Labor Day Cookout Menu Classically at a cookout, you would serve chips and dip, burgers, coleslaw, baked beans, and ice cream for dessert. Thats what well have . But lets make it a grown up menu for the fun of it. Remember to stay cool with some lemonade or Budweiser, my choice would be a crisp light Italian Pinot Grigio, chilled icy cold.
OnionGouda
Dip:
10-oz ball imported Gouda cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 oz Roquefort Cheese, crumbled
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 drops hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
4 tablespoons dark beer
With a sharp knife, cut a lid from the round of Gouda 1 inch from the
top, reserving the lid. Carefully hollow out the cheese, leaving a thin wall
of cheese on the sides. Finely grate all the Gouda you remove and set aside.
In a small skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add
onion and sauté until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from skillet
and set aside to cool. In a food processor combine the cheeses, remaining
butter, Worcestershire and hot pepper sauces, and mustard, process until
smooth. Stop motor and scrape down the sides of the bowl and with the motor
running, pour in the beer. Fill the hollowed out cheese with the dip; there
will be some leftover, put it in a bowl. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Bring the ball of cheese to room temperature. Use the additional dip to refill
the ball as needed. Serve with thick cut potato chips or Terra Chips
or Bagel chips.
BlueChesse Hamburgers
with Barbecue Sauce and Sautéed Mushrooms:
3 lb. ground beef
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 oz blue cheese
Salt and pepper to season
8 onion rolls, cut in half
In a large bowl combine the ground beef, cumin, paprika, pepper, chili
powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Gently form into 16 3-ounce patties about
1/2 inch thick. Use a spoon to make an indentation in the center of 8 of
the patties. Place 1/2 ounce blue cheese in the indentation and cover with
another patty. Gently form into burgers. Cover and refrigerate.
Just before grilling, lightly season with salt and pepper, then coat
with barbecue sauce (recipe follows). Grill the burgers over a medium fire
until done to your taste: -5 minutes per side for rare, 6-7 for medium, 9-10
for well done. Remove burgers from grill and brush with more barbecue sauce.
Toast the rolls and serve the burgers topped with the mushrooms (recipe
follows).
Barbeque sauce:
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Heat all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a
boil then lower the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and remove the crushed garlic cloves.
Sautéed Mushrooms
:4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons minced onions
4 tablespoons minced shallots
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup beer
Heat the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add onions and shallots and cook until they are tender, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté until the
moisture has evaporated. Add beer, salt and pepper to taste. The beer will
evaporate.
Blueberry
Coleslaw:
1 medium green cabbage, shredded
1 small red onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons minced orange zest
1 cup blueberry mayonnaise (recipe follows)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup blueberry vinegar (preferably low-acid, 4.5%)
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 pint fresh blueberries
Orange slices for garnish
In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, onion, parsley, and orange
zest. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar,
orange juice, sugar, and cloves. Taste then season with salt and pepper.
Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss until well coated. Toss
with the blueberries. Garnish with orange slices and serve.
Blueberry mayonnaise:1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 low acid blueberry vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/4 cups mild olive oil
Place the egg, yolk, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a
blender or food processor. Process for 30 seconds. With the machine running
add the oil in a slow steady stream. Remove to a bowl, taste and correct
the seasoning.
Mean Baked
Beans:
2 18-ounce cans pork and beans
1 can apple pie mix
1 lb hot sausage, browned and drained
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
Combine all ingredients in a large casserole. Bake for 1-½ hours
at 350 degrees.
Strawberry Ice
Cream
5 cups fresh strawberries, stems removed
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
Chop 1 cup of the strawberries and set aside. In a food processor fitted
with a metal blade or a blender, combine the remaining strawberries, sugar,
lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Process or blend until the mixture is pureed.
Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cream. Pour the mixture into an ice cream
maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions. When
the ice cream is half frozen, add the reserved chopped strawberries and complete
the freezing process. or *buy a gallon of good ice cream to serve with some
sweetened fresh strawberry topping
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