The Sun /Sunday, June 8, 2014 FLAIR www.sunnewspapers.net Page 3 Fire up your grill izzling burgers on the grill can bring back great memories and set the mood for happy get-togethers with friends, notes Consumer Reports. But for manufacturers, these have not been the happiest of times. Sales are down in recent years, and prices have mostly stalled. That's good news if you need a new gas grill. Manufacturers have added premium features to midpriced models with only modest price increases. Grills such as the Broil-Mate 165154, $200, have electronic igniters, an often easier and more reliable way to fire up, and stainless-steel or coated cast-iron grates, which are usually better for searing and maintaining even grilling temperatures. Some grates are reversible, with one side designed for enhanced searing, the other for cooking fatty foods with the promise of fewer flare- ups. Infrared burners, such as the ones on the Kenmore 16136, $700, have been added for better searing and high-temperature cooking. Grills with more storage consumer Reports and prep space also mean less running back and forth to your kitchen to get supplies. If you usually cook for a crowd, you may want a larger grill. To help you choose the one that meets your needs, keep in mind that manufacturers often count warming racks and searing burners in their measurements. And keep in mind that Consumer Reports shops where you shop, so you'll find impressive and recommended grills whether you prefer home centers, Sears, Walmart or online retailers. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR GRILL Looking to up your outdoor cooking menu beyond burgers and steak? Consumer Reports offers these three simple and in- expensive ways to add versatility to a basic grill: Smoky flavor without a smoker. Soak wood chips in water for an hour, drain and wrap in heavy-duty foil (1 cup per pouch). Hickory, oak, mesquite and pecan are some of the flavors available. Poke holes in the top of the pouches and put them under the grates above a burner. Use two for a midsized grill, four for a large. Turn the heat on high until the pouches smoke, then lower the heat to about 350 degrees. Check with a temperature gauge. Low and slow. Cook briskets, pork shoulders, other tough cuts of meat and whole fish or poultry on your grill. Start by preheating the grill. Once it's warm, set one burner to high and turn off the other. Place the food over the burner that's off. If you have a three- or four-burner grill, keep only the front and back or outside burners on; put the food over the burners that are off. Keep the lid closed to keep in the heat. Accessorize. The grill aisles at home centers and hardware stores are filled with pizza stones, baskets and rib racks. White pizza PHOTO PROVIDED Consumer Reports notes that sales on grills are down in recent years and prices have mostly stalled, which is good news if you need a new gas grill. stones are harder to keep clean to the checkout with a rib rack, than darker ones, but all get take it over to the grill display blazing hot and require watching to make sure you can close the so that the pizza doesn't burn. grill lid with the rack inside. Lookfor grill baskets with small Consumer Reports'tests have holes to let juices drain and high found that stainless-steel gadgets sides so that shrimp, scallops, can be cleaned with steel wool and cut-up veggies, chicken and or stainless cleaner. Porcelain- meat don't fall out when you're coated tools are more fragile, so flipping them. Before you head use a plastic scrubber. New from Chrissie Hynde, Jack White ere are the new major re- leases for June 10. First is a new release by Chrissie Hynde called Stockholm. Christine Ellen Hynde was born Sept. 7, 1951, in Akron, Ohio. She is best known as the lead singer of the rock band The Pretenders. As a young girl, Chrissie never had much interest in school. Every chance she got she would attend concerts in Cleveland. She knew as a teenager all she wanted to do was be in a rock band. She fell in love with the punk rock movement during the early '70s and saved enough money to move to London. She tried everything she could to get a band going joining bands that had other artists who eventually became famous, like Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols), Sid Vicious (Sex Pistols) and Jon Moss (Culture Club). She joined a band and then left. They went on to fame (The Damned). Everything she tried to put together continued to fail. She eventually left London and returned to Ohio. She took a job and settled into everyday life, but she still had the dream. She wrote songs and soon made herself a demo tape. A promoter listened to it and decided to manage her career. She needed to be the front person and create her own band. Well, between the two of them they hired three other art- ists and they took the name after the old Platters hit "The Great Pretender."The first few releases produced hits, but turmoil in