Gas Grills

The garish photograph in Monday's newspaper bared the secret fears of thousands of backyard chefs -- a grass-lined suburban street swallowed by a roiling cloud of smoke and orange flame that dwarfs houses, cars and awe-struck bystanders.The Owings Mills man whose gas barbecue touched off the nightmare survived his burns. But the spectacular fire left many others wondering: Just how dangerous are these grills, anyway?Fire safety officials say they shouldn't be taken lightly. One said the explosive potential of the pressurized liquefied petroleum gas tank that fuels a grill is equal to several sticks of dynamite.

As someone who enjoys cooking in the great outdoors, albeit a rowhouse backyard, I wondered about the environmental impact of firing up my barbecue cooker. I read reports and interviewed people who have addressed various aspects of green grilling. Right away, I struggled with the question of scale. By one federal government estimate, all the barbecue grills in America fired up on July 4 produce only .003 percent of the nation's annual total carbon dioxide. So whatever I do in my backyard grill does not rival the environmental impact of, say, flying a jet from Baltimore to Boston.

Crackers hold up under tasty toppingsDainty, waferlike Carr's Crackers have been longtime cocktail-party favorites. Now, they have a heartier counterpart -- Monterey Crackers -- for casual entertaining. The crackers, which come in Roasted Vegetable, Hearty Wheat, Savory Wheat and Sesame & Onion flavors, provide a sturdy base for tasty toppings. Try easy BLTs: Spread Sesame & Onion crackers with mayonnaise and top with baby salad greens. Arrange sliced cherry tomatoes and cooked, sliced bacon on lettuce.

The steak recipes in the just-published Morton's Steak Bible were tested in a home kitchen using ordinary broilers, gas grills and charcoal grills. "We were impressed with the results," writes co-author Klaus Fritsch. That's saying something, given that he is co-founder, with the late Arnie Morton, of Morton's steakhouses (one of which is in Baltimore). In the book, written with food writer and cookbook editor Mary Goodbody, Fritsch insists that the meat (except ground meat) be brought to room temperature and sprinkled lightly with seasoned salt before cooking.

Police LogSevern: Someone stole playground equipment and a toddler's bicycle from the back yard of a home in the 1700 block of Old Calvert Court. The items were valued at $156.Crofton: Two residents reported the theft of their gas grills last weekend from back yards in the 1900 block of Cambridge Drive and the 2400 block of Yarmouth Lane. The grills, taken between 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, were valued at less than $400.Pub Date: 5/14/96

The steak recipes in the just-published Morton's Steak Bible were tested in a home kitchen using ordinary broilers, gas grills and charcoal grills. "We were impressed with the results," writes co-author Klaus Fritsch. That's saying something, given that he is co-founder, with the late Arnie Morton, of Morton's steakhouses (one of which is in Baltimore). In the book, written with food writer and cookbook editor Mary Goodbody, Fritsch insists that the meat (except ground meat) be brought to room temperature and sprinkled lightly with seasoned salt before cooking.

Next to the coals or flame, what's the hottest thing in barbecuing today?Cooking-tool sets, condiment holders to fasten to the side of a grill, grill brushes, fancy wooden-handled thermometers, skewer sets, and grill toppers -- grids to keep small items from falling through the grill rack -- are all popular at Watson's, according to Ross McClelland, a manager's assistant at the garden-fireplace-patio emporium in Timonium.Bags of wood chips are popular too, he says. "There's also a sampler -- 6 samples, like little cans of tuna.

Plenty has been written about buying a grill (check out the June Consumer Reports for a guide to gas grills). But a lot of grilling success relies on the fire -- how you build it, how you use it and how you regulate the cooking temperature, say Bill and Cheryl Alters Jamison in "Born to Grill" (Harvard Common Press, $27.95). Here are hints on tending the flames:* Know your fire. Gauge the heat of a charcoal or gas grill with the "hand test," where you hold your hand a certain distance from the fire and count the seconds until heat forces you to pull your hand away.

GRILLING A whole fish is one of life's big challenges. At least for me.So many things can go wrong, most resulting in fish fragments falling in the fire. Yet when you are successful, the fish has amazing flavor, and you have a pleasing sense of accomplishment. And so you keep at it.Along the way many carcasses may fall, but eventually that golden moment of graduation arrives when you feel confident that a whole fish can be entrusted to your care -- that you can send this sizzling morsel to the dinner table not only tasting like a fish but also looking like one.I was heartened recently when Chris Schlesinger told me that he, too, had made many involuntary offerings to the grill fires.

Remember when a backyard barbecue meant a round of T-bones sizzling atop a teetering tripod Dad proudly called his grill? Recall how he spent the afternoon hovering over a pyramid of charcoal, urging it on with doses of lighter fluid? How long did it take for those coals to turn just the right shade of ashen gray?Today that scenario seems almost as far removed as the cave people's first successes with flint. We sear many a rush-hour dinner atop a gas grill, ignited at the touch of a button while the grill's side burner simultaneously heats a bubbling batch of barbecue beans.

