Simple Food and Drink for Summer’s End

Hope your summer has been going as fun as mine. I have done more Festival travels then ever this year--eaten lots of good food at each one of them and met some new and very interesting people.

Can you believe that summer, the little and late start of it that we had, is just about over? In about two weeks we will be at Labor Day. UGH and double Ugh! So for sure there are going to be a lot of lake parties and in-town parties and food, food, food.

So remember to keep your hot food hot and your cold food cold.

Don’t put all your potato salad or coleslaw and meat out at one time. Rotate it and use small amounts out at a time.
If you have something to keep items warm in use it.

Use ice under your salads with mayo and such in them.

For those beverages make sure you have clean ice for the drinks. I like to put my ice in a large zip lock bag in the cooler. I have a ice server-measuring cup, that is used to dip into the ice--that way people are not using their hands to take the ice out.

Just think about all the bacteria we have on our hands hmm, and the kids, just think where their hands have been. So stay safe at those parties.

Below I have a couple of fun beverages, adult, for the non driver at those parties and a new coleslaw recipe that I have permission to steal and a suggestion of what to do the next time you grill salmon.

At a recent event I catered, a very old friend gave me this recipe. Although it is not her recipe, I am putting her name on it because she gave it to me. I guess she got it from a cookbook. I just cannot remember the name of the cookbook.

Gail’s Margaritas

12-oz. can limeade, frozen
1 can 7-Up
1 can Corona
12-oz. can of Tequila

Pour all together and serve over ice.

Coleslaw With Cashews

1 medium pack of pre-cut coleslaw or a mix of green and purple cabbage, shredded
1 cup of frozen (not canned) peas
Cashews (you decide how much you would like)
Poppy-seed dressing to taste

Mix all together and serve.

Mike’s Poached Salmon on the Grill

1 fillet of salmon
Fresh dill
Paprika
Fresh lemon juice
Beer

In this case I have no measurements, sorry. It is about how much you like of each thing.

But all these are placed in a container that is grill friendly and placed on the grill, covered with foil.

Mike also uses branches of apple wood from our tree to smoke it. So I suggest if you can get your hand on some wood to add that extra smoked flavor, I say go for it.

It was a big hit at the party we had. Also everyone likes their fish cooked differently. I like my fish cooked all the way through. Mike likes his just a little not cooked all the way through. So you will have to determine what you want while cooking it.

Hope you are enjoying all this wonderful warm weather and if you have a fun recipe for Labor Day, send it to me before next Friday.

Can you believe it, I actually just got to the point and kept it short. That won’t happen very often! Have a great week, stay safe and eat well.