I hope everyone had a memorable Memorial Day Weekend. Did you lie out your blankets and have picnics or fire up the grill? Entertaining outdoors is a wonderful way to enjoy the nice weather with family, friends AND good food. I love it all!
This year, I attempted some outstanding new grilling recipes from my Turntable Kitchen subscription. You may remember it from my previous posts about monthly subscriptions. Well, this is the one that includes recipes and music. What's brilliant is that they provide you with a premium ingredient in each box.
Thanks to Memorial Day, it was cheeseburger and sweet potato chip time for my guests! And lucky for me, the special ingredient in this month’s Turntable Kitchen box was Hickory Smoked Pacific Sea Salt, which was generously used on both the burgers and the chips. Sweet!
What I really liked was the cheese I selected to place on top of each burger. Usually I melt plain ol’ Vermont cheddar, but this recipe asked for taleggio cheese, which gave it a more edgier taste.
Now, the sweet potato chips were a little bit more challenging and time consuming to prepare. First, it's preferable to carefully use a mandoline for the finely shaved chips. I had to run out and buy this tool because my knives were not sharp enough. Note to self: Get knives sharpened! The best mandoline to use is the Japanese Benriner. Second, please use it with caution and read the directions thoroughly. Ouch! I’m always willing and able to try new recipes and new techniques and these chips were sensational!
To complete the memorable menu, I added a big green salad and sliced watermelon to round out the meal. Oh yea, and I threw in some chocolate chip cookies just for kicks!
A few days later I made another grilled meal – chicken meatball kebabs. For this recipe, it’s imperative to use fresh ingredients. The mint suggested in this recipe smelled terrific, so I placed the extra sprigs in a floral centerpiece for a minty fresh aroma.
The premium ingredient used in the kebab recipe was called sumac. I’d never used or even heard of that spice before. Of course, I’d heard of poison sumac from my summer day’s back East :( but never a sumac you cook with. It was super!
For the fresh lemon zest incorporated in this recipe, I made sure to use the citrus zester. It’s so much easier than trying to scrape a lemon with a knife and more stylish swirls are created as well. Just some tips of the trade. Superior cooking utensils are essential! In the end, the shish was delish! I think these meatballs (already grilled) would be ideal in a basket for the ultimate picnic.
If you need ideas of what to pack in a picnic basket, just ask! Picnics are a favorite of mine and I have tons of ideas. And if you’re interested in any of the easy crowd-pleasing recipes mentioned above, all you have to do is just ask!
Grill on!
