Introducing the workhorse Saber Grill that sets the bar apart at Proctor Gas.  You may have heard about infrared grills and you might just have one but we assure you, not one like this. Find your inner chef and the joy of cooking on a superior piece of equipment. It almost does the cooking for you!

                                                Big Lenny approved!

SABER’s Infrared Cooking System

You don’t have to be a chef to cook like one—even the first time you fire up a SABER grill. You may have heard about infrared (IR) grills. Maybe you even have one. But not one like this.

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SABER infrared grills use a proprietary IR cooking system that’s so advanced you can actually taste the difference. It keeps meat naturally juicy and tender, even when cooked medium or well done. . Mistakes like overcooking or charring a piece of meat will be a thing of the past!

Infrared vs. Traditional Convective Cooking Systems

Both systems start with gas-powered burners. A traditional convection gas grill uses circulating hot air, like an oven, to cook. Hot air circulates around the food, which dries out the natural moisture in steaks and chicken and shrinks hamburgers into hockey pucks. When grease drips through the open grate, it causes flare-ups that can char the meat and create big temperature fluctuations.
An infrared (IR) grill works differently. Most IR grills use expensive ceramic emitters to convert heat from a gas-powered burner into radiant heat. Because of the open grate design, these grills cook with a combination of radiant heat and convective heat. This combination can be problematic for several reasons. Ceramic IR cooking systems are highly effective at searing food because they burn extremely hot. However, it is almost impossible to vary the temperature and burning your meal is a frequent result. Flare-ups are also a common problem due to the open grate and burner design. Due to their open port design, ceramic IR burners clog with grease and food debris. As they become more sensitive to thermal shock and temperature change and can easily crack causing performance issues and costly maintenance.

SABER® Grills Infrared Cooking System — A Better Barbecue™ Every Time!

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The Juiciest, Most Mouth-watering Meals You’ve Ever Cooked
SABER® grill’s exclusive and patented Infrared cooking system generates 100% Infrared heat. Radiant heat, unlike convection heat used by traditional gas grills, directly cooks your food. Convection cooking relies on hot, dry air and radically reduces food’s natural moisture content. Our patented Infrared cooking system directs airflow away from the cooking surface, locking the food’s natural moisture, producing moister, more juicy results.
Flare-ups Have Been Eliminated
The unique, patented design of SABER® grill’s cooking grate and IR emitter prevents flare-ups that char meat and create dramatic temperature fluctuations. Instead, our exclusive system vaporizes any drippings and adds natural smoke flavor to grilled foods. Since liquids and debris are prevented from reaching the burner system, maintenance and clean-up are much easier.
304 Commercial Grade Stainless Steel Burners, Emitters, and Grates
304 commercial grade corrosion resistant stainless steel is used in the construction of SABER® burners, IR emitters, and cooking grates, guaranteeing years of worry-free and maintenance-free cooking enjoyment.
Highly Fuel Efficient and Reduced Gas Usage
BTUs have nothing to do with cooking performance, but everything to do with how often you refill your propane tank or the size of your gas bill. SABER® grill’s Infrared cooking system is designed with fuel efficiency in mind. Our patented IR cooking system uses Infrared’s longer energy wave to more effectively and efficiently cook food, locking in moisture and reducing cooking times. You can now cook faster with fewer BTUs, reducing your gas consumption by 30%. That makes it good for both your wallet and the environment.

How does a SABER Grill’s Infrared Cooking System compare to convection and traditional ceramic infrared systems? Find out more »

good cooking

Mrs. Tom

 

 

If you have not seen Proctor Gas lately then you are missing the boat



A Closer Look: Fire Base Options for Gas Fireplaces

10:44 AM A Closer Look No comments

The fire base that you choose for your gas fireplace or gas fireplace insert can help to set the tone of your room. Most gas fireplaces come with a standard firewood base for a traditional burning log look that will fit into any room. But that doesn’t mean you’re limited to just logs in your gas fireplace if you have a Mendota Hearth FullView Modern fireplace. It is possible to change up your look…

The FullView Modern fireplace line offers new fireplace base options, many of which had their debut this year or late last year. Options include variations on the traditional wood fire with Twigs – an airy take on the standard log inset that might make you think of a campfire. If you live near the beach, or wish that you did – the Driftwood base option will make you wish you had clams for baking as you enjoy the fire.