A Woodbine man suffered first- and second-degree burns to his face and neck while lighting a gas grill Sunday, state fire marshal reports said. Joseph Serwna, 34, of the 1800 block of Gum Road was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center by Maryland State Police MedEvac helicopter at 4:27 p.m., where he was treated and released, according to the medical center. Serwna was trying to light the propane grill at his home during a family picnic. His wife, Carol Serwna, said that the gas had been on for about 10 minutes when he ignited it, causing flames to flash into his face.

There was a time when backyard grilling meant lighting charcoal briquettes in a rusty hibachi out on the deck. Boy, is that time past. This season, the two words for the properly outfitted barbecue enthusiast to remember are "stainless" and "steel." Yes, America is going chic and shiny when it comes to grilling this summer. Continuing a trend that started in the late '90s, the hottest things in outdoor cooking are stylish, rust-resistant and match your flatware. And it's not just those pricey grills either.

Crackers hold up under tasty toppingsDainty, waferlike Carr's Crackers have been longtime cocktail-party favorites. Now, they have a heartier counterpart -- Monterey Crackers -- for casual entertaining. The crackers, which come in Roasted Vegetable, Hearty Wheat, Savory Wheat and Sesame & Onion flavors, provide a sturdy base for tasty toppings. Try easy BLTs: Spread Sesame & Onion crackers with mayonnaise and top with baby salad greens. Arrange sliced cherry tomatoes and cooked, sliced bacon on lettuce.

ON A RECENT soft spring evening, I subjected the backyard grill to a bout of spring cleaning.Like a lot of chest-thumpers, I had cooked on the grill during the winter. It was a point of manly pride or, at least, it seemed to be. But after several months of fighting an icy wind, I began to think the impulse to cook outdoors in bad weather might be the sign of some genetic flaw, nature's way of saying that I was not the brightest porch light on the block.After all, generations of civilized men had been erecting structures that sheltered them from inclement weather.

For the innovative in an ice storm, life goes on without water, heat and electricity -- but adapting can be a struggle, as some Carroll County families found out.Families in Woodbine were among the more than 350,000 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers who lost power as ice-laden limbs began snapping and falling on utility wires in Central Maryland last week.Still, few anticipated being left in the dark for more than a day.Kelee Norris, a 31-year-old mother of two boys, sure didn't.Her husband, Edward, a Montgomery County firefighter, was halfway to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a weeklong golf outing on Friday when the lights went out at their home in the 600 block of Hoods Mill Road, a half-mile from the Howard County line.

Within the food world, certain debates are never-ending: butter vs. margarine. Red wine vs. white. Chicken or beef.But none grows more heated this time of year, perhaps, than the face-off over fire under a grill: charcoal or gas?It can be a passionate dispute as it rages across back yards in America. It pits purists who love the smell of smoke and the blaze from wood or charcoal against those who gladly give up hopeless minutes blowing on coals, then cleaning up piles of ashes, for fire begun by turning a knob.

ON A RECENT soft spring evening, I subjected the backyard grill to a bout of spring cleaning.Like a lot of chest-thumpers, I had cooked on the grill during the winter. It was a point of manly pride or, at least, it seemed to be. But after several months of fighting an icy wind, I began to think the impulse to cook outdoors in bad weather might be the sign of some genetic flaw, nature's way of saying that I was not the brightest porch light on the block.After all, generations of civilized men had been erecting structures that sheltered them from inclement weather.

The wonders of watermelonWhat item of produce originated in the Kalahari Desert, was grown by Thomas Jefferson and was said by Mark Twain to be "king over all fruits?" If you guessed watermelon, you're probably one of the people the USDA estimates will eat 16 pounds of it this year. For a free brochure with tips on buying watermelons, and recipes such as Mediterranean watermelon (above), call (800) 55-MELON.Charitable chefsDon't feel like cooking tonight? How about sampling dishes by chefs from the Classic Catering People, plus local chefs Jennifer Price, Nancy Longo and Billy Himmelrich?

Plenty has been written about buying a grill (check out the June Consumer Reports for a guide to gas grills). But a lot of grilling success relies on the fire -- how you build it, how you use it and how you regulate the cooking temperature, say Bill and Cheryl Alters Jamison in "Born to Grill" (Harvard Common Press, $27.95). Here are hints on tending the flames:* Know your fire. Gauge the heat of a charcoal or gas grill with the "hand test," where you hold your hand a certain distance from the fire and count the seconds until heat forces you to pull your hand away.

One of the kicks of cooking outdoors is getting the chance to burn things.I am talking about the combustion that takes place in the lower levels of your kettle cooker, not up on your grill. Burning fuel, not supper.I am also talking real fire here, the kind that deals with smoke, wind and ashes. We are not talking about that push-button, no-mess, butane-tank setup. That kind of knob-turning backyard cooking is fine for fellas who, as a way to keep their womenfolk happy, periodically grill hot dogs and ham-burger patties on a rig that resembles a kitchen stove on wheels.