A Somewhat Memorable Memorial Day: S'mores!

Chef's hat + cook's utility belt =
I need to do more sit-ups.

Today began with rain, which I kind of welcomed because we had planned to go to the beach along with, I assume, the rest of Long Island. Sometimes I dread the whole lotion-up-the-kids ordeal, but now they're older and can at least help us lug some crap to and from our little patch of sand. Still, the beach is never all that relaxing when you've got two kids in tow.

We planned to host a barbecue at around 3, so the morning was supposed to be spent at the beach with Mrs. The Anthony Show's .

The skies cleared up by late morning, and Mrs. The Anthony Show convinced me that we should take a shot at the beach. Here's how the convincing went:

Mrs. The Anthony Show (cheerfully): How 'bout we try to go to the beach?

Me (seated on the couch, in no mood to move because I found myself able to watch part of the Futurama marathon while my son's in his room with his Legos while my daughter's occupied with Mrs. The Anthony Show's aunt, playing some two-hour game of Trouble): Do you really think we should do that?

Mrs. The Anthony Show (with a calm tone that means she's about to open a portal to Hell): I don't want to be hanging around here for another four hours.

Me: The beach, you say? What a great idea!

WE ACTUALLY HAD A GOOD TIME AT THE BEACH
Shortly after returning from the beach, I began the grilling. Yesterday Mrs. The Anthony Show and I almost dropped some coin (to be more precise, Home Depot credit card) on a Weber gas grill, but I wouldn't have had enough time to put the thing together, so I went with the big Weber kettle that I've been using for more than 10 years.

As I've done ever since I've had kids, I simply grilled the basics: burgers, dogs, a few sausages, and corn. Eventually I'll return to preparing some of my slightly more exotic items, like the homemade burgers stuffed with pepper-jack cheese, but until then I'll take pride in my s'mores.

Mrs. The Anthony Show bought those steroid marshmallows that are currently all the rage. Although these are a good size for shoving on a stick and roasting, they're not very accommodating for the way I make s'mores. To make these treats I ripped one of these Barry Bonds pillows in half, and slapped it on a graham cracker...

 ..along with three segments (one row) of a Hershey bar. It doesn't look like a lot of chocolate, compared with the size of the marshmallow and cracker, but any more than three segments is chocolate overkill, and I don't mean that as the name of dessert on a TGIFridays menu, between the Crème Brûlée Carnage and Suicide by Strawberry.

I cover the mess with the other cracker and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. Sometimes the cracker, er, cracks, but that's OK.

As you can see, my s'mores are popular, so I prepared a whole bunch of them and tossed them on the grill. If your grill is hot, it doesn't take that long for them to cook. Sometimes the graham cracker will get a little toasted, but it's not required because you're really looking to melt what's inside.

Check out the oozing marshmallow on one of the center s'mores. I wish my untreated cuts oozed marshmallow instead of pus.

The s'mores were finished after only a few minutes. The foil works as a kind of wrapper, which is helpful because the result is a very sticky mess.

Later I tossed a huge slab of watermelon on the grill. I was too impatient to leave it on long enough, but grilled fruits — grilled pineapple, especially — are quite a delicacy.

All in all, the barbecue was quite a success. And thanks to the signs made by Son Of The Anthony Show...

...all felt welcome.