If you want to take the first step away from the traditional log base - stay with natural materials but choose a stone base instead. The Natural River Rock base is a pleasing mix of colored water-washed stones.

Tired of traditional? Go modern and minimalist with a glass or marble option. Clear Ice Cubes look like the real thing for a great fire and ice contrast plus it catches the firelight in amazing ways. Nothing says clean and simple like fire burning from a simple puddle of glass or marble pebbles – choose between Liquid Clear Glass, White Tumbled Marble or Midnight Black Glass.

Grilled Italian Sausage with Potatoes

Recipes you can't refuse!

My mother had her own way about her, the way she made you accountable that is. That accountability included us kids for sure but even her customers at the restaurant couldn't escape her primitive way of branding her restaurant and making them feel a part of her community. The way it was done before social media.

Actually anybody who didn't want to be left out of the special things my mother cooked understood the program. As the spirit would move her she would make the dishes my grandmother taught her. They were the dishes with their roots firmly embedded in the peasant culture of Naples Italy during the early 1900's. They were for the most part one pot dishes, incredible pastry and fresh pasta.

Growing up Italian, eating was akin to breathing. It took center stage over just about everything in our lives. Of course there happened to be a restaurant in our living room. What? You didn't have one of those? Most likely not, especially in the 1950's.

My mother didn't believe in advertizing and she enlisted her own brand of intimidation to brand and market the restaurant. She had a iron clad memory and she knew everybody's name and what their weakness was for the  special things she would make. Whenever she would make those one pot meals, traditional dishes considered the food of the peasants she would call the relatives...her brother Vic, DR Edward Bove, Joe Bove and so on.

However when she made the dishes more consistent with the restaurant menu, braciole, homemade pastas of all sorts and canoli just as an example things that we wouldn't have all the time. She would call her favorite customers who she knew were addicted to her food... if they didn't show up as she expected them to , they didn't get called the next time. That's how she kept them in line.

There was a favorite story of mine. One of our good customers was a Vt State Trooper, a red headed Italian. My mother would call the state police barracks and leave a message with dispatch that she was trying to reach officer Freeze. Soon after his cruiser would be in our driveway. He knew the call meant she had one of her homemade canoli's for him.

I know it's not in vogue to eat much sausage any more but a great sausage w/ roasted baby new potatoes and broccoli rabe is a great way to bring in the summer grilling season. Limit yourself to two sausages if that concerns you! Those of you who may be reading this in our hometown of Rutland Vt you were spoiled. We had fabulous bakeries with great bread and Mrs Bellomo's homemade sausage. There was a large Italian population mostly because of the Marble Business. There were builders, stone masons, doctors, great cooks, pharmacies, beer distributors, grocery store owners, scholars and our Aunt Teresa the countess of Grove street, well you get the point. Oh by the way all of those people were just in our family.

Eat well and live long. Mrs. Tom

Serves four

Grilled sweet or hot Italian sausage

w/ roasted baby new potatoes, fennel, radishes, sweet onions
and a sauté of broccoli rabe

 

8 sausages...maybe a couple extra just in case one of the neighbors drops by

12 medium baby new potatoes, marks removed and washed with the skin on

2 medium to large sweet onions/ quartered

2 stalks fennel/ trimmed and the bulbs cut into similar sizes with the onion and potato

12 large fresh radishes, trimmed and washed

3 bunches broccoli rabe/ blanched in boiling water

1/2 cup olive oil

7 large clove of fresh garlic chopped

3 sprigs of rosemary chopped fine

2 medium shallots/ chopped

2 qts of boiling water

pinch crushed red pepper optional

S&P

This is a new combination that I came up with this winter. Roasting the root vegetables available year round. In a large bowl place all the cut vegetables ( not the broccoli rabe) coat w/ just enough of the olive oil and add a little more than half the garlic, all the shallots, rosemary and S&P to taste. Toss the ingredients in the bowl until they are well coated and seasoned with all the herbs and spices place them in  roasting pan or I like to use my iron skillet. Into the oven at 325 for about 45 minutes shake them a few times so they roll around and both sides are seared by the bottom of the pan and roasted on the top. You can check the potatoes, when they are done your ready.

