THE LIGONIER CHEF Scott Sinemus LINDA EARNEST MARGARET DIVIRGILIO 646 S. URANIA AVE. GREENSBURG, PA 15601
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Pennsylvania’s only residential craft school 1049 Wharton Furnace Road Farmington, PA 15437 724-329-1370 • www.touchstonecrafts.com
724-834-4688 271 Frye Farm Rd. Greensburg, PA 15601
8 - July/August 2008
Alfresco Dining Recently I met some friends after work to join in a birthday party at a restaurant I’d never been to before, the Spitfire Grill in Greensburg. The weather was absolutely perfect for finally getting to enjoy an evening on our front porch, although I love my friends I was feeling a little noblesse oblige about driving to South Greensburg after a split shift. All was made better when I called for directions and found out my friends were sitting outside having drinks on the patio! I adore alfresco dining. Food always seems to taste better when you eat it outside. I didn’t make it in time to have anything to eat, but did have a superlative time with my friends. The music was great, everyone’s drinks were tasty, and the chairs very comfortable. It looked as if there was seating for nearly 60-70 people — very nicely landscaped including a fountain and the requisite tree lighting. They told me I got there just after the outdoor grill shut down for the evening… I vowed I’d be back for dinner. We recently had an unexpected Saturday night to go to dinner and a movie, so we decided to go to Vallozzi’s outdoor area for wine and appetizers, see the movie, and then have dinner outside at the Spitfire. Naturally it poured down rain so the alfresco appetizers were nixed. Not long after the storms ended we decided to go to the Spitfire for dinner and then see the movie. When we arrived they were just opening up the outdoor bar and drying off the tables and chairs. We ran into a couple of other friends so we ordered several appetizers instead of dinner. Everything was quite tasty. There are few things more enjoyable than spending some time with friends over good food. There is a smattering of restaurants in our area that do offer some form of out door dining. Being a chef I tend to be overly critical when I’m dining out. I’ve said repeatedly in my column that there is no excuse for bad food. More often than not it seems that most places don’t seem to put forth much of an effort anymore. For us it’s often more enjoyable I think to have a barbe-que at home. I recently caught an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown featuring kebabs. (Episode EA0903: Dis-Kabob-Ulated) Alton is probably the best thing that the food network has going for it. I love that he tells you the scientific reason why you should be doing what he tells you to do. The last segment of the episode
featured a brick trench lined with sand and hot coals for your guests to sit beside and cook their own kebabs! Interactive meals like that make for an event that people will remember and talk about for years. I already have my bricks and sand gathered to set up. I’m going to assemble my trench on paving slabs on top of the old picnic table so that no one has to sit on the
ground. The party isn’t for two more weeks and every single R.S.V.P. has already come back accepting. Make it a point this summer to enjoy some alfresco dining as often as you can; whether it be at your favorite restaurant offering it, or simply taking your bowl of cereal and a coffee out on the porch for breakfast. I swear it can even make a Monday seem more palatable when you feel the warmth of the sun on your face and see the hummingbirds glimmering in the light while they have their breakfast too. A couple of points to remember when you’re grilling: • Take your meat out a little bit ahead of time so it’s not ice cold. • Don’t move and fiddle around with your meat too much or you won’t get the attractive markings. • Place your charcoal pile at the side of the grill so you can have temperature zones. Sear over the coals and move away accordingly. • A dry rub marinate with spices and oil tends not to allow the meat to stick to the grill as much as a liquid marinate. • Use natural charcoal instead of old fashioned. The old fashioned has actual coal in it. Knowing all the filters needed for the coal burning power plants because of the toxic emissions from burning coal, I simply can’t imagine coating your food with them. • Both charcoal and propane grills have their perks, so if you can, have one of each. LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST