Ladies and gentlemen, the Big Day has arrived!
Tonight, we fired up our sweet red charcoal grill for the first time this year, and there was much rejoicing. As per tradition, we welcomed the dawn of grilling season with much fanfare, bringing our A-game to the menu and beer list and breaking out a shiny new grill grate for the occasion.
On the beer front, we enjoyed a seasonal specialty from Sweetwater. On the grill, we pulled out all the stops and enjoyed BLT burgers with grilled thin asparagus, served with some oven-baked tater tots for appropriate carbing.
First, I got the grill heated up as high as I could (remember, I only know one temperature: wide-open hot). Then I tossed a bundle of asparagus (with the ends trimmed off) in some olive oil, chipotle powder, and curry powder, and laid them out atop the grill grate like so:
They took about 20 minutes to roast in total, and I flipped them every four minutes or so to cook them evenly. If you like yours a little crispier, take them off the heat sooner; if you like them burned to a crisp, keep them on the heat a little longer.
Next it was time to cook the veggie burgers. We love the Morningstar Farms Vegan Grillers; they’re some of the meatiest burgers we’ve seen! They required about 15 minutes of cook time in total, with a side-flip every five minutes or so. (For the last five minutes of their grill time, I placed a square of Follow Your Heart vegan American cheese on two of the burgers to give them time to melt.)
Finally, what’s a BLT without the B? I grabbed some frozen veggie bacon and laid four strips atop the grill, letting them cook for about 10 minutes, flipping sides after five. It was quite the full house on the grates tonight!
By the time the tater tots were done cooking inside, everything else was ready as well, so LeeLee and I sat down to feast. We even topped the tots with some freshly snipped chives from our herb garden! The chives came back strong after the harsh winter, and we couldn’t be more pleased. Soon we’ll add additional herbs to the mix and have a wonderful backyard culinary library once more.
We topped our BLTs with the requisite lettuce and tomato, as well as sliced onion, Just Mayo, and ketchup. And the end result couldn’t be beat! There’s nothing like crispy veggie bacon straight off the grill; it added a wonderful salty crunch to the burger. And the American cheese was a wonderful surprise, as well! The flavors and textures of each ingredient played very well together; I foresee a great many BLT burgers in our future this spring and summer!
A smoking, flaming-hot grill. Al fresco dining. Good beer, good food, good conversation. Happy days are here again!
:)