Get the grill ready! heat your grill to high and close the lid. When the clear liquid begins to surface on the sausage they are done.

While the sausages are cooking and the pan of root vegetables is about 10-15 minutes from done in a sauté pan use the remainder of the olive oil, add the garlic and brown it...then add the broccoli rabe, S&P to taste and the pinch of red pepper if you like.

Mrs. Tom Secret

Par boil the sausage in the boiling water for about 7-8 minutes this keeps them moist inside. Then char them up on the hot part of your grill. Accent them with your favorite spicy mustard!

Kielbasa Smothered in Peppers and Onions & Simmered in a Dark Beer

Father Time fools us , and slides away undetected

I couldn't help after reading the post written by our friend Cindy last week about the passing of the third Gibb brother, how time has seemed to cheat us, all the while leaving behind wonderful memories, laughter and delivering crushing blows along the way. Time fooled us as kids into thinking that it was this cavernous space that would just last forever. Nothing conjures up old memories the way a great song does. Sometimes I can recall what I was doing when the song came on my transistor radio. The predecessor to the IPod. Who of our generation doesn't see John Travolta with a paint can in his hand and walking as only he could to the background of the B-Gees

Father Time: The personification of Time and the more friendly version of the Grim Reaper. Typically pictured as an old man with a white beard donning a cloak and often times carrying a scythe and hourglass. In ancient times he was known as Chronus or Saturn.

He symbolizes the flow of time and its effects. His old body is a reminder that time is the devourer of all things and that, like the sand in the hourglass he often carries, his life will run out, as all good things come to an end.  A recent interview with the iconic actor and activist Kirk Douglas at 95 years old. He was asked how he does it, he keeps going strong even with essentially the loss of his voice. He said I don't look to the future but hold onto the past, it fuels me.

I remember as a kid, how a day could feel like eternity. If you were looking forward to something a week away well that just could never come fast enough. Things were really so simple but we created a full complement of complexities. I remember that first bike and the building excitement that came with knowing you might get it. The endless wait for Christmas morning to come. The ability to be a hero to your friends if you had your own quarter at the corner store where you could treat everybody at the penny candy tray. Or if really lucky, enough money to treat yourself to an ice cold Hires Root Beer. Things were pretty simple but how could we know how it would all change so fast.

The years are gone in a flash like melting ice on a hot summer day. Where did they go? The penny candy a thing of the past, our kids unable to comprehend it. Somewhere along the way came that first kiss, you know the one, the one all others would be judged by.

Before you know it your kids are in college or just gone. You have forgotten that first kiss and what along the way seemed like a broken heart now begins to take a little sprit with it. If time has spared you and you never have had a broken heart then you probably have never really loved and I feel sorry for you. We feel a sense that time has cheated us towards the end masking itself all the while, as an endless journey.

Truth is I wouldn't have missed a minute of it, for it is here where my senses grew keener, my heart and love grew stronger. Now each day when I wake there is a whole lot of people who count on me and that strength. It's now not about my destination or what lies ahead but it's about my journey. Yes the days seem to run into each other, weeks, months and years are like one big run on sentence and pass without as much as leaving an indelible mark. One door closes behind us and another opens ahead of us. Peace to you all.

One of Mrs. Tom's favorite grilling items is:

Kielbasa Smothered in Peppers and Onions & Simmered in a Dark Beer

6 Kielbasa

1large Vidalia onion or yellow onion

1/4 bulb fresh fennel

1 large red pepper/ seeded

1 large yellow pepper/seeded

1 jalapeño pepper/seeded

2 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup olive oil

2 table spoons prepared brown mustard

1 bottle of good dark beer

S&P Taste

6 buns

Fire up two zones on your grill to a medium heat and place an iron skillet on one zone. If you don't have a skillet you can use whatever heavy pan you have. Make sure your grates are clean.

