Memorial Day is here, marking the unofficial start of summer. And what better way to celebrate the season than with a grilling session – or two, or three? 🙂
Last weekend we attended the third edition of Abt‘s annual Grill Fest – and what a feast that was! Abt is our favorite store for home appliances. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we bought appliances from other places. We usually get small items (hand blender, toaster etc.) from Kohl’s or Amazon, but when it comes to big ticket items, Abt is the way to go. We have been loyal customers for over 15 years now, and we love to visit their store for inspiration, or just for fun. We particularly enjoy stopping by during the weekend, when they serve freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the atrium, and before Christmas for the kids to take pics with Santa and to send letters to the North Pole. Amazing family memories we will cherish forever 🙂
This time, we checked out Abt because we had been looking to buy a Weber griddle, after exploring its powerful capabilities at last year’s cooking demo with Steven Raichlen. For the Abt event, Weber teamed up with Maciek Zurawski aka Grillin with Dad for 2 cooking sessions. I attended the first session and learned from Maciek how to make smash burgers on a Weber griddle.
The cooking method coupled with the mouthwatering Weber seasonings (which we use at home regularly) made for a super impressive and satisfying blend of flavors. This smashed burger was fantastic!
Weber also served other dishes made on the griddle, such as fried rice and chopped cheese. Fantastic choices and cooking method!
This was also an opportunity for us to explore a variety of pizza ovens – and to taste a variety of pizzas, of course 🙂
We were particularly impressed with the pizzas served at the Ooni station. The crust was thick and featured that much sought-after combination of crispness and chewiness that makes pizza lovers’ hearts sing. Soo delicious!
Numerous sliders…
…tacos…
…and salads later…
…it was time for us to go inside and to make up our minds. We went with the Weber 36in 4-burner griddle, which was highly-reviewed and included in an in-store special promotion.
As usual, Abt customer service was stellar, and delivery was without hiccups. We tested the griddle earlier today (Memorial Day). We made pork chops and chicken (both marinated with Weber seasonings), as well as sausages, potatoes, and mushrooms. Such a delicious start to summer! Thank you, Weber and Abt!
You are welcome to check out my blog for Memorial Day recipes/recipe suggestions I posted over the years here, here, here, here and here.
*Disclaimer: I was not financially compensated by any of the companies mentioned or shown in this post. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Amazing Memorial Weekend celebration — full of fun and great grilling ideas.
Thank you for sharing, Michaela.
My pleasure, dear Lani. Thank you so much 🙂