A Very Modest Cottage at the Wandawega Lake Resort

From Apartment Therapy

Tereasa and her husband, David, bought the 1920s shack for $500 in Beardstown, Illinois. It used to be a motor court (aka motel) cabin along Route 125, where Tereasa's grandmother lived. As a kid, Tereasa told her dad that she was going to "move in and make it her house," and he reassured her that nothing—not even a ramshackle wreck—was beyond fixing. She took the message to heart.

As an adult, Tereasa bought a Wisconsin campground with her husband and decided it was the perfect spot for her childhood dream home. She and David had the cabin hoisted onto a trailer and carted it for 10 hours across Illinois and Wisconsin (driving slowly to keep too many roof shingles from flying off). After setting it down in its new home at the Wandawega Lake Resort, Tereasa and David began their labor of love, repairing, restoring, scraping paint, replacing logs, and working very hard to bring the cottage back to life.

A blog can be found here.

Beer Barbecued Chicken Recipe

To simplify things, we just pour a little beer inside the chicken as it cooks. The beer keeps the meat juicy and a smoky-flavored spice rub both under and over the skin gives it extra flavor. Barbecuing poultry with the skin on helps prevent the meat from drying out.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
• 1 4-pound chicken 
• 1 12-ounce bottle beer, preferably pale ale or American lager, divided

Directions

1. Preheat a gas grill (with all burners lit) to 400°F or build a fire in a charcoal grill and let it burn down to medium heat (about 400°F).
2. Combine paprika, oregano, salt, brown sugar, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle chile and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Remove giblets from chicken (if included) and trim any excess skin. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat. Rub the spice mixture under the skin onto the breast meat and leg meat, a little on the skin and inside the cavity. Tuck wings under the body and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
4. If using a gas grill, turn off one burner (leaving 1 to 2 burners lit, depending on your grill). If using a charcoal grill, move the coals to one side. Wearing an oven mitt, carefully place a drip pan under the grill rack on the unheated side. Place the chicken breast-side down on the rack over the pan. Pour half the beer into the cavity (it’s OK if some drips out into the drip pan).
5. Close the lid and roast undisturbed for 45 minutes.
6. Turn the chicken breast-side up. Pour the remaining beer into the cavity. Cover and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165°F, 30 to 45 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before removing the string and carving.

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