Russ and Jen

The Annual Grillathon was, as always, a great way to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of fall. It was also a wonderful way to spend the day with family and friends, enjoying good food and good times to with each other.

The menu

(appetizers)

Grilled mozzarella with balsamic glaze

Prosciutto-wrapped scallops and shrimp

Homemade black bean dip and hummus with blue corn chips and veggies

(dinner)

Mesquite smoked pulled pork

Hickory smoked pulled pork in a vinegar, pepper sauce

5 different homemade BBQ sauces

Rotisserie grilled pulled chicken

Matambre, which means "hunger killer" - rolled flank steak stuffed with arugula, garlic and green onion

Chimichurri sauce

Orzo salad with tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese

Homemade coleslaw

Marinated red onions

Ember roasted onions

Grilled veggies, butternut squash, zucchini and carrots

Sweet potato fries with spicy jalapeño aioli

Avacado and red onion salad

Personal sized, hand made mini breads, (literal translation: rolls)

(desserts)

S'Mores (unfortunately, rained out)

Chocolate butterscotch bars, raisin bars by Denise

Oatmeal and pumpkin cookies by Alexis

Chocolate peanut frosted bars by Nikki

(beverages)

Honeycrisp apple sangria

Beer

Sodas

Apple juice, lemonade pouches

N723239

other years

2003-2011

2020 and later

4th Annual Grillathon

The day starts very early

A small portion of Brian's equipment

The fires are lit at 6:30

Two of the four pork shoulders we smoked

Then, Brian started preparing the chicken

The smoke promises some great food in about 11 hours

Time to play "Battleship"

Louisa likes to wear Gramps's hats

Cara likes to pose, just like big sister

Brian and Alexis have a new dog, Maggy, who did quite well in all of the controlled chaos during the day

Dan's grilled mozzarella with Balsamic glaze

Cara saw the grilled mozzarella and was first in line

Then there were two others

And more, and more

And they're all very big

Pretty soon, she couldn't even see the cheese

But she got some anyway.

Grilled fish tacos for lunch

Barbeque Bri in a quiet moment

Onions roasting in the coals

Mark and the sweet potato fries

Courtney made the personal size hand made mini-breads

Owen liked these so much that he suggested that Courtney could make his school lunches from homemade bread. Then he would be sure to eat his lunch.

Line drive to center field

Louisa was the designated runner

The green soccer-ball sized tennis ball came into view as the picture was snapped. It was in front of Parker, fortunately, although the photo makes it look very, very bad.

Another grilled mozzarella

Roasted onions headed back to the grill for the final step

These adventurers from the neighborhood had been in the Natural Resource Area for about an hour before they began the hike home. Just seemed to invite a photo as they marched by.

The matambre, arugala stuffed flank steak is behind the salad

Orzo salad

Unfortunately, a thunderstorm rolled through at dinner - a deluge. So we moved inside.

The next day, we all required a little rest - even Maggy.

© Russ Milam 2012