As I may have mentioned, my family and I live in Manhattan…not exactly the land of sprawling backyard barbecues. The problem is, my kids were born with the souls of suburbanites. They constantly crave playing catch with Dad, bike riding to the corner store, catching lightning bugs and yes–backyard cookouts.

As the summer comes to a close, we had to log in one official family cookout for the record books. Plan ‘A’  – head to Grandma’s house out on Long Island for the day. So off we go. Grandma prepared like a champ. She stocked up on hamburger meat, hot dogs, rolls (potato rolls are a must), corn on the cob and most important – graham crackers, marshmallows and Hershey bars for s’mores. It was a 95 degree day and the humidity was so intense that we were all sweating standing still as we watched the kids ride their bikes and scooters and kick around the soccer ball in Grandma’s front yard. And then it came. As the time was nearing for Dad to head to the backyard and start up the grill, the dark clouds rolled in and a major thunder and lightning storm began. Great for breaking the humidity…not so good for our dinner plans.

Plan ‘B’ – So, despite tremendous disappointment, we went out for pizza and decided we would try a cookout the following night only it would have to be back home in Manhattan and we would try and make use of our tiny terrace without alerting the fire department. We packed up all of Grandma’s provisions which she graciously donated to our cause and we headed home. It was as if this minor setback had scarred my children forever…oh, the drama.  The next morning, we headed to our local Home Depot in search of a small outdoor grill or even a little hibachi…anything that could handle a few burgers and hot dogs and a few s’mores. As we were heading toward the grill area, we were told that as the season was coming to an end, there was really nothing left in stock, but we should, “feel free to take a look.”  After much searching,, there it was, what looked like the perfect mini version of the all American backyard grill…the Weber 100…just right for our 4 x 6 terrace and priced at $29. Next we were told they were all out of charcoal, but the Addeo family persevered and unearthed a small bag of briquettes perfect for what we knew would be our one and only foray into summer grilling.

So how were we to know that this tiny grill with this tiny bag of charcoal would barely be able to produce enough heat for our supper? My husband was able to get 4 hamburgers cooked after about 20 minutes on the grill and then the poor hot dogs needed to head in to the kitchen for some indoor heat. This was all okay with the kids, at least they got to stand by dad and assist and watch the flames and the smoke and help flip the burgers and then finally chow down in our tiny outdoor space, standing up. But the real tragedy came when my daughter realized that we wouldn’t be able to make the s’mores…did I mention that she tends to react dramatically to stressful situations? OMG!

So although I am sure that Rachel Ray has guided many families through this nightmare long before I came along, I am proud to share my technique for the greatest s’mores I have ever had. Yes, I know, this was a long way to go just to hear a tip on smores, but the backstage drama was truly my inspiration. I convinced my daughter to pull it together long enough to help me construct a bunch of s’mores and then wrap each one in a little pouch of tin foil. We put the pouches on a baking sheet, and in the oven they went at 275 degress for about 15 or 20 minutes, just until the Hershey bar and marshmallow are soft enough to squish down. Let them sit for a few minutes and enjoy, according to my son and daughter, “the best s’mores ever!”