our best, first home grilled dinner. We went home, ready to prepare delicious and easy portions to cook out. What’s great for cooking with charcoal is that you can take it essentially anywhere. A small grill in the back deck / patio or even venturing out to the park to enjoy the fresh air.

How to use the charcoal: If you’ve never grilled using charcoal before it’s incredibly easy. Place the briquets close together on the bottom of the grill (about 40 pieces). Light (with newspaper or lighter fluid) and let them burn for 10-15 minutes. They’ll be ready for cooking once the they are lightly covered in ash and gray in color. Ensure this is done prior to any food being placed on the grill. (There are directions to reference on the back of the bag.)

Charcoal is great because it allows you to control the heat. We kept the charcoal mostly on one half of the grill for high heat and allowed the other half to have a bit of a lower temperature. This is dependent on what’s being placed on the grill. The following items were prepared ahead of time – easy preparation and transportation to the grill.

Grilled potatoes is one of my favorites.
1. Chop potatoes into small bite-sized portions (the smaller the size, the quicker they will cook). 2. Season evenly with Montreal Steak seasoning, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a couple small scoops of butter on top.
3. Don’t be afraid to get your hands in there to mix them around. Wrap / seal in aluminum foil. These will take a little longer so be sure to throw these on the grill first.

This grilled corn on the cob is also my favorite. Who am I kidding, I was all about the veggies! 1. Prior to placing the corn on the cob on the grill, soak in water for 10 minutes. This will prevent the corn from drying out (unless you’re going for popcorn). The corn will also take some time so place shortly after the potatoes and rotate frequently.
2. Check the corn by opening the husks and checking the tenderness. This will be the best corn you’ve ever had. Pretty sure, I surprised Spencer with this one. He loved it!

The grilled zucchini and asparagus were easy as well.
1. Slice, drizzle on the olive oil and sprinkle with season salt (on one side).
These will be the quickest items that we cooked so only give them 8-12 minutes so so. Ensure they’re rotated while on the grill.

The steak! We picked up this great steak and it was really fit for two people. Seasoned with season salt and/or fajita seasoning and thrown right on the grill.
The tip to grilling steaks is to not touch them very often. Let them sit and cook to your preference on one side and flip. Remember, they’ll continue to cook once taken off the grill.
The best in our opinion is medium-rare, and Chef Spencer aced this one.

This was the perfect date night for us after ending a busy weekend. Sometimes it’s nice and relaxing to just make the meal yourself and stay closer to home, enjoy your surroundings and the ones you are with. We’re already planning the next grilling night!

Are you now in the mood to grill? What’s your favorite grilled dish? Head on over to your nearest The Home Depot store to pick up Kingsford Original Twinpack. (Click here to find the store nearest you.)
Find more creative recipe inspirations here.

FWFWF: Grand Tasting Event

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Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post however I did receive tickets to the event in return for the publication. As always, all opinions are my own. #FWFWF #GrandTasting #FortWorthTX

Everything is bigger in Texas, including quality. Where no holds bar, the Grand Tasting showcased the the most exceptional items at this year’s Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival. Including presentations from some of the area’s most elite restaurants, local breweries and North Texas wines and spirits there was no limitation of the items that can be devoured. Lobster rolls, smoked salmon, bread pudding and jalapeño beer. (Yes, jalapeño beer and it was phenomenal.) This was the event to dress up a little and be ready for a evening of treating yourselves.

With as much wine as food (let’s be honest, I’m convinced there was definitely more wine), the first stop had to be a wine table. With wines companies from all over Texas and all over the world, we can all find something that we enjoy. A great sommelier always finds something that you would enjoy. Keeping up with the wine selection was something of a challenge for me, I prefer Malbecs but it was great to try some wines that were new to me and to expand my pallet.

TX Whiskey and Tito’s were available with areas for themselves. Enjoy the Tito’s bar room with specialty mixed cocktails or swing over to TX Whiskey (our favorite) for their delicious TX Whiskey Grapefruit Honey Water. Talk about something to cool you off this summer on a scorching day! If you are unfamiliar with TX Whiskey, they have a pretty unique distinction. Every bottle has a different leather top. Collect a few, display them. It’s a great characteristic to add to their label.

Then, I came across my favorite of the night. In fact, I’m just as surprised that I loved this beer as much as I did. Jalapeno beer by No Label Brewing Company. As soon as I had a sip, I couldn’t wait to be sitting outside with a beer in one hand and a great burger in the other!

To the food!
The food was amazing! With some of the best restaurants in Fort Worth gathered in one room, you are bound to just wear pants that are a little loser or for the ladies, just go with a dress. You will want to try everything! It’s even better to run into friends while you are there (or make new ones) and hear about their favorites. Here are a few of the finds that we found along the way with some of our favorites for the night!

Our Favorites
Let’s be serious and ask where do we even start with this?
Bonnells Pork and Jalapeno, Cafe Modern Pork Sandwich and one table had a great cornbread (we lost track of who but I’ll try to figure it out – if you know please comment).
Plus the following…

Pacific Table – Salmon

Smoked Salmon

Capital Grille – Lobster Roll

Whiskey and Rye – Bread Pudding with Whiskey Ice Cream

Honorable Mentions and Other Dishes From the Evening:

Seafood Tamale

This event was really fantastic. It not only brought together the elite fine dining restaurants of Fort Worth but exposes you to previously unaware options. The hard part is it’s created a new bucket list of places to check out. SO many choices, so little time. It’s a good thing we like to run at the parks!

What was your favorite option at the Grand Tasting? What would you like the most?

A full recap of our experience at the Fort Wort Food and Wine Festival as well as links to the other events can be found, here.

FWFWF: #LateNight Dessert After Dark

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Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post however I did receive tickets to the event in return for the publication. As always, all opinions are my own. #FWFWF #DessertAfterDark #FortWorthTX #LateNight

The second day of the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival consisted of the Grand Tasting and for those with a sweeter tooth, Dessert After Dark. Held at the astounding 802 Vickery venue, an evening of TX Whiskey based desserts and cocktails ensued.

Dessert After Dark held one rule constant, each item featured had to incorporate Fort Worth’s own TX Whiskey into the mix. With creativity and ingenuity, these chefs and bartenders stepped up to the plate and delivered some incredible items. Each guest was given two voting chips when they arrived to the event, one for a favorite beverage and the other for their favorite food.

Where to start? Let’s just start out with the food. Everything from ice cream, pies, macaroons, chocolate and pies. It’s a dessert heaven! There’s a key to all of these, take a small bite of each in order to experience them all! (My favorite? The whiskey ball featured above.)

802 Vickery, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, FWFWF, TX Whiskey

Dude, Sweet Chocolate

We can’t forget our beverages can we? The the desserts, each mixed cocktail must feature TX Whiskey. This is where everyone became really creative and where we realized that grapefruit is the perfect addition to a whiskey beverage (and it can be used in so many ways!). If there’s grapefruit, that means we can just have one of these for breakfast, right?

Our favorite drink of the evening!

The event was a fantastic way to end the evening. With plenty of room, an amazing outdoor venue, friendly people – if this sounds like your kind of party, this is the event for you. Our only fore-warning is the beverage lines took a little time as drinks were being prepared fresh. On the flip side, drinks were being prepared fresh!

Did you attend the #LateNight Desserts After Dark? If so, what was your favorite?

A full recap of our experience at the Fort Wort Food and Wine Festival as well as links to the other events can be found, here.