More Patriotic Ideas

So a little delayed for 4th of July, but as I mentioned previously, we always have a big 4th party the Saturday after the 4th. Here's a few of my favorites to share with you. Unfortunately I didn't get as many pictures as I'd like, but I hope you still enjoy!

First - my favorite for the forth was these great flag fruit kabobs. I used traditional BBQ skewers and strung them with blueberries, strawberries and chunks of pound cake - I used frozen pound cake to make it easier to cut. I placed the skewers on a cookie sheet to form the flag pattern.

I was having so much fun with the flag skewers that I broke out the star cookie cutter and did up a few more with pound cake stars. 

The kabobs were a huge hit - especially with the kids. It was amazing to see them reach for the fruit over chips and brownies!

For drinks, I purchased 2 large glass drink dispensers and mixed up a batch of ice tea as well as a batch of lemonade. For the lemonade I used a star ice cube tray I found at the dollar store and made red, white and blue star ice cubes out of lemonade and food coloring in the week leading up to the party to jazz up the lemonade. In addition I made a great adults only "Star Spangled Sangria".

Star Spangled Sangria

1 Gallon White or Blush Wine

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup watermelon

1/4 cup blueberries

1/2 cup strawberries - halved or quartered

Pour wine into a large picture or drink dispenser. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add fruit to wine. Place in the fridge and allow to soak at least 2 hours prior to serving. Serve chilled.

Finally, since our gardens are the center of our party area, I wanted to add some patriotic touches. I found several medium and small sized rocks that my husband helped me spray paint red, white and blue. I dispersed these throughout the garden for a patriotic touch.

Happy belated 4th of July to you all! I hope you and your families all had a safe and fun holiday!

Perfect Country Saturday Dinner (and a Cocktail too!)

Last year, our in-laws gifted us with a smoker for Christmas. Originally this was something that my husband wanted to process wild game into summer sausages and snack sticks. During hunting season it got lots of use, but we haven't really experimented with it since. With our in-laws in town and staying with us, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to smoke up some ribs and chicken wings.

We  started with a 12lb rack of pork ribs, which I grabbed up on sale  at the local grocery store for $1.88/lb.    Eric cut the rack up into 3 sections to fit into the smoker. He prepped the smoker with hickory and apple  wood chips. Almost immediately we were met with an incredible smell from the smoke - we knew it would be a hard few hours waiting for those those to be ready. Since we're very new at smoke, I'm not going to share any recipes or recommendations on smoking quite yet. All I'll say it the ribs were a huge hit and we'll definitely be experimenting more with our smoker in the near future.

Unfortunately, the large rack of ribs left us with no room for the chicken wings (that will be a try for another day) so I marinaded these for the grill. I purchased fresh whole wings from the store (a great and inexpensive summer find) and soaked half in traditional red BBQ sauce another the other half in a vinegar based BBQ sauce that is very traditional in our part of WNY. I've heard this referred to as "Cornell BBQ Sauce" (which I personally like as it references my alma matter) "Fireman's BBQ Sauce" and "Chivettas" which is a popular local brand name of this sauce that you can purchase in many stores. Chicken BBQ's using this sauce are at the top of every local group's fundraiser list and on any given weekend in the spring and summer you can find them in every direction. If this isn't something that's popular in your area, don't worry - I'll share with you a very basic recipe for this sauce. Don't be fooled by the ingredient list - this stuff is amazing.

WNY BBQ Sauce

In a jug or mason jar mix the below ingredients:

- 2 cups white or apple cider vinegar

- 1 cup vegetable oil

- 1 egg beaten

- 4 tablespoons garlic salt

- 2 tsp black pepper

Mix or shake together and use for marinading and basting. Please note, since this contains raw eggs, it is perishable - make sure you handle accordingly. This tastes best when used with chicken that will be prepared on the grill.

To go with our ribs and wings, I had to mix up a couple salads. My favorite is this homemade potato salad. It's very easy to make and a great excuse to use up some fresh herbs. I like parsley and dill with mine, but you can really use any combination of herbs you like.

Summer Herb Potato Salad

8 medium potatoes

3/4 cup mayonais

1/2 of a small onion, chopped

1-2 cloves minced garlic

Fresh Parsley

Fresh Dill (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces and boil in salted water until cooked through. I like my potatoes soft enough that they start to fall apart a bit, but you can make yours firmer if you like. Run cold water over potato to cool and set aside.

Cut onion into chunks, peel and smash garlic clove. Put the onion, garlic and herbs in a blender and pulse a few times to chop them up into smaller pieces. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Blend until well mixed.

Toss potatoes with herbed mayonnaise. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving for best flavor. 

With our ribs, wings and homemade salads, the BBQ was a hit with our family and friends. We battled a few drops of rain shortly before dinner, but were rewarded with this gorgeous rainbow during our meal. 

Now just as I promised that this blog came with a cocktail, I promised the gals that I'd whip up one of my personal favorite summer drinks for them. The cherry juice sinks to the bottom making this a summer hit that looks at good as it tastes. 

Pineapple Sunset

Ice

4 oz Orange Pineapple Juice

1.5 oz Pineapple Coconut Rum

Splash of Maraschino Cherry Juice or Grenadine

In a hurricane or other tall glass place a few ice cubes. Pour in orange juice and rum. Mix together. Gently pour in the cherry juice. You'll notice that it almost immediately sinks to the bottom and creates a great "sunset" affect. Caution - these taste so good you will quickly forget there's alcohol in them! Straw and umbrella are optional.

Here's to perfect country Saturdays, rainbows and evenings ending with great food, friends (and cocktails). Cheers!

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

 When it's hot outside, the last thing I want to do is turn on my oven to bake. But what can I say...my family our friends are spoiled and have come to expect goodies. On those days that I can't stand the heat but need a sweet treat, I break out these bars - no baking required (not even stove top cooking!). They are super easy to make and always a big hit at summer BBQs and picnics. Be careful if you have a sweet tooth though - they are very addicting!

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Bars:

1 1/2 cups fine graham crackers crumbs

3 cups powder sugar

18 oz peanut butter 

1 cup melted butter

Topping

12oz chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

Prepare graham cracker crumbs - I use a blender to crush mine into fine crumbs. Mix all bar ingredients together. Make sure you butter is completely melted before you add it to the other ingredients, or you will have chunks of butter in your bars! Mix well and pat down into a 9 x 13 pan.

In a microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips and butter. Microwave on low, checking and stirring every 5-10 seconds until chips are melted. Pour chocolate over peanut butter bars and spread evenly, covering the bars. Put in the refrigerator to cool for 10 minutes.

Remove bars from fridge and cut into squares. These are very rich so make sure to cut into small pieces (you can always have more than one!). I usually get 48 small squares out of my bars. Note - its important that you don't leave in the fridge for too long before cutting or your chocolate will be too hard. Once cut, let the bars sit for about 2 more hours to set. Store in airtight container. If it's really hot, I will put these in my fridge to avoid them getting too soft.

Enjoy - these go really well with your morning coffee or a glass of milk!