AC

We're off!

SMB Productions Hit The Road

This weekend SMB Productions will be competing at The Art of BBQ competition in Mays Landing, NJ. Much like The BBQ Bailout last winter, this was thrown together at the last minute. It was suggested, we drank good beer, and before you knew it...we had a plan. When ever I look back at the great times in my life, they usually start spontaneously. So, I got a good feeling about this trip. The plan is simple...well, it's more like a time line than an actual plan: Steve, Brendan, and myself are meeting Thursday morning and will start driving down to a hotel near Atlantic City, NJ. We'll most likely do some partying in AC Thursday night, but come Friday morning we will be pulling onto the contest site in near by Mays Landing, NJ. The three of us will split up the duties, get the prep done, and start cooking some BBQ. Should be a blast! I'll try to keep this blog updated through out the weekend.

Mainely Grillin’ and Chillin’ Country BBQ State Competition

This is just a heads up to all those teams that are going to this event, but have not sent in their applications yet. The deadline to avoid a late fee is June 1st. Laurel Pollard and Jane Faulkner, the event organizers, have been great. They have attended NEBS BOD meetings, NEBS events, and took the KCBS judging school. Any questions you may have about the Maine event are answered immediately. They seem very dedicated on making this competition a huge success. So, to show them how much we appreciate it, let's send in our applications this weekend.

Celebrate Maine Web Site

Info about the competition:

The Raitt Homestead Farm Museum is hosting the fourth annual Celebrate MAINE Festival (CMF) during the height of Southern Maine’s 2009 summer tourist season – Saturday, August 8th & Sunday, August 9th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is being held on the 33-acre Raitt Farm on Route 103 in Eliot - only 5 miles from the Kittery Outlets!

The 2009 Celebrate MAINE Festival is pleased to announce that they are bringing the "Mainely Grillin' & Chillin' Country BBQ State Competition" to Eliot! This event has been sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society (http://www.kcbs.us/), the New England BBQ Society (http://www.nebs.org/) and has been proclaimed the "Official State of Maine BBQ Competion" by Governor Baldacci!

This event is a qualifier for the Jack Daniel's Invitational in Lynchburg, Tennessee (http://www.jackdaniels.com/) and the American Royal Invitational (http://www.americanroyal.com/) in Kansas City Missouri!

We look forward to hosting competition-level BBQ teams from throughout the region and across the country. As one of those teams, you will be competing for over $3,000.00 in cash & prizes and the title of the 2009 “Mainely Grillin’ and Chillin’ Country BBQ State Competition” Grand Champion!

Paul Kirk, Baron of Barbecue (http://www.baron-of-bbq.com/), kicks off the weekend by hosting his renowned Kansas City Baron of Barbecue School of Pit Master’s Class at the Farm. It begins at 7 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 7th.

The weekend’s festivities kicks into high gear with the Beer, Blues and BBQ - A “Toot Blues” Viewing and Celebration. Reception, dinner and dancing will be held at the Regatta Room (http://www.regattaroom.com/), Route 236, Eliot, Maine. Tickets are limited and this is expected to be a sold out event, so reserve your tickets NOW!

100% of the proceeds raised from this event goes directly to The Raitt Homestead Farm Museum in Eliot, Maine. It constitutes our largest fundraiser for our Annual Capital Campaign. This is an integral part of executing our mission of educating the public with displays & demonstrations of antique farm implements & equipment for the purpose of keeping valuable farm heritage alive.

The CMF is an authentic family festival designed to celebrate the people, places & products that make Maine so attractive to visitors from around the world. We invite BBQ teams to compete, using the unique delicacies Maine has to offer, during the absolute PEAK time of the year to experience the Great State of Maine!

Roc City Ribfest
GC: Yabba Dabba Que
RGC: Mr. Bobo's

Skillet Dogs

With the unofficial start of summer upon us, weekend warriors are breaking out their grills and cooking up some burgers, dogs, and chicken. But, if you're reading this blog, most likely you don't need a special day to fire up the grill. Just like me, you're cooking outside year round. Although I do love a grilled hot dog, these are not. Most of you know that I love cast iron cooking. I use my Lodge cast iron skillet for everything these days. Nothing will put a great sear on a thick rib eye steak better than a well seasoned cast iron pan. And I dare you to put a heavily buttered hot dog bun directly over an open flame of a grill. So, this weekend at Lakeside, it's all about cast iron, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, and doing lots of nothing. Have a great Memorial Day, everyone.

Any Results Yet?

As you can see from my posts below, I'm playing with a feature that lets me post directly to my blog from my cell phone. You can use text or email. Using email is great because you can upload a picture with your post. I also like the text feature because you can type something real quick and post it right away. Sometimes, depending on where you are, you can't always log on to your email account. So by using SMS to make a post you don't have to worry about that. I'm hoping to use this a lot while we're out at comps this summer. I'll try to get the GC and RGC up as soon as I find out. I know how much it sucks to be sitting home and waiting to find out who won.