Barbecues and Christmas Holidays

Barbecues, isn't that a great thought?

It is now mid-spring 2016 here in the southern hemisphere, still with the cold weather, in fact, we had a fresh coating of snow on Mount Egmont/Taranaki in New Zealand last night, but these days you can still have a barbecue indoors, or with Daylight Saving here the evenings are longer but still not warm, you can have weekend tea, late in the afternoon while the sun is shining and have a late supper.

In the northern hemisphere, you will all be settled in with late autumn go and enjoy those warm evenings before winter arrives.

Christmas is still a couple of months away and barbecues will be on the list as we enjoy our holidays at the beach, which will not come quick enough for me, had enough of winter and spring still too many rain days.

The above video is very good to watch if you are not sure how to do it.

In this classic BBQ Pit Boys vid, you'll learn the "tips and tricks" on how to BBQ tender and juicy pork Spare Ribs on your charcoal grill in as little as 3-4 hours.

Tortillas refer to Mexican flat bread made from either flour or cornmeal.

Tortillas are a great way to serve any type of salad or accomplishment with a barbecue sausage or steak, you just pick it up with your fingers, (using it like a container), while you are chewing your barbecued meat.

When thinking barbecue you do not have to have sausages or steak on the barbie, there are so many creative ideas you can try.

A lot of dishes that you cook for indoor meals can easily be adapted to the barbecue.

From seafood to meats and veggie meals, just about anything, you only need to try, you will be amazed at what you come up with, even patties.

All you need to do when making patties is make sure that you combine the ingredients, mashing and pressing them together with your hands so that the mixture becomes fully amalgamated, they will hold together without crumbling when they are cooked if you do them this way.

Really it is a lot of trial and error, but even when you cook in the kitchen, you have failures, that the way we learn to be a great cook for your family to come home for a meal for years to come.

Here's the recipe.

Pork Butterfly Steak.

Marinate the pork in a large ceramic dish.

1 tablespoon fresh ginger,

1/4 cup light soy sauce,

1/4 cup mirin, (it's a rice wine used as a flavoring in Japanese Cooking.)

salt and freshly ground black pepper,

Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

• Here's how to cook it.

Heat your barbecue, add a little oil to the hot plate and fry the pork over a medium heat for three or four minutes on each side until brown and cooked through.

Serve with a salsa on top.

• To make salsa.

Slice a peeled mango flesh from the stone, and cut into 1cm cubes,

10 cherry tomatoes (quartered) and combine with small red chili (chopped and seeds removed),

juice of two limes,

2 tablespoons shredded fresh mint leaves.

Season with salt and pepper and toss well.

Serve the salsa on top of the pork.

This video is very useful for a beginner learning to barbecue (or Grill) a good steak.

Let's face it, it is something you have to learn as it's experience that teach you how to cook the perfect steak.

For years, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has entertained the Hollywood elite at his Beverly Hills restaurant, Spago.

Now you can do the same in your own home.

Excellent for those living in the northern hemisphere, now its winter you can still have your tasty grill right there in your house.