From 1971 onwards the Memorial Day holiday was officially observed on the last Monday in May and became the unofficial start of the summer with barbecues blockbuster movie openings and mattress sales.

My first outdoor cooking memories are full of erratic British summers Dad swearing at a barbecue that he couldn't put together and eventually eating charred sausages feeling brilliant.

Every summer my husband and I pack our suitcases load our kids into the car and drive from tense crowded New York City to my family's cottage in Maine. It's on an island with stretches of sea and sandy beaches rocky coasts and pine trees. We barbecue swim lie around and try to do nothing.

When I tour it's like well like a food tour as much as a comedy tour. I try to eat at all the weird places the obscure barbecue joints burger places. There are a few spots in L.A. that I'm obsessed with - one of them is the Taco Zone taco truck on Alvarado. There are secret off-menu items that are amazing.