They Got By With A Little Help From Their Friends

Firing up another man's grill for the first time is like being the first to sleep with his bride on the wedding night. It's just wrong. - Scotty Harris

Trish and I are picky about our friends, and for some reason they are mostly scattered far away - from Hudson, NY to Hudson, Ohio, and beyond. No knock to our other friends, but we seem to spend the most time with the ones in Hudson, Ohio.

We generally see Susan and Brian twice a year - New Year's there and in the summer either here or there. All you need to know is that when we get together we giggle from start to finish!

Their daughter Angela is a few months younger than Alison, and the three girls are fast friends. Just don't let them put on a show. Really. It's "like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick".

So when they called and asked for my help in doing BBQ'd ribs for 50 at a celebration of Angela's First Communion, it took me less than a millisecond to say yes. I was especially happy when he said he had arranged to rent a BBQ rig - 'cause I hate cooking on outdoor gas ovens.

Now Brian doesn't do things halfway. You can catch a glimpse of his landscaping work in the photos below, but they don't do his yard justice! He has created a waterfall that ends in a Koi pond. He has shifted tons of rock some for creating raised vegetable garden for Susan to till. He has cisterns to collect rainwater and uses that to irrigate the gardens. So I wasn't surprised to find about 80 pounds more charcoal than we'd use, and both a chimney starter and an electric starter. And I prepared the same way. A big batch of my dry rub. Four sauces - Standard KC, Vinegary (also used as a mop), mustardy, and a NY Grade B maple syrup and chipotle one.

But, he's going to use that charcoal. Friday morning, the "BBQ rig" was delivered. Long and about 6" deep. The kind you use to grill chickens on for a school or church fundraiser. I am not sure that I actually said "Houston, we've had a problem", but it was that kind of moment. We told the guys to put that thing back on the grill and went shopping. Brian had the brilliant idea of buying a floor model (no assembly) - we did so at Home Depot and rented a truck to get it home. (I love that he had to put $.25 worth of gas in the truck to return it!).

But, here's the thing. Susan had picked up a hunk of Prime rib eye that I carved into steaks. Brian had to go pick up his Brother and SiL for supper. He asked me to fire up his grill for the first time.

I couldn't do it. It was just wrong.

Dinner came out great, as did the BBQ. But that is another story!