Grilling in Winter: Nice to Know I'm Not Alone

I ran into this item today:

"A little cold weather doesn't put the freeze on cooking outdoors"
Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky (February 24, 2010)

"The snow has piled up on the deck. A brisk wind sweeps across the yard. Night has fallen hard by 6 p.m. But the grill outside Elizabeth Bartholomew's kitchen has been fired up, waiting to cook supper: salmon on a cedar plank with honey-mustard glaze, potato wedges and asparagus.

"For some aficionados of outdoor cooking, seasons are irrelevant. Most barbecues are tucked away in garages or basements, or snuggled under weatherproof canvas wraps by Halloween. But Bartholomew and her husband, Chris, have never let a little cold weather or even a half-foot or so of snow interfere with their passion for grilling...."

One phrase, "even a half-foot or so of snow" hints that whoever wrote the article didn't live here in Minnesota - no surprise, since it's in a Kentucky newspaper. A half-foot of snow here isn't "even" - unless it's in September. As wrote in another blog:

"...Snow. We've had snow this winter. Lots of snow. A drift in my back yard just about covers two lawn chairs - and even after excavations, I have to bend over to reach the grill when I'm fixing burgers on the weekend. I figure I'm standing on at least a half-foot of compacted snow and ice...."
(Sauk Centre Journal Blog, February 24, 2010)

Although I applaud them for grilling year-round, the Bartholomew's obviously have a different approach to outdoor cookery than I do. I mean to say: can you imagine the Easy Griller preparing "salmon on a cedar plank with honey-mustard glaze, potato wedges and asparagus"?

It sounds delicious - but I'm not likely to spend that sort of time and effort on a meal.

If you're interested, though: the article includes a few recipes.