Cut the seeds and extra membrane from the bell peppers, thinly slice the peppers, onions and fennel. Chop the jalapeño small, Careful not to touch your eyes or better still wear a pair of rubber kitchen gloves.

Put the butter and oil in the skillet, get it hot and add the onions and let them caramelize and then add your peppers. Stir them about and let them soften and caramelize, close the lid on the grill.  Now pour 1/2 can of the beer add the mustard and stir in. S&P taste. Move the pan to an indirect heat.

Place the Kielbasa on the grill and c lose the lid and turn them slowly for about 10-15 minutes letting them char on the outside. When they are ready add them to the vegetables and stir them in closing the lid on the grill and leave them another 10 minutes on a low or indirect heat. If you need to you may add more beer if they are getting dry or too dark.  Otherwise drink the beer!

At Proctor Gas we specialize in all the grills and tools you need to become a backyard celebrity chef. So stop in and say hello to Mrs.Tom and share your favorite recipe with her.

Eat, prosper and be well

Mrs. Tom

Black Pepper Encrusted Mustard Fried Venison

In for Mrs. Tom - Chef Peter Ryan
 

When we first moved to South Carolina in 1990 our family was invited to a traditional Plantation hunters feast and yes many southerners still own plantations, groups of them have turned many into hunt clubs of sorts. They talked about guns, family, food and college football most of them don't even pay attention to the NFL. It was here where we first discovered a southern dish that has become a Christmas  tradition for as many years at our house.

I grew up in a house with all women we flat out just ordered our food, nobody thought about shooting it. However we are in the South now and they shoot everything. Hunting wild game is akin to Church on Sunday and college football. I know we do both in the North but trust me there just are some things here that are indelibly etched into each and every generation unlike any place I have ever been.

I have always been a big sports fan and when I moved here I thought it was great to have two football teams that were on the national scene year after year, the Clemson Tigers and the Carolina Gamecocks, The "Cocks" as they are referred too around the State. I remember being torn about who to embrace. Coming from Vermont of course it was Notre Dame and Penn State but without any real blood in the games.

So I though thought it would be acceptable to embrace both teams at the same time. As I embraced the other favorite past time of my new home Golf I was called to the carpet on one beautiful day at the Reserve Golf Club a private club I belonged to. A place that at one time while on the drawing board, considered offering memberships to only locals in other words "none of us Yankee's" bless our hearts!.

I was getting ready to t-off the first hole and we were in a club tournament and I was playing with some members I didn't really know. As if my game wasn't challenge enough without getting called to the carpet on my first swing. It seems there was a distraction in my bag. A Clemson head cover and a Cocks head cover protruding proudly from my bag. What the hell is that? The ribbing started where the devil are you from?

Suffice to say by the end of the round I was ready to commit to one or the other of the teams as resting on the fence was just not acceptable in South Carolina it was important to choose a team and more important to harbor distain for the remaining University. It was the year that Lou Holtz came to South Carolina and the Cocks. So with my Norte Dame affiliation I sided with the stumbling Cocks. Today 23 years later, I live eat and sleep SEC and Gamecock football.

And oh yah the Christmas dish here ya-go y'all!

Black Pepper Encrusted Mustard Fried Venison

I suppose you need a good hunter in the family or a good beggar like we do every season. Actually no real southerner it caught without a freezer full of Venison most all year and in true Southern Hospitality they are willing to share especially if you promise to invite them over when you cook it.

It sure helps to get the most tender parts but if not pound it as you would veal, not too much just enough tom break it down. HOW MUCH YOU ASK? It's never enough. I eat two portions while I'm frying it too make sure I don't get left out, my boys eat it until it comes out their ears. The pieces should be about 1 and a half oz or 2 oz at the most pounded lightly.

Ingredients

·       Oil for frying in a iron skillet if you have one.

