When I was growing up Memorial Day (Decoration Day we called it then) began with an old-fashioned parade; mostly service clubs and veterans’ groups in uniform, carrying flags or playing brass instruments. It ended in our centralized park with special programs featuring a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and other (for me then, long and boring) speeches.
Memorial Day originated during the Civil War when Southern women gathered bouquets of flowers to scatter over the graves of soldiers, honoring the Northern dead alongside their own. It is believed that one of those women, Cassandra Oliver Moncure, pressed to have a special day appointed for honoring the soldiers of the Civil War. In 1868, General John A. Logan named May 30 as that day.
Now we celebrate on the Monday closest to that date and we have expanded the honoring to all our dead by decorating their graves with flowers and flags. And since so many of us live long distances from our dead ancestors and family, many just look at Memorial Day as the “gateway to summer” holiday; going on picnics, grilling out, and going “up north” to open our cabins.
No matter whether you are opening a cabin, grilling in the backyard, playing softball or carrying flowers to the cemetery, the day will include some special food. Our family picnic when I was young always included some, if not all, of the following foods: potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, Jell-O salad, cake, bars, cookies, deviled eggs, macaroni salad, ham or turkey (or both), buns, pickles, relishes, fruit salad, lemonade and coffee.
I have an updated menu to use this weekend; one that is both easy on the cook and deliciously different while still bowing to tradition. If you are going to be somewhere without cooking equipment, this can be made ahead and packed very easily.
Memorial Day Cookout/Picnic
Deviled Eggs
Shish Kebabs with Garlic Sauce
Rice and Peppers Salad
Fruit Medley
Lemon Bars
Deviled Eggs
Makes 12
6 eggs
1 tsp. vinegar
4 Tbsp. good-quality mayonnaise (like Hellman’s)
1 tsp. prepared Dijon mustard
Dash of curry powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Place eggs in saucepan and cover by ½ inch of cold water. Add vinegar to water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately reduce heat so the water barely bubbles and continues to cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain, and place the eggs under cold, running water to stop cooking. When cool enough to handle, peel. Cut a small piece of the tips of the eggs off to create a flat surface for the egg to stand on. Cut each egg in half horizontally. Lift out the yolks and press through a sieve into a bowl, or use food processor. Blend in mayonnaise and mustard, curry powder, salt and pepper. Place egg white halves in an empty egg carton and spoon a portion of the egg yolk mixture into each indentation. Garnish with pimiento, chopped pistachios, chopped green or ripe olives or small cocktail pickled onion and diced green pepper. Chill in carton (cover eggs with sheet of plastic wrap before closing lid of carton). Serve on a plate or transport in carton.
Shish Kebabs with Garlic Sauce
2 pounds beef sirloin tip or boneless leg of lamb
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
1 very large onion
½ cup good quality olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, halved
Sauce:
1 8-oz carton plain yogurt (full fat or low fat)
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic
½ lemon
Put all ingredients in blender or processor and blend until consistency of very thick cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cut beef sirloin or boneless leg of lamb into 1-1/2-inch cubes. Seed and de-vein peppers, peel onions and cut peppers and onions into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Put meat and vegetables in shallow container. Mix olive oil, minced garlic and the juice from ½ lemon together and pour over meat and vegetables. Refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.
Prepare coals. String meat and vegetables on Shish Kebab skewers, alternating meat and veggies. When coals are ready, place skewers on grill and grill for 10-15 minutes, turning skewers frequently. Serve Shish Kebabs in warmed pita halves with sauce poured over, or on plate with pita wedges. 6-8 serving
Rice and Peppers Salad
2 cups water
½ tsp. salt
1 cup Basmati or long grain rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup pine nuts
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
Bring water to boil in medium saucepan and add salt and rice. Stir and bring back to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Cover and turn heat off. Leave covered on stove for 20 minutes.
Place oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add pine nuts. Cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden brown. Lift out with slotted spoon and set aside. Stir in diced red and yellow peppers. Reduce heat to medium and gently sauté the vegetables 5 or 6 minutes until tender. Add the vinegar and cook 2-3 minutes, until vinegar has evaporated. Gently stir the cooked rice into the vegetable mixture and transfer everything to a serving dish. Cover and store in the refrigerator. 6 servings.
