Possumblog

Mmmmm...yummy cow, as Sarah G. would say. We opened up grilling season this weekend, but started out simply with chicken kebobs.

That bench is great. I'm getting bench envy. Justin better watch out...

Dumb question from someone who is decidedly NOT a handyman: how in the world did you get that limestone in position? Did you just have it delivered and then use a jack to place it?

Have it delivered!?

Stan--surely you haven't forgotten back when I was a real man and had Franklin the F-100 for such delivery chores!

The guy at the landscape place got the slab with their Bobcat loader and dropped it into the bed of the truck. When I got home, I pulled around as close as I could to the intended spot and hove it off onto the ground, broke up the stone for the legs, put them into place, and then hoisted one end up onto a pedestal, then the other, and then spent about an hour grunting around and getting it level.

Jordana, if you're looking for a good way to kill Justin, this might be it.

Terry,

I do remember Franklin; I guess I tend to forget there are people out there (actually a lot of them) who have physical strength far greater than mine. That is not something I would have ever been able to try, frankly. I have to say it would be a good way to kill ME, for certain!

Boy, there's a lot more yard in Alabama than there is in NY. At least my part of it. We've got about a tenth of that, and your bench is about the size of my Mom's "front lawn" in Brooklyn.

I do have a bone to pick with you. How on earth could you not have a Weber™ Grill? You'll never buy another one when you've got a Weber. (yes, I burn with the fire of the converted zealot.)

Also, should you happen to get a grill brush and do a burn off, you'll probably be able to skip the "dropping the grates from a great height" step to remove the rust and accumulated former eatings.

I too grilled cow yesterday, despite not assembling the marinade until 2:30 with a 6:15 chow time. It was still delicious, but my beef needs more practice. What a chore that will be.

BTW, I am back blogging after a week long Laziness Break. Lack of inspiration didn't help either.

All we did was burgers yesterday. But it was what the birthday girl wanted.

A forgotten Thursday Three question -- propane or charcoal? Justin is just as anti-gas on the grill as he is anti-gas logs in the fire place. We are all about the creation of large amounts of ashes.

And Terry, I don't want to kill him. But I figured if I rounded up enough other males it might be possible. Not, of course, that we don't already have two huge foundation stones sitting in the backyard (they were taken out during some addition so that you could crawl from the exisiting crawl space to the addition). Hey, those might make good legs for my new bench. :)

Stan, a strong back and a weak mind is a bad combination that I do not recommend to anyone.

As for the size of the yard, Dan, it's deceiving because that's a shot across several back yards--the lots along our part of the subdivision are 90x150. And the grill I had no choice in--it's what came bolted to the patio.

The grill brush and burn usually work, but there was so much scale that I really needed something tougher to get it all off. Biting down on a hunk of rust is not any fun. Which is the voice of experience talking.

And, good to hear you've quit being so lazy.

AS FOR CHARCOAL VERSUS GAS, Jordana--charcoal isn't nearly so entertaining as natural gas. Unless you have lots of lighter fluid. (I think charcoal's better but gas is a matter of expediency.) And good to see that you're coming up with a plausible alibi about knocking Justin off.

I'd point out two things.

1) If I had to use charcoal, I'd never grill. That would be bad.

2) Kingsford's Immutable Rule of Carbon Thermodynamics: The coals will be perfect to cook on AFTER everyone has eaten.

I'll live with not being a purist zealot.

When we bought our fancy Viking rangetop, we opted for a gas grill included.

We scoffed at ourselves for doing it, but we use it three or four times a week. Want a little grilled zucchini with that chicken? Presto!

Coals are for people who have nothing better to do than cook.

I sense a fire-fight coming on... Or maybe one of those old time flamewars.

Before we get started, let's all please just remember what's really important-- mass consumption of tender, flavorful animals.

But it would be a real flamewar. Not some half-cocked political flamewar.

Exactly--and in this one, it's best not to bring any straw men to the table!

One word: GeorgeForeman! Fast, convenient, environmentally sound (I'm not interested in pollution a hundred miles from me) and besides, my kids gave it to me for Christmas.

But there's no potential for explosion. What fun could that be?

Mr. Anderson, did they give you one of the new ones that allow you to take the plates out for cleaning?

We bought a Hamilton Beach for the coast a couple of years ago because it was larger, cheaper, and the grill plates could be put in the dishwasher.

Terry's right. No 'splosions, no fun. Men like 'splosions.

BTW, for variety, I chose not to have Mr. Munu remember me. When is that handyman guy coming to fix the memory chips on this newfangled contraption?

Mine is 18" in diameter and comes a part for cleaning. Works real well for those of us who have gotten over the need for 'splosions" in our lives.

I don't know, Dan--I'm a'working on it, and I will be having extended entries on every post from now until I get this sorted just so people like JIM SMITH will be able to comment quicker.

Larry--heh--"no need for splosions," indeed!

Seems to be that my husband is the only purist. I'd actually be in favor of gas, but he would rather never grill than use anything other than charcoal.

You don't have to have extended entries. Tell Jim to just click on the perma-link to that post. Then scroll to the bottom where commenting is available and you'll be remembered just as often as you are with extended entries.

Jordana, there's no doubt that food tastes better over charcoal. If he's up for it, cool.

Unless we're doing something special, though, it just isn't worth the trouble and mess.