It’s a good thing I had a bottle of water near the grill this evening.
Usually my husband is in charge of fanning the flames, but he had to pick up his water skis from a friend after work, and I impatiently decided to light things up myself.
How hard could it be?
I dumped in what seemed like more than an adequate amount of briquettes, touched the lighter to them and “whoosh!” – the heat was on.
But maybe it was turned a little too high.
Soon after lighting the briquettes the bright orange flames shot up and so fully consumed my grill that I worried neighbors would think I was trying to create some kind of Greco-Roman sacrificial alter.
I grabbed the water and gave the hot coals a cool spritz. Thus tamed, the flames receded beneath the grate and after about fifteen minutes the coals started to smolder.
I went inside and pulled some chicken kebabs out of the fridge. I’d picked up the chicken and veggies earlier at Sendik’s Food Market, which has been around for over 80 years and is one of my favorite places to get groceries. I get a ton of meat and fish there because not only is it close, but the quality is superb.
Anyway, I cranked up the post-punk tunes on the radio and laid the colorful skewers over the flickering coals. While they cooked, I pulled some tabouleh (also from Sendik’s) out of the fridge, and spooned some into a couple of plates.
By then, Scott was home and our kebabs looked ready to be rescued; I lifted them off the grill gently and divided them between the two of us.
Since the chairs on our deck were still soaked from last night’s big storm, we sat inside, pulling pieces of the soy-ginger-honey flavored chicken, small squares of green pepper and tiny chunks of onion off the skewers, while catching up on the day’s events.
Later I dug out some marshmallows and returned to the grill. By then, the coals had burned way down and were glowing red hot. I threaded a puffy white ‘mallow onto a clean skewer and stood there, turning it over the coals until it was perfectly bronzed on every side.
I popped it in my mouth and watched the golden glint of fireflies flicker in the fading twilight.
Summer. Is. Here.
My food has grill marks to prove it.
Nice job with the grill! Those kabobs look great. I love Sendik's.
Posted by: Derek | July 21, 2006 at 09:48 AM