As Visions of Barbecue Danced In Our Heads

1.This past Sunday, we had a nice poolside barbecue at Spumoni Gardens South...which anyone familiar with our family can tell you is not an unusual event. The menu was typical......well at least for a Mastandrea: Burgers, Franks, Italian Sausages...Breaded Roasted Peppers, Lobster Ravioli and Spinach Ravioli (!?) Convention is for amateurs, people......and we are World Heavyweight Champions.

2.The aromas and the flavors from the grille made me reflect on another memorable moment in Big Vin Barbecue History. It was summer vacation in the late 80s back on Marisa Circle, and in the midst of boiling July temperatures our house's A/C konked out. It was 2pm on Sunday, so Big Vin had already completed the sauce, which would be used on his official pasta selection of the day: Lasagna. Unfortunately, this menu choice requires the kitchen oven to be used, further heating an already uncomfortably hot house. Big Vin was unfazed, a true embodiment of what John Lennon would call "The Working Class Hero"....unwilling to allow a broken A/C unit stand between his family and his lasagna...he said aloud "we go to the barbecue". Indeed. He transferred the lasagna from baking pan to oversized roasting pan and fired up the grille. Joe and Camille Gagalia watched him load it on his trusty Char-Broil....they were non-believers at first. To the Gagalias surprise (but no one else's) the finished product was perfect as we were accustomed, but with a light smokiness that has yet to ever been tasted ever again. I compare it to the way some people felt when they saw Neil Armstrong take his first walk on the moon....a witness to history.

3. By the way, John I remember around th same time period you stating with a great certainty that Big Vin would be buried with a spatula and a barbecue brush.

4. Uncle Lenny is a man of focus and tradition when he barbecues. He barbecues all his meats first and once he has removed them to their serving platters, he plucks the largest onion from his garden and places it on the grille. He shuts the gas and lets it sit with the cover down until the meal is nearly complete before unleashing on the delighted dinner guests.

5. Rob Lopicola likes to grill sliced zucchini at his world-famous cook-outs. He always prepares his homemade signature potato salad which he calls "Lopa-salad". Its like a hurricane for your palate.