Martha Stewart Living Radio

Whew! I just got off the phone from a live radio interview on the Martha Stewart Morning Living show. Was I nervous? Hell, yes! But hosts Kim and Betsy were so conversational and fun to talk to that I soon forgot about my nerves. We discussed the difference between grilling and smoking, equipment, and what to start with for the first time (I suggested starting with chicken thighs because they are so forgiving and take the least amount of time). I even spoke to a caller from Nova Scotia who is the grill master of her house (you go girl!). The hosts asked the caller what the husband was doing while she grilled, and she answered, "Drinking beer in the Lazy Boy". We'll have to work on that, sister. If we are going to take the tongs, then they need to take something too - like the vacuum, or at least a rag. You get what I'm saying?

OK - so one goof - in my nervousness I said the thighs only would take about and hour and a half. This is true if you first hit them for about 4-5 minutes on both sides over direct flames first. It's called Combination cooking. First grill them, then move the thighs to the indirect side of your grill - the part with no flames - and cook them slowly over low heat (225-250 degrees). Because these don't smoke as long, just about any wood will work to "get your smoke on". I would use two decent sized wood chunks on my charcoal grill, or a cup of wood chips in a foil pouch for a gas grill.

*In case you haven't seen it, the picture shown is the cover of Porno for Women, a hilarious book by "The Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative", with photos of guys cleaning or holding flowers with captions like, "I don't have to have a reason to buy you flowers" or "I like to get to these things before being asked". Beautiful.