·       as much Venison as you can get your hands on covered in course black pepper (really covered well)
·       A whole container of French's yellow mustard.
·       Cover the venison with the pepper and gobs and gobs of mustard make sure it is totally covered with the mustard and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight or at least 4-5 hours.
·       All purpose flour

Heat about a 1/2 inch of oil in the skillet and dredge the venison in the flour still coated in the mustard. Fry about 2-3 minutes on each side place on a paper towel to absorb some of the oil.

Serve with:
Your favorite warm red cabbage and warm homemade applesauce Just writing this is killing me, I'm ready to start begging.

Happy New Year from Proctor Gas "the propane people" remember we have roots in the Rutland Area not just branches

Corn Soufflé

It’s that time again; we can put the costumes belonging to our little monsters and goblins away in the closet and begin the time honored tradition of giving thanks. Although family is always the first priority during the holidays to me Thanksgiving is about anyone who needs the camaraderie and sprit of this day of thanks.

When we look back at our predecessors we always see the thanksgiving table including many times a whole community that has come together to give thanks for the successful harvest, a simple but critical event in their lives.

Today there are so many around us who may not have the same opportunities that some others may have. I can attest to the fact that over the years when able to provide just such an experience for someone who otherwise may be alone or even worse it gives real meaning and is the gift that Thanksgiving gives us all. The next couple of weeks we will share some of our favorite family dishes and what not to do with your Turkey.

1 2 inch deep  ½ size hotel pan

1 dozen eggs
1 qt heavy cream
Frozen corn kernels
1 cup of sugar

Place corn in pan filling the pan up to 2/3 of the way.  In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, cream and sugar whisk until pale yellow and smooth.  Pour mixture over the corn and stir it into the corn as even as possible.  Bake uncovered in a 275* oven for approx 2 hours until custard jiggles like jello and has a nice golden brown appearance on top.

This may be made up to two days ahead of time and warmed slowly in a 200 degree oven.

Pineapple Infused Apple Smoked Spareribs

Mrs. Tom wins Limbo contest

Mrs. Tom is flying high headed to the Hawaiian Island of Maui and has decided to pass on the space jump and opted for a smooth landing on the Island last Friday. We should be looking for a dish inspired by the Pacific Rim and some of Mrs. Tom’s festivities this week.

Extra Extra Mrs. Tom WINS LIMBO CONTEST in Maui! The island is a buzz talking about Mrs.Tom setting the bar for the weekly limbo event and Hawiian feast. After she feasted on the spareribs claimimg them to be the best she ever had.

She talked her Hawaiian host-chef into discussing the details of how he made those ribs. This is the last of the grilling season before we have to talk pumpkins and turkey sandwiches. So we finish the the season off with the king of all back yard grilling fare, ribs done Mrs.Tom's Hawaiian Style.  

Serves 4

¼ cup Asian fish sauce
½ cup fresh pinapple juice¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 / 3 and down spareribs

6 handfuls of apple wood chips soaked in water for 1 hour and wrapped in foil with holes poked in the foil.

In a bowl mix all the marinade ingredients

Cut off the excess flap meat and slide a knife under the membrane on each of the ribs and loosen so that the marinade can penetrate. In a tall kitchen bag doubled up place the ribs and marinade, tie the bag tightly. Let them marinade over night refrigerated. You can cut the ribs in half if the space on your grill dictates.

Light the grill and leave a low two zone fire for 10 minutes fro gas and 20 to 30 for charcoal, one side on low and one on medium heat. Fill a drip pan with water and place the wood chips wrapped in the foil on the back of your grill and close the top. Pull the ribs and let them come to room temperature while the grill heats up.

Reserve the marinade and transfer to a small sauce pan and reduce at a boil for a few minutes to use later as a basting sauce. If you have a charcoal grill you can spread some of the wood chips over the coals and add coals as you need them to maintain a low fire. Make sure you poke the holes in the foil with the wood chips.

Place the ribs bone side down on the grill on a low to medium heat. Leave the ribs for an hourbefore you begin to rotate and turn the ribs. Begin using the basting sauce and cook at a low indirect heat for about 4 total hours.

Mrs. Tom’s SecretRemove the ribs wrap them in foil and let them sit for 15 minutes. They should pull nicely from the bone and licking your fingers is suggested and acceptable.