<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I thought I would give a short summary of the many replies I received.
First off, thanks to all of you.  You all have contributed to my
knowledge base on this subject.

1.  Several say they have no trouble with either using the "ceramic
charcoal" or the lava rocks.

2.  Someone suggested using  Lazzarri real Mesquite Wood Charcoal.
Along this line I found a place on the web for Mike's authentic Mesquite
charcoal and posted him an e-mail.  He wrote back and said his line uses
only Mesquite also and even told me how it was made.  I think if I want
to keep a charcoal grill these might be my answer.

3.  Gwynneth from Boston uses ceramic and sent this recipe to get the
smoky taste since you aren't using real charcoal.

> 2 cinnamon sticks
> 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
> 2 Earl Grey tea bags
> 2 tablespoons brown sugar (GF)
> 1/4 tsp whole cloves
>
> Put all the ingredients in a clean tunafish can  (remove tea from the
> tea bags, though).  Place can on top of glowing coals, under the
> items you are grilling.  Close lid, and let the smoke "perfume"
> the food!!  Works especially well with swordfish, tuna, or red meat.
> You can also try using whole, dried twigs/branches of rosemary,
> thyme, and bay leaves instead of the cinnamon and cloves.  This
> is works best with poultry.

4.  Some suggested using a seperate tin or tinfoil so as not to get any
contamination from anything else on the grill.

Again, thanks for all of your input.  I think that my family and I will
read each e-mail over and come to a conclusion together.

It sure is great to know that when you need support from people you have
it.

Thanks
Carolyn in Biloxi, MS