Well, my first "adventure with meat" was pretty discouraging. I went to the farm market and did not see ANY lamb OR turkey OR fish, and even the all beef sausages were $5.49/lb. One stall had about 15 different kinds of sausages, but they were all expensive and also they all sounded like they were pork based. I also saw at the same place about 10 different kinds of hamburger patties, which gave me inspiration for maybe trying to make a Mediterannean style patty using the recipes above, maybe with feta cheese. I think the market must have been low on meat because I went late in the day on the last day. That's when you can get the good deals but apparently that's when they are out of meats, lol! I did score some pita and some hard rolls for a song. Then, I found out the fish market in my neighborhood closed at the end of last year, but there is still that other one that Ruthanna recommended to check out. Good thing I have two weeks to prepare. There's also a kosher meat market in my neighborhood. Boy, am I ever finding out a lot about meat! Here's a link to the recipe for the cake. I like the idea of cupcakes, because I can make one batch ahead and freeze them. I made ricotta cupcakes before and they were fab. Only thing is, I think I am going to change the menu a bit depending on what meat I do and maybe not do this cake since I will probably do corn chips for the appetizer. Now I'm thinking six layer dip, (no beans since that's an entree), corn chips, mint lemonade, kofta or shwarma with pita and tzatsiki and tahini dressing, potato salad, calico baked beans, (maybe some grilled marinated Mediterranean veggies too) and coleslaw or tossed salad. For dessert, baklava, smores, and pineapple or some other fruit thing. Kind of ecclectic but that's my taste. Here is a link that might be useful: Cranberry orange cornmeal cake

another contender ... note the "heads-on" shrimp Barbecued Shrimp The Washington Post, June 27, 2007  Cuisine: American  Course: Appetizer, Main Course  Features: Fast, Kid-Friendly Summary: These are not done on the grill, but rather get their barbecued flavor from the seasoning blend. Because this recipe makes a tasty, butter-rich sauce, serve the shrimp with lots of crusty bread for dipping, or on a platter with cooked rice mounded in the middle and the shrimp and sauce surrounding it. 4 appetizer servings or 2 main-course servings Ingredients:  1 pound (about 2 dozen) large, heads-on shrimp, rinsed and drained  8 to 12 tablespoons (1 to 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter  2 medium cloves garlic, minced  1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce  1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning blend, such as Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic or Blackened Redfish Magic  1/2 cup shrimp or fish stock  1/4 cup beer Directions: Pinch off and discard the portion of the shrimp heads from the eyes forward (including the eyes). Leave as much as possible of the orange-colored fat from the head attached to the body. Set aside. Combine 8 tablespoons of the butter with the garlic, Worcestershire sauce and seafood seasoning blend in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter has just melted, add the shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes, shaking (versus stirring) in a back-and-forth motion. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and the stock. Cook for 2 minutes, shaking the skillet. Add the beer and cook for 1 minute, shaking the skillet. Remove from the heat and transfer to shallow soup bowls. Serve immediately Recipe Source: Adapted from chef Paul Prudhomme. 245 calories, 15g fat, 9g saturated fat, 207mg cholesterol, 1073mg sodium, 2g carbohydrates, n/a dietary fiber, n/a sugar, 24g protein.

Didn't you ask what the problem was with her attempt(s)? If the problem is something like seasoning, then all the recipes in the world won't help. Some people like minimal seasoning. Some consider "barbecue" chicken to be a chicken with BBQ sauce poured on it. Some insist it has to be smoked. Some do a BBQ seasoning. Or any number of other ways. Maybe she burned it on the grill? Maybe she undercooked it? Too much seasoning or too little? Too much of one thing and not another? Or maybe she expected it to taste like her favorite restaurant or family/friend would make and it didn't? I'd start by determining what the problem is first, then try to suggest ways to solve it.

plllog, yeah, for some reason my posts don't always show up for days. Half the time I see them only on my phone, the other half only on the pc - for several days : ( I know you can cook great BBQ using a GBE, and know one other who does it with theirs. Neighbors across the street use an small off-brand ancient smoker as their grill for all grilling. Our most recent 2 grills are propane (sacrilege! ) but I just got tired of starting and tending to the charcoals (never used wood) and getting them just right. For some, that's part of the enjoyment. I find the taste to be almost as delightful (especially when using one of those pellet tubes for smoking), just the scent wafting through the neighborhood isn't quite as powerful. Would I ever buy another charcoal grill? Nada! You can buy smaller propane grills. I think ribs, cooked long and slow, with simple dry seasoning (and a squeeze of lemon or lime in), is just the best. It's just great tasting, tender meat. Sauce on the side. We had a great store-bought BBQ rib here for the longest time, locally made. It had that sweet BBQ sauce (which no, I didn't care for too much, but wiped it off best I could!). Recent years the meat was stringy, then eventually stringy with a lot of fat, and finally stringy, tough, chunks of fat. That's why I came here for advice, and got my ribs perfected! I do find every person has preferences for ribs - some cook with sauce (which I now don't care for), some prefer spicy, sweet, whatever. So, I make ours to suit us : ) Lars, in my book, you're grilling! If it's cooked on the grill, any grill, protein or veg, so far as my definition, it's grilled : )