On Our Grills September

I didn't catch the Weather Channel's forecast for Hades but I'm pretty sure the place has frozen over.

Why? Because I cooked tofu on the grill today.

Remember those “friends” of mine and their monthly “On Our Grills 4 Ingredient Challenge”? 

Yeah, I hate them.  Okay, hate might be a strong word but I'm certainly not fond of whoever picked this month's ingredients.  (I kid, we bust each other's chops a lot.)

Tofu

Peas

Potatoes

Cheese (or melon, depending which e-mail you read)

Tofu? Seriously. My first thought was to just grill it and drench it in BBQ sauce. But when I was buying tofu at the store I found an Italian sausage style tofu and thought I could make a vegetarian lasagna.

I sliced the potatoes thin on a mandolin and used that instead of lasagna noodles. I layered them on the bottom of a greased disposable pan and topped with some red pesto sauce. Next was sliced tofu, green pepper and onions. I topped it all with mozzarella and smoked cheddar cheese then repeated. 

Then one more layer of potatoes, pesto and cheese.

I covered with foil and cooked on my Big Green Egg at 325f for 45 minutes. I had it set up like a convection oven (plate setter, legs up).

Meanwhile, I used the peas to make The Hungry Housewife's Jumping For Joy PhillyPeas which have bacon. You know if I'm having a vegetarian main course then I am having meat in my side dish, right?

After the 45 minutes passed, I took the foil off of the lasagna and let it go 10 more minutes.

I let it cool and then served it with garlic bread.

Results

First the positives. The peas were creamy and every bit as delicious as Leslie said they would be. The lasagna LOOKED good and I thought it was a creative use of the ingredients.

But I did not like the lasagna and it was easily my least favorite dish of 2011. That's the ups and downs of this challenge. If you keep trying things you've never had or done before, you're going to have some bumps along the way.

Don't let my failure deter you from checking out what the rest of the gang came up with. This should be interesting.... (click the title to view their blog or website).

No Excuses BBQ:

Paul Haight started his blog in January,2009 as a way to record the author’s goal of cooking outdoors at least once a week throughout the year and showing the results to the world. Somewhere along the way things got out of control.

Bob’s Brew & Que:

Bob Fukishima began his blog in August,2009 with the intent of sharing his views on food and drink. The blog was originally focused on BBQ and homebrew,but it was inevitable that the influences of his upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area and it’s wealth of ingredients,as well as his heritage as an American of Japanese ancestry would help focus his blog,as it has his approach to food and drink.

Grill Adventures:

Started in March,2010 by Marc Van Der Wouw as a way to document his journey to better and healthier eating. The grill has a special place in Marc’s heart. Everything he makes is an adventure. 

Cooking By The Seat Of My Pants:

Jerry Russell starting Cooking By The Seat Of My Pants as a way to document our culinary misadventures. Since then it has become our way to encourage people to cook without boundaries or recipes. To just get in the kitchen and cook something from the heart.

TheBBQ Grail:

Larry Gaian started his blog in 2007,initially to document the author’s quest to find the perfect backyard BBQ experience. Since that time The BBQ Grail has become one of the more popular BBQ blogs on the internet.

Livefire:

Livefire cooking is about taking ordinary cooking and adding the flavor of fire to it, whether in high heat grilling, low heat smoking or indirect heat for baking. It’s about taking the primitive element of fire and harnessing it to make great food.

TheDaily Dish

Kristina has been writing "The Daily Dish" for www.BetterRecipes.com for the past two years. The blog covers a wide variety of recipes, but firing up the grill truly lights up her passion for food! She was named "America's Next Pork Personality" by Guy Fieri for one of her grilled pork dishes, won the outdoor grilling division of the National Beef Cook-Off, and her winning grilled lamb-burger took her all the way to the land Down Under with Meat and Livestock Australia. The "4-Ingredient Challenge" is a fun and exciting way to get creative on the grill!