Alfresco Dining

Love eating outdoors at this time of year. Not sure that BBQs are worth all the hassle though. I still think there is an element of the emperor's new clothes about BBQ food. There is so much hype and I think we are all inclined to go along with it rather than question what we get out of it for the effort we put in.

Let's look at today's simple BBQ as an example. Half a newspaper, half a pack of firelighters and enough matches to start a small bushfire just to get the coals alight. They then took 20 minutes to reach the required temperature before I could start cooking. Spatchcocked chickens took 30 minutes to cook after which they were moved to the oven to keep warm whilst I set about the venison burgers and sausages. Granted they didn't take long, but you have to watch them like a hawk otherwise they will be cremated, so there's no resting for the BBQ chef. I will say that the chicken had an extra something as a result of being cooked on the BBQ, but the burgers and sausages would have been just as good cooked indoors and wouldn't have been so demanding.

Alfresco yes, BBQ ..... Not so sure.

Had a text from Tim. He won't be at badminton tomorrow night. He's been invited out. I asked if this was a tryst with the neighbour and got a smiley face in reply, so I'm taking that as a yes. Thunderbirds are go.