The Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby Chat is sponsored by:

Frederick
Hello! Welcome to CuisineNet Live! Tonight's chat is being sponsored by Shady Brook Farms. Tonight, we will be chatting with Chris Schlesinger (chef at the East Coast Grill in Boston) and John "Doc" Willoughby, co-authors of the James Beard Award-winning

Thrill of the Grill;

Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys & Chowchows;

Big Flavors of the Hot Sun;

Lettuce in Your Kitchen;

and the brand-new License to Grill.

We will be giving away three copies of License to Grill at the end of the chat -- the winners will be announced at the end of the chat (we will also notify them by email).

ruby
Who comes up with the titles?

Chris&Doc
[Chris] I come up with the good ones, and Doc comes up with the bad ones; Steve Johnson came up with the last one. I would say Big Flavors of the Hot Sun was not a real strong one. That one was mine, actually. Lettuce in Your Kitchenwas mine.

ruby
So, Lettuce in Your Kitchen is a "good" name?

scott
Hi chris and doc

ruby
What's a chowchow?

Kenny
Chowchow? That's a dog. Are we grilling dogs today?

Chris&Doc
A chowchow is a dish from the American South that's like a pickled cabbage, a salty pickled cabbage -- kinda like a cabbage relish.

ruby
So, is chowchow like kimchee?

Chris&Doc
The spicing is nothing like kimchee. I mean they're both pickled. but that's the only similarity.

Frederick
Does turkey adapt well to seasonings on the grill like chicken does?

Chris&Doc
Sure, turkey adapts well to seasonings just as well as chicken -- they're similar - what goes well with chicken would go well with turkey.

Frederick
What is the most unusual food that you have ever grilled?

Chris&Doc
Unusual in what way?

ruby
Can you grill bananas? Would that count as unusual?

scott
Did you intend to use all of the red wine vinegar in your corn relish in License to Grill?

Chris&Doc
Did you think there was too much red wine vinegar in there?

scott
Yes, it called for 3 cups, it seemed like a lot. But the adobo was excellent.

ruby
Can I get a good grill for under $500? Can I even consider a gas grill at that price?

Chris&Doc
Absolutely, you can get a good charcoal grill for under $500. I don't deal with gas grills. There're convenient and easy, but they're no match for the flavor that comes from a charcoal grill.

ruby
Why do you think grilling is a male thing?

Chris&Doc
Because men -- for a long time it was the only way that men would share in the cooking duties, because they found it challenging and exciting. When moms were at home, they weren't looking for excitement and challenge from cooking, it was just a chore. Someone who's doing it as a hobby is looking for that excitement and challenge, not someone who's doing it as a chore.

Chris&Doc
Now that you've got two people working in a lot of families, you see a lot more women grilling. My girlfriend is an excellent griller!

ruby
Does your girlfriend grill b/c it's a chore for you?

Frederick
Sometimes when I order grilled shrimp, it's served with the shells still on, and I always find it impossible to peel off the cooked-on shells. Are you supposed to peel the shrimp before you grill them? Is there a special technique to keep them from getting stuck? Are you supposed to eat the shells?

ruby
I say eat the shells! (do I need to have written a cookbook for you to believe me?)

Chris&Doc
It's a personal choice. There's no way to keep the shells from sticking. I like to eat the shells. People like to grill with the shell on because some people feel that the shells protect the shrimp.

ruby
Do you guys test recipes as hard as they do in Cooks Illustrated?

Chris&Doc
Sure, we test the recipes. I mean they have a theory at Cooks Illustrated that there's one best way to do something; I do not share that theory. We don't try every different way; we test the recipes to make sure they work as they're written, but we don't do it ten different ways and choose the best. Doc's the editor so he has to pick one, but I don't agree that there's just one best way to cook something.

Otis
Beside mesquite and hickory, what recommendations can you make about hardwoods and other materials for grilling and smoking? I think sometimes delicate items get overpowered by these woods. Have you tried wine vines or tea leaves?

Chris&Doc
I'm not so familiar with smoking. I think low-heat, long-lasting smoking imparts real taste -- the choice of fuel is important -- but grilling is a high-heat, quick-cooking process; from the amount of time it takes to grill, you're not going to be able to taste the difference between apple and hickory wood.

Kenny
How about maple for grilling? They do it in Canada!

Chris&Doc
Yeah, a lot of the hardwood charcoal, the chunk-wood charcoal is made from maple.

ruby
do you have a barbeque pit (for low and slow cooking) at the restaurant?

ruby
is grill-roasting a slower process than regular grilling -- but faster than regular roasting?

Chris&Doc
Not necessarily. Grill -- I mean, if you think of grill roasting, what it should be is cooking on a rotisserie, right? The definition of "rotisserie" is "in the open air." Grill roasting is actually just baking. What I'm talking about when I talk about grill roasting is covered, indirect, anywhere from 250°-500°. Under 250° to say 180° is more barbecuing or hot smoking.

Kenny
Chris, now that you are concentrating on the East Coast Grill again, are you planning any changes in the menus or characters of the restaurant?

Chris&Doc
Kenny, have you eaten at the new East Coast Grill, since we changed it a year ago?

Kenny
I live in NYC, last time at East Coast Grill must have been more than a year ago.

Chris&Doc
Kenny, oh, total change! Three times as big, we have all the old stuff but now we've changed our focus and we're doing a lot with seafood. We've got three bathrooms now, the air conditioning works, the wind doesn't blow in when you've opened the door, but we've kept all the good things -- Kenny, you've gotta come back. If you liked the old East Coast grill, you'll LOVE the new East Coast Grill.