The Domestic Goddess

All Original Text & Photography
Copyright © 2004 by Jennifer Hamilton

17 May 2004 - More Definitions...? More Confusion

Reading Il Forno last week left me with a lingering desire for some quality time with some barbequed food. Or is it grilling..? Or is it barbeque...? According to Alberto, "barbecue is a refined technique involving smoke, moistness and a relatively low temperature...". Hmmm. Nope, that is NOT how S. barbeques food. The words "flash fry" and "quick char" float across my mind. The search continues.

According to Merriam-Webster online:

Grill:
Pronunciation: 'gril
Function: transitive verb
1 : to broil on a grill; also : to fry or toast on a griddle
2 a : to torment as if by broiling
b : to question intensely <the police grilled the suspect>

Well, now that sounds fairly accurate. And I swear I distinctly heard him tormenting the meat while he was cooking dinner on Saturday night. "Okay boys, I know you were in the fridge when the cream went sour and I want the whole story from the start."

Barbecue:
Variant(s): also bar·be·que
Function: noun
Etymology: American Spanish barbeque framework for supporting meat over a fire, probably from Taino
1 : a large animal (as a steer) roasted whole or split over an open fire or a fire in a pit; also : smaller pieces of barbecued meat
2 : a social gathering especially in the open air at which barbecued food is eaten
3 : an often portable fireplace over which meat and fish are roasted

Okay, there was no steer, but there was definitely a social gathering (especially once the food was served), and while my dad's grill is hardly something you can trek around town with you, it does have wheels...thus making it "portable".

So, what did we have? Grilled chicken kebabs with a yogurt marinade (made by me), grilled vegetables and grilled Middle Eastern-style beef kebabs. It was a nice Spring Saturday dinner, even if we still have no idea what the difference is between grilling and barbeque...or what one or the other actually is, or what it entails.

ALSO: I added the other, larger pictures of the cheesecake from yesterday -- they're gorgeous (thanks, John!).

recipe