Memorial Day originated during the Civil War when Southern women gathered bouquets of flowers to scatter over the graves of soldiers, honoring the Northern dead alongside their own. It is believed that one of those women, Cassandra Oliver Moncure, pressed to have a special day appointed for honoring the soldiers of the Civil War. In 1868, General John A. Logan named May 30 as that day.
Now we celebrate on the Monday closest to that date and we have expanded the honoring to all our dead by decorating their graves with flowers and flags. And since so many of us live long distances from our dead ancestors and family, many just look at Memorial Day as the “gateway to summer” holiday; going on picnics, grilling out, and going “up north” to open our cabins.
No matter whether you are opening a cabin, grilling in the backyard, playing softball or carrying flowers to the cemetery, the day will include some special food. Our family picnic when I was young always included some, if not all, of the following foods: potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, Jell-O salad, cake, bars, cookies, deviled eggs, macaroni salad, ham or turkey (or both), buns, pickles, relishes, fruit salad, lemonade and coffee.
I have an updated menu to use this weekend; one that is both easy on the cook and deliciously different while still bowing to tradition. If you are going to be somewhere without cooking equipment, this can be made ahead and packed very easily.
Memorial Day Cookout/Picnic
Deviled Eggs
Shish Kebabs with Garlic Sauce
Rice and Peppers Salad
Fruit Medley
Lemon Bars
Deviled Eggs
Makes 12
6 eggs
1 tsp. vinegar
4 Tbsp. good-quality mayonnaise (like Hellman’s)
1 tsp. prepared Dijon mustard
Dash of curry powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Place eggs in saucepan and cover by ½ inch of cold water. Add vinegar to water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately reduce heat so the water barely bubbles and continues to cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain, and place the eggs under cold, running water to stop cooking. When cool enough to handle, peel. Cut a small piece of the tips of the eggs off to create a flat surface for the egg to stand on. Cut each egg in half horizontally. Lift out the yolks and press through a sieve into a bowl, or use food processor. Blend in mayonnaise and mustard, curry powder, salt and pepper. Place egg white halves in an empty egg carton and spoon a portion of the egg yolk mixture into each indentation. Garnish with pimiento, chopped pistachios, chopped green or ripe olives or small cocktail pickled onion and diced green pepper. Chill in carton (cover eggs with sheet of plastic wrap before closing lid of carton). Serve on a plate or transport in carton.
Shish Kebabs with Garlic Sauce
2 pounds beef sirloin tip or boneless leg of lamb
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
1 very large onion
½ cup good quality olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, halved
Sauce:
1 8-oz carton plain yogurt (full fat or low fat)
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic
½ lemon
Put all ingredients in blender or processor and blend until consistency of very thick cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cut beef sirloin or boneless leg of lamb into 1-1/2-inch cubes. Seed and de-vein peppers, peel onions and cut peppers and onions into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Put meat and vegetables in shallow container. Mix olive oil, minced garlic and the juice from ½ lemon together and pour over meat and vegetables. Refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.
Prepare coals. String meat and vegetables on Shish Kebab skewers, alternating meat and veggies. When coals are ready, place skewers on grill and grill for 10-15 minutes, turning skewers frequently. Serve Shish Kebabs in warmed pita halves with sauce poured over, or on plate with pita wedges. 6-8 serving
Rice and Peppers Salad
2 cups water
½ tsp. salt
1 cup Basmati or long grain rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup pine nuts
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
Bring water to boil in medium saucepan and add salt and rice. Stir and bring back to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Cover and turn heat off. Leave covered on stove for 20 minutes.
Place oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add pine nuts. Cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden brown. Lift out with slotted spoon and set aside. Stir in diced red and yellow peppers. Reduce heat to medium and gently sauté the vegetables 5 or 6 minutes until tender. Add the vinegar and cook 2-3 minutes, until vinegar has evaporated. Gently stir the cooked rice into the vegetable mixture and transfer everything to a serving dish. Cover and store in the refrigerator. 6 servings.
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