4 of 111: Goal 50

Two blog posts in two days? Could it really be true? I know you're all keeling over with joy right about now.

Seriously, though, I have some great news. Last night, I was able to check another goal off my 111 for 2011!

How this happened was mostly what I would call God's direction and perfect timing. Or just a good sale on steak that my mother-in-law took advantage of and shared with us. Either way!

Last night I got the chance to grill out again, and this time we got to enjoy some delicious KC Strip steaks. In case you were wondering, I love steak. Love, love, love. Don't tell my wife. Or better yet, do tell her, so she'll buy it more often!

Here's the deal. When I was younger, we used to have birthday dinners around or on my birthday. I don't know that they happened every year, but I remember them happening pretty regularly. If we were feeling rich (or lazy, you pick) we would go out to eat, probably at Applebee's, and I would order a nice, juicy sirloin to devour with some mashed potatoes.

However, when my dad was still around, we would grill out and have steak and potatoes at home. Great memories. So you can see where my love for steak comes from. And to boot, my dad was great at grilling. Unfortunately, he forgot to teach me his secrets, so I usually have to wing it.

So here's to me winging it...

Our little baby grill out on our snowy porch. I figured 38 degrees was plenty warm for grilling.

First of all, if you look closely at the picture, you can see that there is an absurdly low amount of charcoal in my miniature grill. To be exact, there was something like 7 or 8 pieces in there. I had no idea that we had so little charcoal left, so I figured that the steaks might not cook all the way while on the grill (because again, I don't know much about grilling).

This is what I would call the "before" shot. A little sea salt and pepper before the grilling commences.

Fortunately, the steaks were able to cook all the way through, despite our charcoal deficiency. The result was beautiful:

Grilled to near perfection.

And thus, the eating commenced. The steaks were just a little bit too done for my taste, but not so done that you could bounce them off of a brick wall. We both enjoyed our steaks with some mashed potatoes and corn, and submitted ourselves to the beauty that is a very full, satisfied stomach.

So there you have it. I was able to grill and eat my first steak for the year, and I haven't died yet. Delicious. Can't wait to do it again!

What are your best grilling tips? I might even try some the next time I grill!