How 'bout that there picnic??
The weather couldn't have been better. It really was a perfect evening, and the table looked really lovely under the maple tree out back, a white tablecloth with a yellow print border. The wine sitting on the table, the table set -- you know, it looked just like someone was finally having a picnic!
But that was pretty much the end of everything going right! (Even though Mom and I still had a good time, regardless.)
Things started to "go wrong" when I read the instructions on the charcoal package -- they were the kind of charcoal briquettes that are already covered in lighter fluid -- "easy light." They had such dire warnings on the back of the bag that it made me feel like I should only attempt to light the charcoal with a really, really long match while standing in the yard next door! And they also warned -- kind of sternly -- not to pile too much charcoal into the grill. You know, basically saying your steel grill will melt and ultimately send your whole (wooden) house shooting up in flames.
Because of all this upsetting reading material, I wound up not putting enough charcoal in the grill. And while they did get super hot, etc., there weren't enough of them. So midway through the intense heat of the perfectly hot charcoal, we had to carefully take apart the burning hot grill rack and add more charcoal in order to have enough heat to actually cook the meal. (I'm always SUPER happy to have sweat dripping off me, especially at a picnic...)
Long story short (ish), everything that needed grilling wound up cooking unevenly and nothing was done cooking at the same time. But I was starving, so I gave Mom all the food that was actually cooked and gave myself the food that was a little less than cooked, just so that we could eat already!
The wine was perfect. An Estancia Pinot Grigio 2010. However, it had an uncanny way of tasting less perfect when, the minute my plate was full of gourmet picnic food and sitting before me, I spilled my entire glass of wine into my plate. The wine clashed with some of the seasoning of the food on my plate and completely ruined everything. I mean everything. Everything tasted terrible! It all became super acidic. But I was determined to eat it because we were finally having a freakin' picnic, gosh darn it!!
Mom assured me everything on her plate (meaning: not soaked in Estancia Pinot Grigio 2010) tasted great -- so that was good to hear. I persevered. Meanwhile, my mosquito repellant thingie wore off and the mosquitoes began attacking my legs like crazy. In addition to the repellant thingie, though, I had also lit a big, 3-wick citronella candle so that Mom wouldn't be bothered at all -- this being her big 192nd birthday dinner! The candle worked for her, but not for me. In general, mosquitoes love me, which was why I needed this double-fortification against them. However, neither thing worked for me so I got eaten alive.
But the night really was beautiful, so we were out there for 2 1/2 hours before I finally gave up and said, "Let's go in."
And today we have splendid weather again. Of course, I'm hearing from all my NYC friends about the Hurricane Irene stuff. It's hard to imagine it; they couldn't have more opposite weather if they tried. Here's hoping everyone weathers the storm without too much incident.
But that was pretty much the end of everything going right! (Even though Mom and I still had a good time, regardless.)
Things started to "go wrong" when I read the instructions on the charcoal package -- they were the kind of charcoal briquettes that are already covered in lighter fluid -- "easy light." They had such dire warnings on the back of the bag that it made me feel like I should only attempt to light the charcoal with a really, really long match while standing in the yard next door! And they also warned -- kind of sternly -- not to pile too much charcoal into the grill. You know, basically saying your steel grill will melt and ultimately send your whole (wooden) house shooting up in flames.
Because of all this upsetting reading material, I wound up not putting enough charcoal in the grill. And while they did get super hot, etc., there weren't enough of them. So midway through the intense heat of the perfectly hot charcoal, we had to carefully take apart the burning hot grill rack and add more charcoal in order to have enough heat to actually cook the meal. (I'm always SUPER happy to have sweat dripping off me, especially at a picnic...)
Long story short (ish), everything that needed grilling wound up cooking unevenly and nothing was done cooking at the same time. But I was starving, so I gave Mom all the food that was actually cooked and gave myself the food that was a little less than cooked, just so that we could eat already!
The wine was perfect. An Estancia Pinot Grigio 2010. However, it had an uncanny way of tasting less perfect when, the minute my plate was full of gourmet picnic food and sitting before me, I spilled my entire glass of wine into my plate. The wine clashed with some of the seasoning of the food on my plate and completely ruined everything. I mean everything. Everything tasted terrible! It all became super acidic. But I was determined to eat it because we were finally having a freakin' picnic, gosh darn it!!
Mom assured me everything on her plate (meaning: not soaked in Estancia Pinot Grigio 2010) tasted great -- so that was good to hear. I persevered. Meanwhile, my mosquito repellant thingie wore off and the mosquitoes began attacking my legs like crazy. In addition to the repellant thingie, though, I had also lit a big, 3-wick citronella candle so that Mom wouldn't be bothered at all -- this being her big 192nd birthday dinner! The candle worked for her, but not for me. In general, mosquitoes love me, which was why I needed this double-fortification against them. However, neither thing worked for me so I got eaten alive.
But the night really was beautiful, so we were out there for 2 1/2 hours before I finally gave up and said, "Let's go in."
And today we have splendid weather again. Of course, I'm hearing from all my NYC friends about the Hurricane Irene stuff. It's hard to imagine it; they couldn't have more opposite weather if they tried. Here's hoping everyone weathers the storm without too much incident.
Comments