The guests at the RainyDayKitchen's FirstGrill of The Season event had a chance to sample some new sausage offerings from the Buffalo Guys and some American Kobe beef from Morgan Ranch.

We served four different kinds of buffalo sausages (Polish, Bratwurst, Andouille, and Hot Dog). The sausages from the Buffalo Guys are free of gluten (especially important for our friend Rachel), MSG, Nitrates, and other strange stuff.  We have had meats from the Buffalo Guys before and we speak from experience...they are delicious.

If you are a steak lover, then you probably have heard of the fabled Japanese Kobe Beef.  The folks at Morgan Ranch have been producing Kobe Beef since 1994. 

The Kobe Beef from Morgan Ranch was delivered by FedEx two days before the event.  The quality looked absolutely amazing.  The marbling on the steaks were the most we have ever seen.  It took all our will power not to put them immediately on the grills! 

We unpacked the grills and assembled them without much trouble.  Both the Coleman and the Thermos grills required some final assembly. 

The Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE required less work to assemble.  It had fewer pieces in bubble wrap compared to the Thermos unit. 

The Thermos Grill2Go had a bit more stuff under the hood.  Both of them came pretty much in the state you see here.  They both look quite transportable...as long as you have an SUV.  After this FirstGrill event, we'll take them on the road and see how they fare.  I guess it would mean more grilling...it is going to be a long, hot Summer :-)

We were going to let the interns have at them and figured they would be done by lunch time.  The interns took one look at the grills and went out for coffee.  We couldn't blame them as the assembly instructions were sparse for the Coleman and non-existent for the Thermos.  This didn't fazed the more experienced in the group.

The Coleman Roadtrip was pretty much all assembled.  It just needed the handle inserted, wheels attached, and propane valve installed.  Total time: 15 minutes.

The Thermos Grill2Go took a little bit longer.  The grill itself was factory-assembled and did not require any work. The stand came in three pieces and had to be assembled.  It was a bit unwieldy until we figured out that it was easier to work with it on the floor instead of trying to stand it up while putting it together.

Once we got the stand together, the rest came together quickly.  Although things were pretty obvious in how they should go together, it would have been a bit easier with SOME instructions.  Total time: 35 minutes.

UPDATE:  The Thermos Grill2Go came with a nice book of detailed assembly and usage directions!  We just found it today under a pile of stuff.  Apparently one of the interns was reading it and (ahem)... well, we finally came upon it during the party cleanup.

The RainyDayKitchen staff hosted the First Grill of the Season event on May 21st.  The guests got some first-hand exposure to some new and interesting Summer grilling gear.  We have grills from the following vendors:

1. Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE
2. Thermos Grill2Go
3. Weber OneTouch

These events are also a good chance to try out some new products such as the All-Clad Stainless Steel Wok, the Waterless Cooking System, and the Epicurean wine/champagne preserver.

Some may remember we got in a few fitness scales because we wanted to see if they would be useful in helping us get into Summer Shape.  Some of us have been weighing ourselves everyday.  Others have walked past the scales as if they were radioactive.

We put them out at the FirstGrill event, and surprisingly quite a few of our guests were willing to try them.

FirstGrill Summary :

1. FirstGrill Prep

2. Assembling the Coleman

3. Assembling the Thermos

4. FirstGrill Event

5. FirstGrill - The Movie

A freak thunderstorm zipped through with huge gusts of wind and even some hail.  Somebody noticed the tent outside had been pulled out of the ground by the wind and had started to take flight!  It all added an extra bit of thrill to the event...as if the food and the the grilling weren't exciting enough. 

We caught a little bit of the storm after we got the cover of the tent off the frame.