A Rat Pack Saturday Night

The new deck was supposed to be completed yesterday but didn't quite make it. At the last moment Brett, our contractor, found more rusted out joist hangers so, after replacing them, there wasn't time to finish up. But, we were finished enough to have friends over and that's just what we did.

On short notice, Mike and Jodi and Roger and Maddy were on their way. I did some fancy hot dogs, grilled corn and a big jug of Sangria. Sheila made one of her legendary peach cobblers and topped it with vanilla ice cream. One of the best moments of the whole evening was watching each other eat the chili mayonnaise and sour cream slathered corn. At one time or another, it was all over our faces. (Food photos are not mine. They are stolen from the recipes.)

After dinner we chatted a while and then played Bocci ball until it was too dark to continue. Nobody could agree on exactly what the rules were so we wound up playing by a set of ad hoc rules that would probably make an Italian curse all Americans for invading their favorite lawn game. Oh well, we had a good time with it anyway and made a resolution to learn the real rules.

Despite the new deck and deck furniture etc. I'm still cooking on my old Jacuzzi gas grill and Weber "bomb" charcoal grill. I know they look kind of out of place but I am accustomed to them and their quirks and they work fine. Sheila offered to buy me a new, fancy state of the art whatever I wanted grill for Father's Day and I refused. There is something to be said for knowing exactly where the hot and cold spots are on a grill and how to use them, exactly how much charcoal for how long will cook a big bird or eight pounds of pork roast, etc. The Jacuzzi was a five dollar garage sale find that I rebuilt with all new internal parts. It has a solid cast aluminum body and heavy steel frame that will probably outlive me. The Weber was a gift from a former employer. Those grills are old friends. We have history.

I can't post these pictures without saying something about the paver stone patio under the grills. Our contractor didn't do that. Sheila and I did. We've been working until bedtime every night for two weeks on it. I laid the first half myself and then taught Sheila how to lay them so we would trade off and neither of us got too tired. While a professional might criticize the finished product, I do have to admit it turned out to be one of our better projects.

I had put aside a bit to spend a week on the Redneck Riviera this fall. We decided to build the deck instead. If last night was any indicator, I think it was a good decision. Hopefully, there will be many more nights like it with good food and good friends ...... where a good time was had by all.

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OK, everything changes sooner or later, even a barbecue grill. This monster came up for sale on our block for FIFTY BUCKS. It is about the size of an old fashioned wood fired kitchen stove and is actually two separate, height adjustable grills. Couldn't turn it down. Now, I'm just waiting on the Tulsa County burn ban to be lifted so I can try it out. My trusty old Weber will be going to the farm for use down there but I kept the gas grill so that we could grill during the burn ban and also for quick dinners on the grill. Between the two, I should be able to cook a full dinner for a small army right there in my little brick paver outdoor kitchen.