Connecticut Cookout

My friends Beth and her husband T invited a group of us out to their CT home last weekend. It's about an hour outside of the city, and last-minute drama at work almost led me to cancel, but I soldiered through and made it there..and I'm so glad I did!

T made salmon burgers and regular burgers (notice the dimple in the burger, a classic Bobby Flay technique!), plus veggie skewers. I love, love, loooooove zucchini, so this was all A+ in my book.

We also had potato salad that was darn near as good as my Mom's! YUMMMMM! Chunks of red onion, a tangy vinegary-ness to it, oh man, was this good--I had two spoonfuls! It was a perfect complement to the juicy, cheesy burger that was cooked just right. Yummm! Summer is delicious.

But the star of the cookout, surely, was the specialty drink, The Breezy Reese (click on the link for the youtube how-to). It's a drink their friends made in their honor, with a taste of New Hampshire in a glass. You know I'm a sucker for New England, what with my roots being there and all, but even non-Yankees can appreciate this drink! Ruby red grapefruit vodka is a key ingredient, as well as cranberry soda. Beth was kind enough to be the bartender while T worked the grill. And I was kind enough not to have her make too many of these for me. ;)

It was a gorgeous night, and we enjoyed sitting in the backyard, visiting for a while. Then we moved the party in for a cutthroat few rounds of CatchPhrase before we all crashed for the night. All in all, a fantastic night of fun with friends. Next time, no work delays! I'll have to get there while there is still daylight, so I can see more of your lovely town. Thanks again, my Connecticut friends!