It’s nearly a week later, but I wanted to write a little something about our 4th of July in Beirut. Without exception, I have spent at least a portion of every one of the last seven 4th of Julys on some rooftop in Brooklyn. Now, I’m open to being corrected on that, but I’m pretty sure that it’s at least mostly true.
This year, we had a party on our back patio. It was well attended in two waves. At around 4pm, we had Becky, Joumana, and Matthew and Mary Ann and their daughters. A bit later, Lisa, Carrie, and the embassy boys stopped by.
At one point, our landlord came by and I asked if we were being too noisy. He said no, and asked if we needed anything. He offered to bring some fireworks by. He never returned, but at one point some kind of ordinance went whizzing by the balcony. The embassy guys (Army and Navy…both have been in Iraq) kind of freaked a little because they thought it sounded like a rocket.
Cakes and salads were brought and I like to think that a good time was had by all.
I made hamburgers and lamb ribs. The latter was a frankenstein’s monster of things found on the internet and in our bbq cookbook. The former was my own recipe. Amounts are very approximate…
Hamburgers
1.5 kg ground beef
4 tbsp olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp salt
Knead the ingredients into the beef. Makes about 14 burgers.
Lamb Ribs
1.5 kg lamb ribs
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp salt
1.5 tbsp ground black pepper
1.5 tbsp paprika
1.5 dry lemon
1 tbsp ginger
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Mix the oil and vinegar and baste the ribs. Mix the rest of the ingredients and apply liberally to the ribs. Put the ribs bone-side down on the upper rack or on an unlit section of the grill for 30-35. Flip and put meat-side down on medium flame part of grill for 7 minutes. Cut and serve.