The BBQ

I mentioned 'BBQ' in conversation at dinner on Sunday night and within an instant it was requested that I put on an authentic BBQ on Tuesday night. In fact they all knew that there was a BBQ where I am staying and more the question was: "Do you know how to use it" as though it was some sort of high tech machine.

Travis and Emily have imported a BBQ from Melbourne, that is they brought it with them. Although Europeans go silly over the idea of BBQ very few have a gas-BBQ. Many use disposable 'grillers' that are fired by coals. On the weekends you will see in Germany and Italy (i'm sure all over Eastern Europe) people sitting in the parks grilling sausages basically on a big tin foil BBQ with some coals glowing in the bottom. So they gas BBQ is a bit of a novelty notwithstanding they have a fantastic balcony / terrace from which to host said cooking events.

The pressure was really on. I mean Italians are famous for their food and considering the places i've eaten with those who were coming I felt under the pump to produce a suitable meal of a suitable quality all under the mandate of a Authentic Australian BBQ.

With the help from Catherine, I bought most of the ingredients at the markets save the meat. Italian butchers make fantastic sausages usually is a big roll. The concept of tasteless, fatty, homogenous, synthetic skinned Coles Beef BBQ sausages are a little foreign to butchers and supermarkets here. So I settled for good quality sausages, mince to make some patties and some chicken breasts to marinate. Similarly, white square bread of any decent quality doesn't exist here. It's either 'toast' tiny pale coloured rock hard almost super sized croutons or very flakey white bread loaves. The later I bought but only to find that wrapping a sausage in one slice would inevitably end in tears as the bread would tear. I mean the Italians make fantastic bread but nothing that resembles Tip Top Wonder White, suitable for a BBQ.

Dodging the finer issues of preparing for a BBQ, I had five guests turn up, James a Sydney-ite who has been living in Torino since the start of the year, Catherine, Fausto and Carla and Roberto (the later four, Em and Trav's friends that I somehow inherited as part of House-sitting duties).

After arrival and drinks were served, I offered around some breads. I offered around some ciabatta that I had bought earlier today as well as some ciabatta I had baked earlier that day. I asked who liked what and they all preferred the second one. No one believed me that I had baked it until I showed photos of the dough. Proud as punch!

Soon after showing off, I fired up the BBQ. Roberto was having a close look at how things were playing out. I offered him the tongs but he insisted I continue. Food from the BBQ was onions, sausages, patties and chicken marinated in an Indian herb and spice mix. From the kitchen we had sliced potatoes with salt and herbs from the provence roasted as well as a big salad (an italian one!).

Conversation varied from topics of Torino to the differences between the way Maoris are treated in NZ compared to the way Aboriginals are treated in Australia. So needless to say, there were many touchy subjects covered and much explaining to poor Carla whose english wasn't at the level required to manage the finer points of the conversation.

Because we had so much bread left over, I whipped up a bread and butter pudding. With a coffee to finish it all off everyone was happy. The moral of that situation is that although it's hard to go past Italian food, when it's new, it's a novelty and hence it can compete!