Sunday BBQs

Finally a gorgeous weekend in Frankfurt, one where it actually felt like it might be summer! The perfect weather for a BBQ in fact, which is exactly what I did with a few friends from work, Birgit and John Wilson, Michael and Daniel, and the fantastic BBQ stylings of my friend Jon.

Never a dull moment, Jon arrived around 1pm to get the fire going, lit the coals, and promptly set fire to the charcoal bag which lit from sparks that blew out of the grill. I, up to my elbows in hamburger meat, turned around to ask him something just in time to see him stomping madly on the flames. Oh fortuitous beginnings . . . . but that was by far the most dramatic part of our day, with my throwing of the pickle jar coming in a close second. (Ok, so maybe it just slipped out of the fridge when I was grabbing something else, but the shattering jar and splashing pickle juice was fairly spectacular) Fortunately there aren't any scorch marks on my deck. I can't imagine how I might even begin to explain that one to my Hausmeister.

Lunch was a full spread of food: veggie skewers with tomatoes, onions, peppers and fennel, classic all-beef burgers (hard to find straight up ground beef in Germany that makes good burgers, it's all too lean so it often doesn't taste quite right, but these turned out pretty darn good!), brats made Wisconsin style (Midwesterners, you know what I'm talking about here, brats cooked up in beer and then grilled to get that perfect smokey charred taste), German style potato salad and of course classic condiments like relish, Heinz ketchup and French's mustard to really make it an American style bbq. Oh, and to finish off we had my newest dessert creation: Grilled Peaches with Honeyed Mascarpone Cheese and Balsamic Reduction. (You can find the recipe at the end of this posting.)

Several hours eating, drinking and sharing good stories was a pretty perfect way to cap off one of my rare weekends in Frankfurt. I'm just glad the weather actually cooperated for once. Next time I'm around I think it might be time for a pancake brunch, after all Birgit and John have already promised to bring the Bloody Mary's . . .


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Since I claimed initially that this blog was going to somewhat be about food (it is one of my favorite topics after all), I figured I would include my newest recipe. So if you've got a grill, try this out. I think it's delicious and it seemed to go over quite well with my friends:

Grilled Peaches (or any stone fruit) with Honeyed Mascarpone Cheese and Balsamic Reduction

Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 Peaches (half of a peach per person), not too ripe, they need to be relatively firm to withstand the grill
1/2 cup Mascarpone Cheese
1 T Honey
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar, gently simmered until it has reduced to about 4 Tablespoons
1 T finely ground White Pepper

- Combine the Mascarpone and Honey and whip together with fork.
- Clean the grill (you don't want the beaches to taste like burgers or something). The coals should be cooler than when grilling meats but still hot.
- Slice the peaches in half and remove the pit. Brush the cut side of the peaches with a little bit of olive oil.
- Place the peaches cut side down over the hottest part of the grill and cover it with the grill lid. Wait 2-3 minutes. Open the grill and turn the peaches a quarter turn (so they have nice grill marks) and close the grill again.
- After another 2-3 minutes. Turn the peaches over, close the grill and give it five minutes. You'll know the peaches are cooked because if you give them a little squeeze with the tongs they will feel soft.
- Remove the peaches from the grill and sprinkle the cut side with a pinch of White Pepper, top with 1 T of Honeyed Mascarpone and drizzle with some of the reduced Balsamic.
- Serve warm.

If you try this out, let me know what you think. . . you can leave comments here on my blog (Just click on the little link that says comments), or email me.