Earl Cooks Grilled Romaine Dinner Salad - EEK!

My dear wife a.k.a. "Turkey" knows I love to buy cooking equipment, and she hates to shop...for me! She says I am impossible to buy for, so we usually end up going shopping together and picking our own stuff out. Well this year for Father's day, I knew exactly what I wanted...an indoor grill/griddle for our stove top.  Ever since I dog sat for daughter #2, and used hers, I have wanted one. See post Earl Cooks Grilled Ham Steak and Two Squashes while Dog Sitting . We have a gas grill and a charcoal grill/smoker, but what a hassle to drag them out, clean them up, prep them and finally cook! The TV chefs use them all the time, so I thought it would be a tool we could take advantage of!

I have never grilled lettuce before and didn't know what I would end up with. There were several recipes, but I don't need no stinking recipe! I heated up the grill and got the items together we like on any salad. What you see are great grill marks and I just used a bit of olive oil and salt & pepper. The good stuff will come later!

What we used to top our salad was light balsamic vinegar, then from top left going clockwise, mozzarella pearls, Parmesan chunks, bacon bits, hard cooked eggs (I like mine sliced, "Turkey" likes hers diced), and finally, bottom left grape tomatoes! 

 I usually put my homemade croutons in our dinner salads, but I couldn't find room! It filled a PLATTER!...oh, and ME TOO! Results & Conclusions: This was very good. If you make one get VERY crisp lettuce. Top it with what you like. This was ALMOST meatless, but VERY satisfying! 

Earl Cooks Baked Chili Cheese Dog Sandwich - EEK!

Why EEK! you say? It stands for Earl's Experimental Kitchen...or something I made that nobody has made, and sometimes it is for a good reason! Like all EEKs, it starts off sounding like a good idea and somewhere goes off the rails. I wanted a grilled cheese and I wanted a chili-cheese dog They go together, right? Just substitute the bun for bread and you're almost there. But I thought I would try it in the oven not the stove-top. What I discovered was a more difficult way to make a grilled cheese! What I used was 4 hot dogs, shredded mild cheese and mild no bean chili(½ of a can), and 4 slices of homemade bread slathered with butter. —First I took 4 bun-length hot dogs and sliced them in half until they lay flat, but not all the way through. —I placed the hot dogs on a sheet pan and placed in a 325℉ oven for 15 minutes and removed them to a plate. —I then placed 4 slices of bread buttered on both sides in the sheet pan and in the oven, again at 325℉ for 10 minutes. — Flip and cover with shredded cheese (lots) and place back in oven for another 5-10 minutes until melted. —Remove from oven, cover 2 of the cheesy slices with half of the chili and place 2 hot dogs on each slice over the chill. —Now put more cheese on top of the hot dogs and use the other slices to top. —Place back in the oven long enough to heat through and melt the cheese, about 10 minutes more. Results: I liked mine but the hot dogs cooked a bit too long and the bread was quite crunchy. My wife felt it was not what I was shooting for. That's why it's an EEK!  Let me say here that I really liked these, and will never make them again!!!