The Sizzle of the Grill, the Roar of the Race Track

Another weekend of grilling lunch is passing by.

This afternoon, I enjoyed the blue sky, warm sun, the sizzle of burgers on the grill, and the roar from the racetrack, south of the Interstate.

A pleasant, serene, moment in my life here in small town America.

I think I've got the hang of grilling burgers without incinerating them. And, this week, I did it without supervision.

Another Day, Another Burger

Several of them, actually. Not much to report, except that when today's burgers were done, they were more done than yesterday's.

Our #1 daughter, our son, and our neighbor were out at one point or another during the process. I suppose it would unseemly to blame them for distracting me.

Nice, simple burgers are nice, but I'm looking forward to trying something exotic, like last Monday's shish kebabs. "Exotic" being a relative term, of course.

Cool Weather, Hot Grill, Brown Burgers

Not bad at all. I grilled lunch today, before the drizzles started, and didn't incinerate the burgers.

And without supervision! Much as I like the company of our #2 daughter, it's nice to know - and have others know - that it wasn't her influence that kept me from converting burger patties to imitation hockey pucks.

Not the greatest of accomplishments, but an accomplishment nonetheless.

My First Shish Kebab

Seen against the vast backdrop of history; compared to the rise and fall of empires; placed beside such cultural landmarks as the founding of Troy, the signing of the Magna Carta, and the Coolidge Administration's Revenue Act of 1924; the grilling of a shish kebab in our back yard may seem trivial.

For me, however, it stands as a great watershed in the history of my grilling. For today I prepared a meal on the grill which involved more than mere flipping of meat.

I can't take complete credit. It was my wife's idea. She prepared the skewers, using meat, carrots chunks, and pieces of potato which she had heated in the microwave. She also provided the vegetable oil, and told me to wipe it on the skewers, to prevent the food from getting overly dry.

Nonetheless, it was I who stood out there by the grill, carefully observing, swabbing, and turning the skewers.

For a first attempt, it came out very well.

I was so enthused by this attempt, that I made a video. It's been mercifully edited down to 12 or so minutes. The muttering you hear is me. I didn't think to try narrating the thing until rather late in the game.

Without further ado: "My First Shish Kebab." (This link will send you to the video, as presented on my Central Minnesota Theater, a small but growing collection of online videos.)

Grilling, Labor Day Weekend, and Family

Our second daughter was here part of Friday and Saturday, and kept me company while grilling yesterday. Unlike previous daughter-supervised grilling episodes, yesterday the burgers came out crispy. But not extra-crispy.

# two daughter went back to college yesterday afternoon, leaving me to my own devices today. Our #1 daughter was with me while I grilled, but her presence doesn't have the supervisory qualities of #2's.

And the burgers came out more optimally than yesterday's.

Is it possible? Can it be that I have within me the capacity for better grilling?

Looks like!