Memorial Day, May 25, 2009

We had a Memorial Day cookout for some friends yesterday, one day early.  It was good timing, since the backyard looked pretty good.  The climbing rose and clematis got their act together and started blooming at the same time, which has not always been the case.  Some bearded iris also decided to open up, and the weeds had not really taken over yet.  Give them time, though.

I did a couple of chickens on the grill (the Sicilian Grill-Roasted Chicken from the July 2008 Bon Appetit, which is available at epicurious.com).  We briefly contemplated buying a gas grill, but we cheaped out and I think that I am glad that we did.  Charcoal is just way better.  The chickens came out moist and very flavorful, and the skin was absolutely delicious.  I threw both carcasses in a pot later that evening and made a quart of nice stock.  That will be a nice risotto, I think.

We also grilled some flank steaks and had them with a roasted bell pepper relish, and I made the potato salad with gremolata from the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook.  To round things out we had a lentil salad (in case of vegetarians) and I grilled some rapini.  We had ordered grilled rapini at Buck's Fishing and Camping a while back, so I decided to try it at home.  I blanched it first and then tossed it on the grill, which I think was a little too hot.  It just tasted a little too smoky for me.  Next time I think I'll try to wait until the fire has burned down a little more.

I was excited to find sugar snaps on the vine down at the vegetable patch.  I think that this will be the big week for them, which is pretty exciting.  We still haven't eaten that much out of the garden other than onions and radishes, but this week we will get some rapini and arugula also, and I should harvest the tatsoi.  Maybe I'll add that to a risotto and we can have a fusion Asian-Italian dinner.  I was also excited to find the pole beans starting to vine up the bean tower.  In about a month they will be pretty impressive.  Hopefully we will get beans before the arrival of the bean beetles!

O.K., time to go nose around the leftovers...