The Four Food Groups

In the past few years, I have been blessed to have fallen in with four Food Groups...not four of the classic five food groups in the nutrition pyramid, but four groups of family and friends who host food-centric get-togethers that are always a blast to witness and even moreso to take part in. I've written about them all: Keith's family's traditions like Cookie Sunday; the delightfully daft dinners with my BN cohorts, and the cool, chaotic Posse parties of the past year. Last night, I reunited with the hometown version: the Abicht's Landing extravaganza. The night was in full swing when we arrived.

As we pulled into the garage, we saw and soon smelled the smoker. Venison was being slowly smoked by Michael and the aroma was mouth-watering. Into the kitchen we continued, where people milled about sipping cerveza and slicing potatoes or cleaning green beans. Kak whipped up some startingly good "scorched green beans"....blanched green beans sizzled in garlic, soy, Worcestershire and pepper. Pat was prepping his version of the Bacon Explosion and it was quite the process to behold. BBQ Sausage wrapped in a lattice-work of bacon studded with red peppers and jalapenos, specially spiced and then slowly grilled to perfection. Pat takes meticulous care with his prep of this heart-stopping dish as he did with the sweet onions grilled whole with garlic and butter. The Bacon Explosion is a bit intimidating but the layers of flavor were just phenomenal. Watch this space, folks..I'd say Pat's going to be a BBQ talent to watch.

From the garage to the deck, two grills and a smoker were fired up and the food didn't stop...JB fried killer potatoes and some delicious breaded catfish as well. We nibbled many a fine dish, cracked open more beers and despite the chilly rain that fell; a fine time was had by all. Ah, it's good to be home.