Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Fire-Roasted Spaghetti on the Grill


We were about to lose our minds up in here (up in here). After a fierce summer storm with high winds, we were without power for four long days. We lost everything in the fridge and in the freezer as we waited for MLG&W to get the power back up and running. Among the casualties were some of my sauces that I make in large batches and freeze: smoky BBQ sauce, spicy enchilada sauce, and a roasted vegetable & tomato sauce. A few of my friends are STILL without electricity. If you know people in that situation, please be nice and offer them a cold drink. They are not having a good time.

By Monday night we longed for a home-cooked meal. Something as simple as spaghetti with tomato sauce would do. So I fired up my outdoor grill and got to work. With a pot of water on the side burner starting to come to a boil, I placed all of the tomatoes I could round up straight onto the grill grates. I diced an onion and three cloves of garlic and threw them into a pan with a good bit of olive oil. I set the pan on the grill next to the tomatoes to allow the onion to sweat. Lantern in hand, I made my way to the garden to cut handfuls of fresh herbs to add to the pan: thyme, basil, rosemary, sage, and oregano. A handful of pasta was tossed into the boiling water, and the charred tomatoes were added to the pan and smashed along with a can of diced tomatoes. Once the pasta was cooked, I tossed the pasta with the sauce, topped it with bits of shaved parmesan, and served it right in the pan.
Because we were starved for a home-cooked meal, I was ready to dub it the best pasta I have ever tasted. It was good, but I'm not sure about all that. But I am sure that a little bit of innovation and thinking outside of the kitchen may have saved our sanity.

3 comments:

Michael Hughes said...

Food can do so much more than satisfy hunger. It can stir memories, amplify desire & in this case it feed your need for simple comfort. I'm glad you guys have power again!

the happy family said...

i was worried that i was going to have to do a whole weeks worth of blog posts about "what to cook without power". luckily ours came back on sunday afternoon. but since my hubby loves pasta and to grill, this looks like something we still might try! at least it is a great thing to have in my arsenal for a rainy day - pun intended.

Sophia said...

What a creative way to use the BBQ! And with no heat, good thinking.
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