Sunday evening we hosted a small dinner party. A friend from Memphis comes to the mountains every summer to spend a week on property that he and his family have owned for a hundred years. We welcome his visit to our mountain community with a dinner for a few old friends.
The gardens are still attractive but the days are getting shorter and a bit too cool to spend the evening out doors. We plan the evening to start with a gathering on the deck for drinks and starters. I grilled the chicken and vegetable skewers on our propane grill which is set up in the rear gardens.
This recipe is always a success but the entertainment surpassed the meal.
While I was grilling and our friends were chatting on the deck we heard a call from the mountain road that passes our home. A cyclist had stopped and was yelling that there was a fire in the woods just above our home. Everyone was so engaged in conversation that no one had noticed a blaze several hundred yards above us.
After dialing 911 there was an immediate scramble of our guests heading for their homes to hose their yards and gather valuables and prepare for evacuation orders. Meantime I was at the grill cooking the meal.
What to do? It took about 10 seconds to make a decision. Continue cooking. The recipe we were using is an absolute favorite and my position at the grill gave a good view of the blazing fire above us. If it spread rapidly in my direction I would gather things and evacuate, but until then the meal was the priority. I wasn’t sure who would eat it all but I knew that I would have a feast.
Fire trucks started showing up in short order and mountain based firefighters were all over the area with my driveway an important staging area.
The meal was cooked, the table was set and our most of our guests came back after securing important items at home. There was a great meal prepared while fire equipment surrounded our property with flashing lights and the rumble of diesel engines. We gathered oil lamps and candles and as expected the lights went out. We had a great meal by candlelight with exciting entertainment as an accompaniment.
No lives were threatened and the only property lost was a vacant house in the woods.
The fire fighters ( mostly volunteers) were skilled, organized and obviously well trained.
They contained the fire quickly and had it completely out in about 3 hours.
The electric was back on at about 2AM so the leftovers remained refrigerated and will provide an enjoyable lunch tomorrow.
Wildfire Skewered Chicken and Veggies
Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup sherry
bunch parsley chopped
6 boneless chicken breasts
12 vine ripened red, yellow and orange mini peppers( seeded and cut in half)
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
Preparation:
For marinade-mix oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sherry and parsley in a bowl
Cut chicken breasts in half and then cut each half into 3 pieces
Marinate chicken overnight
Cut zucchini and squash into1/2 inch round pieces
Skewer chicken – 5 pieces on each skewer
In another bowl sprinkle veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper
Skewer zucchini and squash- leave a space between each round
Skewer pepper halves with space between pieces
Grill on a hot grill Start the veggies first on half the grill
After about 5 minutes put the chicken skewers on the grill
Total grill time is about 15 minutes max
Keep turning the skewers and do not over cook the chicken
Service:
We remove the chicken, squash, peppers and zucchini from the skewers and place them mixed together on a large serving dish. Rice and a crisp green salad with avocados are served along with the main dish.
For dessert we had peach pie and vanilla ice cream (Breyers’ of course!)
Note on living in the mountains.
Most folks have identified what is important to be saved and can be prepared to evacuate in minutes if a wildfire threatens.
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Loved your story, and glad to have the great recipe. Just reading the ingredients and preparation allowed me to mentally savor the delicious meal once again!
I hiked up to the burn site this afternoon, There was a sheriff stationed there and he told me I had to move on as the burn site is a “crime scene”! not sure if this is routine investigation or if they suspect foul play! I’m sure at some point we’ll find out!Thanks again for the exciting and delicious dinner party. You and Dorothy always come through with some good drama.