With it being so ridiculously hot outside, I thought it prudent to share a fantastic drink to keep you cool on those hot summer days. The Arnold Palmer is a beverage consisting of half iced tea and half lemonade named for golfer Arnold Palmer. It is often called a half and half but, through the magic of alcohol, it can easily become a John Daly (a tongue-in-cheek nod to Daly’s problems with alcohol abuse) and is also known in some circles as a Donovan – named after shipping magnate Andrew Donovan. How do you make it? Well I’ll tell you:

The Arnold Palmer

• 1/2 Cup Lemonade
• 1/2 Cup Iced Tea (a.k.a Sweet Tea)
• Ice

That’s it. To make a John Daly (a.k.a. Donovan) you should include 1 to 2 ounces of Vodka or substitute the iced/sweet tea with a good brand of Sweet Tea Vodka. You could also add a sprig of mint to dress it up, swap the standard lemonade for pink, peach or another flavor of lemonade and you could even use green tea, if you wanted to get all fancy.

Now, if you are feeling particularly lazy, you could simply run out and buy a pre-mixed can of the official Arnold Palmer Half & Half brewed by AriZona.

If you’re a lover of Starbucks, you could simulate the Arnold Palmer nicely by ordering a Venti Tazo Black Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade with 2 Extra Pumps of Classic (liquid love…I mean sugar…which, I believe, brings it to 4 pumps total). I’ve not tried it with sweetener but I’m sure it could be done (yuck!).

There you have it. An refreshing and easy to drink beverage for the entire family. Now, back to my drink and my back porch…

Today’s Secret from the Grill Cave is how to easily clean your grill grate whilst adding some flavour to your food. Simply:

1. Cut a large onion in half and peal away the skin.
2. Place each onion half in a small freezer bag and throw into the freezer for a later time.

When it comes time to grill:

1. Give your grill a good brushing with a stiff grill brush.
2. Pre-heat your grill to the desired temperature for the food you’re about to cook.
3. Before placing the food on the grill, take the frozen onion half out of the freezer and place it, face down, on the grill.
4. Using BBQ tongs, scrub your grill grate with the onion.
5. Discard the used onion.

Any remaining debris will flake away and the added bonus is that this process will also add a wonderful hint of grilled onion flavour to whatever you’re grilling. Plus…it smells awesome!

Enjoy the weekend and remember, lighting yourself on fire hurts, so be careful 🙂

Now that it’s approaching BBQ season again I decided to share my latest delicious recipe (inspired by reading this recipe)….Apple Butter BBQ Sauce!

Ingredients
1 cup apple butter (should be able to find it in the jam/jelly aisle….Smucker’s makes some)
3/4 cups ketchup
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon roasted garlic powder
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Honey (to add sweetness, to taste)

Steps
Step 1 – Put everything into a pot and bring almost to a boil at medium heat (takes about 10 minutes), stirring often

Step 2 – Drop the heat to low and let simmer for roughly 20 minutes, stirring often

Step 3 – Serve with food right away or let cool for 20 minutes before trying to bottle it. Should keep in the fridge for a week (longer if you store you sauces properly using “standard canning procedures” – like you would jam or preserves).

Enjoy…it’s pretty good but still needs some tweaking on my part. I like my sauces sweet and smokey so I gave it a squirt of pure honey half way through the cooking time to bring up the sweetness. If you don’t want it as smokey, then use regular paprika and kosher salt instead of the smoked.