Grillin’ It Up, KWF-Style
By Steve Fennessy ’07
Grillers unite: Seth Sutel ’03, Lisa Lednicer ’03, Ford Fessenden ’90, Steve Fennessy ’07 and Dan Huntley ’03, “The Pig Man.”
The architects of the feast were Dan Huntley and Lisa Lednicer, two members of the class of ’03. The pair make an unlikely culinary duo: Huntley is a Southern boy whose day job is columnist at the Charlotte Observer, and Lednicer reports on city government and transportation for the Oregonian, 2,775 miles away in Portland. Geographically divided, they are nevertheless bound by their love of good food, especially barbecuing. And no, not a burger-on-a-gas-grill kind of barbecue (in which case, why don’t you just cook it on your stove-top, for God’s sake?), but a true wood-fired, marinade-mixed, smoked-for-hours indulgence.
So enamored are Lednicer and Huntley of the al fresco cooking experience that they have collaborated on a book due next spring from Chronicle Books. Called Extreme Barbecue: Smokin’ Rigs and 100 Real-Good Recipes, the book took the duo across the country, scouting out the most elaborate and ingenious ways lovers of barbecue have found to turn a simple rack of ribs into a gustatory experience that would make James Beard weep with joy.
“The truth is, this never would have happened if I hadn’t come here for the Fellowship and met Dan,” Lednicer explained, as she wiped her fingers on her apron.
Graham Griffith ’06 and Jason Tanz ’05 lead the pack in loading up on barbecue.
While Lednicer and Huntley lent the reunion barbecue their professional services, key props were donated by Charles Eisendrath, whose love of barbecue is so intense that not only is Extreme Barbecue dedicated to him, but he is also the holder of a patent for a device he dubbed The Grillery. The Grillery is, as you might expect, a grill. But it puts the dreck available at Home Depot to shame. Inspired by South American set-ups, The Grillery boasts a wheel that adjusts the level of the cooking surface, while V-shaped channels set at an angle send the juices to a collection tray. “It really is an amazing thing,” Huntley said as he lowered the grid to move the ribs closer to the flames.
Meanwhile, with no Lipitor available, Fessenden had opted for a Heineken instead and got to work chopping ribs. It was almost time to eat.
