Barbecue is a noun, adjective and verb. For myself it is food that congers memories more than any other, allowing nostalgia to slip in and work its voodoo. Constant clouds of smoke, screaming neighbor kids, water balloon fights, chicken and chops, and friends all around. Looking back at those hot summer days tells me the food was not BBQ at all. It was simply grilled, but that really doesn't seem to matter. Little did my father know but the "Hobo Stew" that he made for large get-togethers in the fall, was a style of BBQ all his own (although not by traditional BBQ terms). 
Hobo Stew was a delicious amalgamation of picnic ham, sausage, onion, apple, potato, carrot and anything else that made its way into the 7 gallon rectangular stainless steel pot that my father constructed. I can see it now perched between two grey cement cinder blocks on the corner of our back garden. A small fire built from the split winter wood in the shed, kept the the cauldron bubbling for hours to ensure the picnic ham would be finished before the rest of the ingredients were to be added. The stew would simmer slowly for so long that the clay rich soil under the glowing embers would bake and break, leaving remnants that looked like the aftermath of a potter's temper tantrum.
Where I am trying to go with this rant is that the idea of BBQ is a fun one for most of us, and this is something I really wanted to convey in the desserts for this menu. Rather than call each of our guests up and asking them what their memories of BBQ were, I decided to go with some of my own.
Watermelon and Popsicles are the summertime treats that I remember fondly. Watermelon straight from Dad's garden as sweet and natural as summer can taste. In the other corner was the popsicles... straight out of a plastic sleeve with more artificial flavor and color than one ever needs. Its funny how two dramatically different foods can evoke the same thought and emotion. So for our menu I decided on Lemon Verbena & Sweet Tea Popsicles with White Balsamic Dressed Watermelon.
Part two of the desserts is something fun that we have been playing around with in different forms...Waffles! Fresh peaches and waffles happen to be a guilty pleasure of mine, so it was only natural to put them on the menu so that I could eat the scraps. A couple of weeks before this menu we made some brioche waffles that were served warm with Foie Gras Torchon, and peaches. That dish gave a whole new meaning to my already existing obsession. This tim
e around I used financier batter for the waffles resulting in an extraordinarily crisp texture after they cooled, and who the hell doesn't like brown butter waffles. We served them with grilled peaches, peach sorbet, huckleberry-Anise Hyssop syrup, and warm salted butter gelee. The warm butter gelee was something I toyed with at Okada, and was nice to revisit an old obstacle. This time around it came out successfully. We were able to warm it to around 130 degrees without it breaking.What started out with a trip down memory lane ended in a fun BBQ menu in the Pacific Northwest.
Double Points if you can explain the title.
