The Great Grill Debacle

Debacle: 3a : a great disaster b : a complete failure : FIASCO

The above is a definition from Merriam-Webster and it fully describes this weekend.

I like to cook and I like to entertain. I like both of these events to go smoothly simultaneously. You can understand, right? This weekend we had people over both Sunday evening and Monday afternoon. The menu was to include grilled items at both meals. So, last week, when I commented that our grill was cooking unevenly we decided to fix the problem. Mistake number 1!

We went to Walmart to pick up some things and along the way picked up some more briquettes. Our thought was that it would even out the cooking. So right before our Sunday evening company comes, we put in the extra briquettes. They come and we fire up the grill. The only thing is, is that it isn't heating up very quickly. So we check the gas and we've run out. Mistake number 2 - always make sure you have enough propane! So Mike runs to get more propane. I tell people that it's going to be awhile and pop some hot dogs into the toaster oven so the kids don't start to revolt. Mike comes back with a full propane tank and we hook it up. Now, the grill still isn't heating up quickly. So I adjust the briquettes some and we get it to max out at medium. Enough to get the food cooked . We thank the Lord for providing us cooked food and go on with our evening.

Monday rolls around and I figure we got to do something about the grill because I'm planning on grilling burgers and hot dogs for our guests. So we take off the rack and then the tent thinking to move the briquettes out of the way. What a mess! We clean out what I figure is plugging up the gas holes only to see that the burners have rusted through. That's why they sell burner replacements! (never knew that) So, our guests show up right on time - like 5 minutes after our discovery. We fire up the grill, not sure of how it is going to work. Well, it didn't. We couldn't get it to heat up past low. So, I brought the meat inside and we broiled it in the oven. Now, it tasted great (in my opinion) but it just wasn't the same. The funny thing is, is that we still planned on eating outside. So it started sprinkling. LOL! We ate our broiled burgers in the rain and had a great time anyway.

So there it is: the story of our Great Grill Debacle. Murphy's Law was in place. Now, I wonder what we should get Mike for Father's Day? Any ideas, hmmm?