Over the past few weeks, the occasional fragrance of grilled meat, wafting through my windows from enterprising neighbors, reminds me, in a not so subtle way, that it's time to clean the grill _ and that I'm really hungry.
Yes, indeed, with Memorial Day as the unofficial opener of the grilling season, we are ready once again to get serious about the practice of dinner _ and maybe breakfast, lunch or happy hour _ spent in the great and glorious outdoors, either dining alfresco or cooking that way.
Which is the way it should be! Sunshine and warm temperatures are limited resources. We need to linger in them, soak up that vitamin D and celebrate the fresh air, with all of the fragrant, tasty possibilities ready to burst from the landscape.
So until Labor Day, summer by observance, if not calendar, we're focusing on the Great Outdoors. Patio dining. Farmers markets. Cabin cooking. Ice cream cones. Summer cocktails. And grilling, of course, which is where we begin today.
Consider this the time to ramp up your grilling game with bacon-wrapped onion rings, eggs with prosciutto over the fire, a banh mi burger topped with pickled vegetables, smoky-sweet drumsticks, and chive-laden baked potatoes over the coals. Hungry indeed. Let's head outdoors.
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