Labor Day is almost upon us again and that means the end of the summer and the official end of beach season. Soon daylight savings time will be over and it will be dark by 7pm. It’s important to be aware of this date or disaster could strike. Believe me I know.
When I first moved to Florida, I would regularly take the family out to Big Talbot Island for an afternoon of biking, roller blading, beach fun, and of course a giant cook out. The lay out at Talbot is perfect for this. There are biking paths, a pristine beach, and awesome cooking pavilions with multiple grills, covered picnic tables, and even fresh water spigots. This is the kind of place that beckons you to prepare complete outdoor meals. And I, always up for a culinary challenge (or a glutton for punishment) would take full advantage of the facility. This got to be a routine with the food taking several hours to prepare and being ready to eat by 7 or 730. The menus might range from a whole chicken on one grill; with potatoes roasting in the coals of another, maybe jalapeno and cheddar skillet cornbread in the coals, vegetable brochettes grilling etc. I would make my BBQ sauce there, make vinaigrettes, dress salads a la minute, and of course s’mores at the end of the meal. I was fully up to the challenge of preparing my entire meal from scratch right there in my temporary outdoor kitchen. Yes even at a state park you can Chef it up! This would give us plenty of time to enjoy the day, the meal, and have ample time to clean up before dark. Yes these were the salad days - a great way to spend my day off from work. It seemed like summer would last forever. The weather was great and only getting better as the months passed.
Then it happened. It seemed like it was getting dark a little earlier, but according to my watch the food would be ready at the normal time and all would be well. Wrong! I realized it was getting dark very quickly, the chicken was cooking away, but not nearly fast enough, the potatoes and other items were nearly finished so we began to eat while the chicken finished; you can’t speed up charcoal. Next the park rangers came by to tell us the park was closed. Now it’s pitch black dark and we’re trying to clean up; pack the car, and finish eating all at the same time. Lesson learned, even a Chef can make a mistake.