BBQ Pam

Who doesn't love a choice piece of meat grilled to absolute perfection on the Barbecue? Or, of course a nice molded non-meat product heated up and made to look like it was grilled perfectly by the "chef" with the tongs in her hand? Mmmmmm...even corn and peppers and zucchini and mushrooms and garlic and...and...and...well the list can go on and on for hours. Barbecuing is a fabulous way to enjoy cooked food. I still can't understand why it is mostly a summer thing to do...for the most part that is. I will fire up the barby in the winter time...just not as often. I guess standing in the rain over top of the grill isn't as thrilling as when you are out in the sun and warmth of a summer evening grilling up some yummy delicacies. Oh barbecue...how I do love thee. And I have been a fan of the grill since I was a wee little lass. My dad is the BBQ champ...in my eyes at least. You want a steak grilled to rare..he'll do it...medium rare no problem...medium, yuppers! He may even grill something medium well or worse yet, WELL, if it is totally necessary on your part to eat meat that is tougher and drier than drywall. But you would have to beg him on your knees and make promises of all sorts for him to do something so awful to a wonderful cut of meat. I would hang out, most of the time when my dad would do the grilling for our dinners or barbecue get togethers with friends and/or staff parties in our backyard. I would watch him flip burgers and steaks...feeling up the the meat with his tongs to know what point it is grilled to in the middle. I remember our orange metal square briquette BBQ with the big wooden "joystick" that could lower the grill closer to the heat. When it wasn't on, that BBQ was so many different things...ahhh the imagination of children. ;o) I also remember when my dad came home with a propane BBQ and the excitement he had with the ease of lighting and heating it up. No more lighter fluid and waiting for the briquettes to ember up and add heat to the grill. The flick of a switch does it all in seconds. Sweet! We had more barbecues once we upgraded to propane...yum! There were even a few occasions in the middle of winter, with my dad clearing a path through the deep snow on the deck to the BBQ and grilling in -20 degrees because he had a hankering for some grilled steaks! My dad...BBQ Lothar! For his birthday a few years ago, my brother bought him an LCB branding iron so that he could brand his steaks when he is done grilling them. (LCB are his initials of course.) So cool. I wonder how many more years of BBQ'ing I got to do to get me one of them fancy things? ;o)

Last night was a wonderful evening of BBQ and a bunch of my favourite peeps...what a combo...LOVE it!!! I started off my grilling with a few packs of pork tail ribs marinaded in a "Gabriola" sauce from the local meat department. (they are so tasty...and I grill 'em perfect!) My grill was covered in ribs, sizzling away in the heat and being BBQ'd to sweet supremacy...the way meat ought to be done. And ooooohhhhh, they were tasty. That was a warm up for me. Next...bring yer meat to the cue and let me grill for you. I was at the helm for about 1 1/2 hours...maybe 2. There were about 25 people here with meat to eat...and me to make taste exactly how it should. ;o) I was a meat machine...oh yeah...there was the tofurkey wieners I grilled to make look so nice. Even that was done perfect...right Adrian?? lol I had fun. I was in my element. I am a BBQ Queen thanks to my Daddy'o instilling the proper grilling techniques into my mind and hand! hee hee hee. I wish I had a photo of me at the heat of the moment with sausages of beef, pork, chorizo and tofurkey, pork ribs, baseball steaks, salmon, zucchini and red pepper. It was fun and amazing and I feel that I did a great job. I did not hear one complaint...for I AM BBQ PAM!! :o)