the band led to troubles. Most of the band had terrible drug addic- tions with one of the members dying and the other two being fired from the band. Chrissie Hynde is the only original member of the group. There have been so many band members through the years, she felt it was finally time for a solo release. Stockholm is her debut solo release and features some help from Neil Young and tennis great John McEnroe. Who knew John McEnroe was a musician? I guess you learn something new everyday. Next we have a new release by Jack White called Lazaretto. John Anthony Gillis better known as Jack White III was born on July 9, 1975, in Detroit, Mich. He is the youngest of 10 children, and he states that they grew up as a lower middle class family. He became interested in music by the age of 6 and began playing drums. By the time he was a teenager his interest in music was heavily influenced by the blues. When he was 15 he and a friend started a band, but his friend played the drums, so if he wanted in, he had to change. That band didn't last so he spent some time floating from band to band in the Detroit area. At the age of 22, he and Meg White created the White Stripes and the band was signed to a small independent label. Its first release got the band some notoriety in the garage rock or alternative rock scene. The second release made it to number 38 on the Billboard charts and their third release established them as household names. After a while, many people became interested in the relationship between Jack and Meg, and it came out in the press that the two were married and he took her last name. They PoTp By TJ KOONTZ P SUN COLUMNIST responded that they were broth- er and sister. Someone did their homework and produced the papers that proved they were in- deed husband and wife, but only for a short time. They married in 1996 and divorced in 2000. After their divorce, Jack had a highly publicized relationship with Renee Zellweger. He then married one of the models in one of his videos and proclaimed it was both of their first marriages. Actually, he had Meg White stand up as the maid of honor. Oh, the tangled webs we weave. (An old saying my mother used to say, it seems to fit perfectly here.) By 2007, the band broke up and Jack has branched off in many directions. Singer, song- writer, record producer, actor and director. He is out there baby. In 2012, he released his debut solo CD. Now he returns with his highly anticipated second release Lazeretto. Other major releases this week are from Cowboy Mouth, Night Ranger, O.A.R., Passenger and Uriah Heep (Yes, the band from a million years ago, for my friend Bill). Independent releases are from Amon Duul, Body Count, HellYeah, Mayhem, Umphrey's McGee, Paul Hardcastle (jazz), The Rippingtons (jazz) and Walter Trout (blues). Keep rockin' folks! HAVE A COMMENT? Tom Koontz is the owner ofTJ's CDS & More at 3275-ATamiami Trail in Port Charlotte. He loves reader comments, and can be contacted at tjscds@ peoplepc.com. Tips to help your dog stop jumping on people (MCT) Dogs tend to jump up naturally to greet people because they're eager and ex- cited. While your dog's intentions are harmless, some people might per- ceive this behavior as annoying and it can be particularly dangerous if you have a large dog jumping up on a child or elderly person. The American Kennel Club offers the following tips to help stop your dog from jumping on people. Ignore the jumping. The best way to teach your dog not to jump is to show him that jumping won't get him any attention positive or negative. Ignore your dog when he jumps on you. Don't make any eye contact or speak until all four feet are on the PHOTO PROVIDED floor. At that point, calmly praise your pup. Turn your back. Another tactic is turning your back on your dog until he stops jumping. Once he stops, turn around and praise him and then pet him. Incompatible behav- iors. Teach your dog to do something incompatible with jumping. For exam- ple, your dog can't jump while he is sitting or lying down. Teach your dog "sit" or"down"as an alterna- tive. Calmly praise and reward your dog when he holds the sit or down. FREE ANY SIZE COFFEE AT RACETRAC Get a free coffee at RaceTrac with a coupon. Stop in at participating gasoline convenience stores to get a free any size cup of its Crazy Good coffee with the coupon. Better yet, show it on your smartphone. Choose regular, Dark Roast, Decaf, Extra Caffeinated, 100 percent Colombian and Hazelnut. You can jazz up your java by adding a variety of free flavorings, from creamers to syrups to cinnamon and chocolate toppings. Get a freebie coupon at the beginning of each month by signing up for the free RaceTrac Insider program (click the"Sign Up for the RaceTrac Insider" in the bottom right-hand corner). You'll also get a coupon for joining and on your birthday, too. The offer ends on June 30. The offer is one coupon per customer. Get the deal: http://bit.ly/l hwRZyF Sun Sentinel