6x9 - Summer and Smoke

October 31, 2008

It’s a hot, Midwestern summer day. The mood is slow and easy, and the garden’s in overdrive. So Rick decides to beat the heat and get out of the kitchen with a mostly made-ahead backyard cookout a la Mexicana, inspired by one of his world-favorite meat eateries: El Canelo, near Guadalajara. It’s a sprawling outdoor restaurant with dirt floors and strolling Mariachis, where slabs of succulent pork, lamb, goat and beef roast slowly on spikes in a walk-in wood-fired pit. And it’s wood, not charcoal, that gives the meat its unforgettable smoky flavor, so Rick gives us a quick lesson in setting up a home grill for wood-fired cooking. The menu is as casual as it is mouthwatering. For starters, there’s a Heirloom Tomato “Carpaccio” with tomatillo, avocado and fresh herbs—a salad made with tomatoes grown in “Earth Boxes” (part of a groundbreaking educational program that teaches sustainable practices to kids all over the world).