Well, friends, it’s official: The end of Charcoal Grill Season is nigh. It’s highly likely that tonight marked the end of the season for Ol’ Red, our trusty red grill, and next week will dawn the Wintertime Smoker Era. There’s always a chance of a last-minute reprieve, but as it stands now, the smoker is waiting in the wings for its turn in the spotlight. And so turns another revolution around the sun, I suppose!
So we went out tonight with a bang, bringing some of our favorite grillables – veggie dogs, and string beans – to the table, along with some roasted butternut squash that was cooked indoors. Since green beans are out of season presently, I snagged some beautiful purple beans from the Bigg Riggs farm stand at the market last weekend, and we were incredibly excited to give them a try!
Once I prepped the veggies – peeling and cubing the butternut squash and slicing the ends off the string beans – it was time to fire up the grill. We had to do this a bit early today since darkness began to fall at 5 p.m., but we got the job done with time to spare (even though LeeLee was unable to read his newspaper outside by the time the grill had heated up!).
When I put the grill pan full of string beans on the hottest part of the grill, I also flipped the oven on, intending for both the squash and beans to cook for half an hour. Then LeeLee and I retreated inside and waited for a bit of progress to be made on the vegetable front before putting the veggie dogs on! We waited 15 minutes before venturing back out, flashlight in hand, to add the veggie dogs to the grate, and then turned them every 2 minutes or so until they were toasty brown. Then we removed them, added the buns for a couple of minutes on each side, and took them up as well.
By that point, I could hear the beans bubbling in their foil pan, so I brought them inside as well and then, finally, pulled the squash out of the oven. Success! Everything was fully cooked and tender to the taste. I’d dusted the squash with cinnamon-and-cherry-pepper seasoning, plus a little chipotle powder for some smoke, and tossed the whole shebang by hand with some olive oil. The spice and sweet mingled perfectly!
The purple beans turned green again while cooking, but maintained a darker hue than the summertime variety. They were just as tasty, too, and LeeLee and I made light work of them! We also mowed down our share of veggie dogs, though LeeLee has a few left over for lunch (and perhaps breakfast) tomorrow and Tuesday. I’ll leave them for him, knowing how much he adores them! (And between us, I’ve got some quiche that could stand to be eaten. Hee!)
So I think it’s safe to say that we brought Grilling Season to a close with much success and fanfare. Here’s to the dawn of Smoker Season!
:)