BBQ Fun!

Even though we have to hide the spaceship barbecue from prying eyes because it's forbidden in the building, we just love breaking the rules! And there simply is no substitute for a charcoal grill meal.

But it can be a bit complicated and there's nothing better than to have competent cooks in the background to deal with the plating, salads and dessert instead of being mushrooms sitting around waiting for the food. Hate that!

But Brigitte made a fantastic Greek salad, a mushroom sauce for the steak and of course, her signature potatoes, which Dave the new Band Guy sliced, and Vicky, his charming chef-wife, generally raced around and helped everyone.

Then Dave and I jammed on our guitars to find out what tunes we want to play while the women, well, what could they do? It was too loud for them to talk!

Just the way we like it! Turn it ALL up to eleven. Which is delicious.

Upon Burgers

Hey, burgers are simple, right? Ya slap together some ground meat, cook it and put it on a bun.

But burgers are one of the most complicated meals I know how to cook. First of all, they can't be cold. The timing is crucial. Second of all, everyone has their preferences. No mustard. No onions. No lettuce. Well done. Medium rare. Shoe leather. No blood. Blood.

It's not like a slam-dunk such as bolognese. To make a good burger and to do it correctly for, say, four people, is as difficult as making pizza from scratch.

It's the wrong meal to make if you're expecting company. You'll be spending a LOT of time in the kitchen. I swear it's a two-man operation. Last night I made burgers for four but I was all afternoon in the kitchen, chopping garlic and onions for the burgers themselves (a mixture of ground pork, veal and beef), then mixing them by hand, pressing them with my happy burger press which forms perfect patties, putting them in aluminum foil and refrigerating them.

Then you have to grill the buns. No small task, as I wasn't using a grill-grill but a grill pan. You want them hot! But only two fit in the pan at a time (bottom-top).

Then I have to make "special sauce", which consists of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, wine vinegar and chopped gherkins.

Then . . . the side dish! Must make potatoes! Oven fries! So, that distracts me no end. Shoulda made corn on the cob, but I didn't.

The burgers were good. Very good. But next time I think I'll just make Indonesian curry. Far easier to slap together.

Compound Butter

It's really good. Here's what we did with some corn, but it works with almost everything.

It's very simple.

Ingredients

About three or four sticks of unsalted butter
About 1/2 C of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, patted dry and chopped finely
About 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
About half a cup of Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Ground black pepper

Method

Bring butter to room temperature or gently warm in pan. Blend all ingredients. Refrigerate.