A Golden Afternoon

This year's barbecue at Golden Gardens was, like last year, a small gathering. Still, we managed to light the charcoal grill without the use of lighter fluid or a chimney starter, and the evening bonfire provided a good opportunity for s'mores. All in all, it was a pleasant afternoon on the beach, but a sad reminder that summer will soon end.

King of Crab

Third time's the charm - for our third night at the grill this weekend, Alaskan king crab legs were the star, brought to us by Michael's grandfather, Chad. After a change of plans this afternoon, we convinced that family they should come to our place for dinner - bringing the crab legs with them, of course - offering us an opportunity to show off our house and our Lucy dog to Michael's Aunt Robin and Chad's son, Scott.

Precooked crab legs are the epitome of simplicity when it comes to preparation: simply thaw and serve, or throw onto the grill to warm them up before eating. But it's in the eating, you see, that crab becomes messy, and I admit to squirting my tablemates once or twice in my effort to pull out every last piece of succulent crab meat. Fortunately they were good sports about it. And seeing as we were all in the same boat, passing around kitchen shears and digging into the flesh with our forks, it really could have been any one of us. Due to its size, however, king crab does have one advantage over Dungeness. It may be messy, but you get to your reward much faster than with the smaller Dungeness, and with legs the size of Lucy's , you do reap a substantial reward.

Some enjoyed their crab in salad, while I reveled in simply pouring melted butter over the exposed flesh. OK, that came out sounding a little cruder than I intended, but crab brings out my gluttonous side. Perhaps that's why God made eating crab such a chore - it keeps us from overindulging, unless you pay the high price for prepared lump crabmeat. But there's a certain satisfaction in working for your supper, at least when that supper happens to be crab.

The Bessings of Barbecue

The barbecue got a workout on Friday night, when our house made room for about a dozen guests - nurses, their families, and friends, everybody glad to get together away from the VA Hospital (and who could blame them?). Michael was proud to grill up racks of baby back ribs, glazed with a sweet balsamic sauce from the pages of Gourmet's July issue. The July issue of Gourmet is always a hit - is there a better time of year to enjoy cooking and eating than this very month? I'd say not, although I admit to being prejudiced.

The ribs were eaten clean, only a pile of bones left in a bowl by the time the evening was over. Supplemented with sangria, salads (we must make an effort to be healthful - while still enjoying good eats), bourbon mint tea, chips, beer, ice cream treats, and the burgers that Michael couldn't resist picking up at Whole Foods, I don't think anyone left hungry. I, for one, ate far too many Tim's Cascade Jalapeno chips. They put something addictive in that flavor, I'm sure of it.

And even though I abstained from the ribs myself, being generally a non-eater of mammal meat, I have to admit they looked very, very tasty. How could one resist? But even a turkey burger cooked over mesquite charcoal and topped with a slice of Tillamook vintage white can taste like heaven on a sunny summer night. With that in mind, I wasn't too disappointed when we fired up the grill again last night for a fresh batch of burgers. In Seattle, you have to enjoy it when you can.

Breaking in the Barbecue

"We have fire!" Michael announced with triumph after checking on our new charcoal grill ten minutes following ignition. We are fans of the hardwood charcoal, so knew our interests in grilling did not lie on the gas side of the spectrum, but we were also wary of the fact that charcoal takes effort. Our new Weber grill successfully eliminated much of this effort: with a propane ignition, you need only arrange your coals and punch a button, then give it a quick check in five or ten minutes to make sure the coals are lit.

Friends joined us for a late lunch that stretched through the afternoon, sharing buffalo shrimp, herb bread sticks, and a mix of salads that included grilled mushrooms and chicken tossed with pesto.

"You're breaking in the barbecue with shrimp!" I told Michael as I put the first course on, knowing that shellfish would not be his choice for the best that grilled cuisine has to offer.

"Well, when Michael tells the story of how he broke in the grill, it'll be with prime rib instead of shrimp," Doug asserted. But we all know the truth - and today was all about the shrimp, chicken, and mushrooms - although I think Michael would happily forgo prime rib to eat grilled mushrooms.

Still, he couldn't resist throwing on a couple of burgers after we sat down to eat. "Are you sure this is enough?" he asked while eyeing the beautifully charred chicken thighs I was slicing.

Well, Michael did have his burger, but he was the only one - and there was still some chicken left over, so I can safely say there was enough. For now. On the menu for tomorrow night: buffalo chicken burgers! The grilling, it has just begun.