the summer of grilling

When we first moved into our new home, the only appliance it had was a refrigerator. Absent a stove, we turned to the trusty Blackstone grill. The thing about Blackstones is you can cook just about anything on them. You’re not limited to meat, planked salmon, and kabobs; Ashley loves making eggs and pancakes on it, for instance. For two weeks we cooked on nothing but the grill, and when we got a new stove – an air fryer stove, like the wife has always wanted – we decided to continue making most of our meals on the grill. Amish chicken, chicken thighs, pork chops and pork loins, ribeyes and top sirloins, shaved beef and beef medallions, salmon and tilapia – the Blackstone covers it all. On a whim I decided to chop up some cabbage and potatoes and throw them in a tin-foil pan and cook them on the grill, and it turned out so good that it’s become our standard for cooking vegetables. Perhaps the best part about working the grill is that I don’t do it alone; I always have company. Without fail Moose shows up from the woods and hovers around for choice morsels – I tend to throw him some meat most days – and Zoey and Naomi like to assist me with the cooking. At the end of a long day, there’s nothing quite as soothing as hanging out with my girls, smoking a nice cigar from House of Cigar, sipping on bourbon, and working the grill. I’ll miss these summer days, though I’m looking forward to our crop of winter meals: roasts and soups and stews and pies. 

Zoey, Naomi, and Maggie keeping me company while I grill. They're sitting on a brick
pizza oven that needs to be thoroughly cleaned before use; it's one of my late summer goals.

Moose enjoying some grilled shrimp. I am a generous master.