Sunday, April 24, 2011

Barbecue day, with a little marinade from my mate Jamie Oliver

Today is barbecue day.  I'm going to be out there with the portable stand up barbie, grilling chicken, chops, sausages and burgers.  In no particular order of course.  Last night just before hitting the hay I treated a dozen drum sticks to the Jamie Oliver experience.  They sang with absolute delight when it happened.  I could hear them.  More, more, rub it all in they said.  Yep a nice marinade which they have been soaking in now for the last 9 hours and have at least another 4 or 5 hours to go.  The thought of those drum sticks is doing things to me already.  The saliva in my mouth is going.  HMMMM.  It is so surprising how simple it is to make a marinade sauce, what it really comes down to is the effort you're willing to put into it.  The recipe seemed to be an adaptation of a generic one I've seen Jamie use a couple of times.  And using a blender is an absolute must to get it all lovely and chopped up.  The smell was fantastic.  It had five cloves of garlic, an inch of ginger, coriander, juice from a single lime, two chopped up chilli's, olive oil and soy sauce.  The whole lot was blitzed in a processor.  I then stuck all over the drum sticks and covered in kitchen foil where it is now still resting singing gently away.  I can hear it now, the drum sticks are LOVING IT.  Then I'll be loving them after they have been barbied.

This weekend I think most of south London has gone crazy and decided to do barbies.  When I was at the superstore there was barely any chicken pieces left.  The fresh packets of chicken had all gone. It was very fortunate we already had some in the freezer.  So I made sure to get a dozen quarter pounder beef burgers, this is one thing the kids will eat if they don't like slightly spicy chicken.  Which reminds me I have to get to the superstore and get some more rolls and also a couple of bottles of wine.  For the ladies.  Although none of them actually drink much, I'll probably have one and a half bottles left.  My intention is to get slightly pished and be happy.  If the family wants to argue amongst itself I don't care, they can bloody well get on with it because I'm not going to intervene.  Me and the chicken drum sticks have got a date.  With a budwieser.  I might even get some Guinness now I think of it.  Nothing like a can or two.  No wonder I'm fat.  There is plenty of salad stuff and I was hoping to try and find time to do a rice, but this time I'll put a little chicken stock with it and throw in some coriander.  It will be a kind of accompaniment.  One which doesn't have too much taste just because the kids have got a thing about hot stuff and not liking it.  They also have Easter eggs which Big Momma has got and one of them is 18 years old he's the would be motorcyclist.  Except for the fact he had bought a lemon motorcycle and managed to use it like a speed demond, until the thing broke, which it was going to because he got it off a decidedly dodgy mate who he had assured his mum and dad was a genuine geezer.  Well he wasn't.  Would-be-motorcyclist doesn't actually have it now it was sold to someone else and left him well out of pocket trying to pay of his debts to his mum and dad, Mr and Mrs Talkative. 

Would-be's sister is an angel with the temperament of a little devil and is a beautiful little girl.  All of eight years.  She likes to entice her middle brother into fights and then scream and yell that she was the victim of his aggression.  Like all children they argue, and I'm sure love each other.  I don't get to see them much but I always enjoy their company.  The middle brother I'll call entrepreneur boy.  Because of his antics in little deals whenever he can get away with it.  Like selling Jaffa cakes at lunch time to other boys, or stealing his father's cigarettes and selling them to the other kids.  He has made a few quid on the side from this.  He is a bright kid and I hope he one day goes on to study economics but as with all things you really never know how they are going to turn out until they do, then they are all grown up.  All I can say is I hope they remember me.  I'll see if Would-be would like to get pished today as well.  I know his parents might not be completely up for it, but I'm sure he will be.  Hmm must make a note to get some more booze.  Boy I wish I had an uncle like me, this is so going to be fun. I am really excited over the whole thing.  But always in the back of my mind I'm wondering if there is enough food.  I'm sure there will be seeing as the little ones hardly eat anything.  Yep this is probably going to be the family event of the year.  More booze.  Hmmm wonder if gin would go down OK.  Don't forget ice cubes.  Blimey.  Better see if I can find those bags. 

Happy Barbecue day.

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