Independence Day '09

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A photo to make my late Papa Goldsmith smile up in heaven; Callum enjoyed his first spare rib! I know this is a day my dad has waited for as well! Grandpop (or "Ba-Ba" as Callum calls him--it is so funny because he calls me "dada," he calls Amanda "mumma," but he doesnt call any of his other grandparents anything....but he calls his great-grandfather "Ba Ba") made his famous baby back ribs at our cookout, and we gave Callum a bone with just a bit of meat left on it. I took a video too that I might post. As you can see, he loved it, and he threw a fit when we tried to take it from him! Later that night, we found the bare bone at the bottom of his high chair.....



Here's Ba-Ba making his famous ribs--he marinates them in his special sauce, and then grills them to perfection. They were unbelievable....even for "his" ribs. The day itself was strange as far as the weather went. It rained in the morning, then it cleared up, and then just as we were about to cook, we got this raging thunderstorm....so we cooked in the garage--Ba-Ba on one bay, me on another.

As for me, I am DONE with gas grills. The Goldsmith house is now strictly a "charcoal house."
This merits its own blog all by itself....but I am fed up with gas grills....I dont really feel like I am BBQing. I know Hank Hill would be pissed at me, but there is just something primal about using "real" fire to cook our food. I know it takes longer for everything to get going...but that is part of the fun. Now, dinner is more of an "event" with Amanda and Callum, since lighting the charcoal, arranging the briquettes, and working the drafts are all part of the fun. Plus, everything tastes so good and we always feel like we're camping! And I figured if I was going to do this, I was going to do this as "purist" as possible, which is why I dont use any lighter fluid. I bought this chimney starter, pictured above, which uses plain old newspaper as the kindling to get your fire going. As you can see....the coals are almost ready. (I said "purist," and I realize I am using "pressed" charcoal and not "lump." I WILL use lump...but they had a killer deal on the Kingsford stuff at Agway!)

Here is the "prep table."
In addition to the ribs, we had hamburgers seasoned with this rub I found in my friend Wick's "Bon Appetit" magazine (it uses ground coffee, and it is awesome!), Bratwurst George got at Morse's the day before, Lynne's baked beans, a green salad with stuff from B&F Vegetables, and a blueberry/peach pie Amanda baked (she also baked some cookies). As usual, we had some delicious snacks before we ate (a fantastic cheese board, liverwurst, wine, and growlers from Oak Pond Brewery). People should come up to enjoy this stuff with us; we kick butt in Maine!

A future "Demotivational Poster" done by Timmy, John, or Jay.....
Here we are getting ready to light the grills. We didnt end up going to any fireworks, since Callum was asleep...but we did laugh our asses off watching some Arrested Development.....

Coming up next: Callum's weekend canoe trip!