��� 2005-07-02, 4:47 p.m.
Learning to Grill
Bill and I had never actually grilled before this week. Sure, we may have helped someone else, flipped a burger or two but actually doing it ourselves from start to finish...no. So I decided that this weekend was the time to learn.
A few weeks ago Rosie gave us their old grill so her husband could buy a Weber. (Hey, everyone wins.) So it was high time to fire it up for the holiday weekend. Thursday night I skewered some shrimp and veggies while Bill started a fire on the deck. The upside is it didn't actually set the deck on fire. He contained the flames and got the coals going (and under control).
I ran out there with my skewers, excited to finally be living like a real homeowner and having a cookout on the deck. The shrimp sizzled on the grill. I felt happy. I closed the lid. The next time I checked it the shrimp was over cooked and the veggies were undercooked. Shit. Damn sporadic heat levels...and...fluctuaing magnetic fields...
Anyway the food ended up edible even if it wasn't the spectacular cuisine I had envisioned. Then we discovered that the branches hanging over the deck had also been cooked. An entire branch was shriveled and crispy where it once had provided shade to the deck.
So today before firing it up again Bill went out and did a little pruning. We would not be setting fire to any trees today. The grill was nice and hot when I brought out my sockeye salmon and zucchini. I forgot that sockeye doesn't get peachy-colored when it's done so I overcooked it just a little bit. The good news is the spiced rub I used on it was a hit. Oh, yeah, and the zucchini was overdone. *sigh* Lessons learned.
Now it's time to go buy a new mailbox. Some idiot sticking flyers on people's mailboxes busted off our little red flag for the last time. The box was a cheapass piece of shit anyway. Practically felt like they took a shoebox and painted it black and stuck it on a pole.
Happy 4th to everyone :) Don't blow anyone up unless they deserve it.
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