For Memorial Day, the grill is absolutely necessary. There’s nothing like a tender and juicy burger, smoky with grill flavor, served with some of summer’s best recipes. And be sure to set a pretty table too. Use red, white, and blue colors in your plates, flatware, tablecloth, napkins and centerpiece. Our mountain home on Lake Glenville is the perfect spot for a wonderful Memorial Day celebration!
Best Lemonade
The secret to this lemonade recipe is to use simple syrup, made by boiling together sugar and water, then cooling. The sugar is completely dissolved and blends beautifully with the tart lemon.
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Juice from 4-6 lemons
4 cups cold water
6 servings
Blend 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar will in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves completely. Let cool and refrigerate. (This is the simple syrup.)
Mix the simple syrup well with the juice from 4-6 lemons (strained or not, as you like) and stir well. Add 4 cups cold water and mix. Try using sparkling water for some fizz! Pour into thermos or large jug, adding thin lemon slices if you’d like.
Make extra lemonade and freeze in ice cube trays for cubes that won’t dilute your drink as they melt.
Cheese Stuffed Burgers
These burgers are easy to make as long as you follow a few rules. Make the patties thin, press the edges together well, don’t press down on the burgers as they cook, and turn them only once on the grill.
2 pounds 85% ground chuck
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 cup shredded Havarti cheese
1/2 cup shredded Provolone cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 onion buns, split and toasted
1/3 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
1/3 cup mild Dijon sandwich spread
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
6 servings
Sprinkle seasoned salt over the ground chuck and divide into six equal parts. Divide each part into 2 balls. On waxed paper, flatten the balls into 1/3-inch thick rounds, making sure there are no holes in the rounds.
In small bowl, combine all of the cheeses ad toss to mix. Divide cheese mixture among half of the beef rounds. Top with remain rounds. Press edges to seal.
Prepare and preheat grill. Refrigerate burgers while the grill is heating. Grill burgers over medium coals, turning just once, for 8-11 minutes until well done.
Assemble burgers by spreading bottoms of buns with Miracle Whip. Add burgers, Dijon spread, and avocados, then tops of buns. Serve immediately.
Grilled Hash Brown Potatoes
Grilled hash brown potatoes is a great way to cook a side dish on the grill. The potatoes turn out crispy and tender, with a slight smoky flavor. Yum!
1 (19-ounce) package refrigerated shredded has brown potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4-6 servings
Tear off a long strip of heavy-duty foil and place on work surface. Add potatoes, olive oil, salt, and cheese; mix well.
Fold the short ends of the foil over the potatoes and fold, making a double seal. Then seal the sides of the foil package. Leave some room for heat expansion.
Grill the package over medium coals for 14-20 minutes, rearranging and turning the package over twice, until the potatoes are hot, with crispy browned areas. Open the package carefully, turn into serving bowl, and serve.
Blueberry Pie
The addition of the jam to the filling to this recipe adds pectin and body so you can avoid using cornstarch. It also adds a richer flavor to the blueberries. Allow the pie to cool for at least a couple of hours (if you can stand the wait) or even overnight. The filling will be more “together” that way.
Crust:
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cubed, plus 1 tablespoon for pan
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup shortening, chilled and cubed
1/2 to 2/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons ice water
Special equipment: 1 (9-inch) pie tin
Filling:
5 cups blueberries, discard any small or overly soft berries
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup granulated sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
12 to 14 ounces good quality blueberry jam
Glaze:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 orange, juiced
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Coat the pie tin with 1 tablespoon of butter. Clear and clean off a large, flat surface. Lightly flour the area.
Crust:
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Pulse in the shortening and 1 stick of the butter. Add some of the ice water and continue to mix until it looks like wet sand. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding more water and pulse again until it just comes together into a ball.
Put the dough on the floured surface and roll it into a ball. Cut in half. Reserve the second half. Using a rolling pin, roll out the first half, until it’s at least 4 to 5 inches wider than the 9-inch pie tin, about 1/4-inch thick. Gently roll the dough onto your floured rolling pin and lay the dough into the pie tin. Press it into the bottom and the sides of the tin. Cook’s Note: don’t dock the crust because the filling is liquidy and will cause the crust to stick to the pie tin. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Roll the second half of the dough larger than the pie tin for the top of the pie. Gingerly lay it on a baking sheet and refrigerate it until filling is ready.
Filling:
In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, flour, butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice. Mix to blend. Stir in the jam and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator and pour in the filling.
Remove the top crust from the refrigerator and “fold” it onto the rolling pin. Lay the dough over the top of the pie. Trim the overlapping edges to a 1 1/2-inch overhang. Tuck the edges of the top crust under the edges of the bottom crust, this eliminates the need for an egg wash. Pinch the top to make the edges fluted and sealed all around the pie. Use a pastry cutter or small knife to cut an opening in the center of the top crust.
Put the pie in the center of the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
While the pie is baking, combine the sugar, water and orange juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer gently to reduce by about half and coats the back of a spoon.
Open the oven door and slide the rack out slightly. Pour the mixture over the pie and into the opening in the top of the crust. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely before slicing. Serve alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie, 8 to 10 servings