Outrageously Easy Canapes

Cheesy Pecans

Ingredients:

Pecan halves

Cheese in a can (Nabisco Easy Cheese)

Spray each pecan half with cheese.  

Cranberry Orange Relish

The key to this delicious relish or side dish is superfine sugar.  For those unfamiliar with superfine sugar, it is used to make cocktails (also referred to as bar sugar) but you can buy it in your market.  If it is not with the regular sugar, make a point to ask for it.  This is my first choice for baking and cooking because it dissolves quickly.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries

1 large fresh orange, quartered

1/2 to 1 cup of superfine sugar

1 nip of Chambord 

1 nip of orange liquer

Put everything in a saucepan.  Leave the berries alone, don't squash them.  Simmer for about one half hour.  Allow to cool and refrigerate.  Remove orange quarters before serving.  (Reserving orange peels and cutting them into cute shapes makes for pretty presentation.)

Turkey Gravy

Turkey Gravy made without Drippings

If you don't use an oven to cook a turkey, it frees up your oven space for all other things.  This leaves many cooks wondering how to make home-made gravy separately.  My grandmother, Lucy, owned a turkey farm.  It was her belief that the tastiest part of the turkey was the neck.  I decided to use turkey necks for the base of my Thanksgiving gravy to make ahead and freeze (one less thing to do on Thanksgiving Day).  Here is the recipe.  

Turkey Gravy

Butter and butter flavored spray

Three turkey necks*

Salt, pepper and garlic powder

3 cups of chicken or turkey stock

1 bottle of Heinz turkey gravy

Sauté the turkey necks in the butter over low heat.  Sprinkle  spices over the necks, then spray with the butter spray.  Turn over after about 30 minutes and continue cooking over low heat until the turkey necks are golden brown on both sides.  Lower heat to simmer and pour in the chicken or turkey stock and the Heinz gravy.  Simmer for several hours.  Turn heat off, leave on stovetop overnight.  In the morning, simmer again for several hours. 

Take off heat.  Remove turkey necks and discard them.

*Note that I went to my local turkey farm for fresh turkey necks.   You can also freeze the necks from commercially sold turkeys, allow them to thaw and work the gravy with them.  I also added heavy cream and a tablespoon of butter when finishing the gravy.  

Perfect Mashed Potatoes

My nephew, Dan Sturtevant, made the best mashed potatoes.  He patiently peeled the potatoes, quartering them so they would cook evenly.  Nobody took such care to handle potatoes and he never left his post when making them.  He planned on one large potato for two people so he used twelve or more large Yukon gold potatoes for a crowd.  He brought the potatoes to a boil, then lowered the temperature to a simmer, covering them when he could avoid boiling over...  this recipe serves 12 or more folks.

10 to 12 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

An eight quart pan filled with water and one teaspoon of sea salt, boiling

Allow the potatoes to boil, lower temperature to simmer and cover to cook tenderly for 30 minutes or until a fork inserted in potato goes in and comes out clean.

Strain out the water but leave potatoes in the pan.  (Some of the remaining water is good while mashing).  Using a hand mixer, on the lowest speed, start beating the potatoes.  Add one stick of butter at room temperature and either sour cream or cream cheese for extra flavor.  Add a little half and half to mix.  Place in a casserole dish with a cover and put in warming oven until serving time.

Thanksgiving Turkey

My grandmother raised turkeys.  She always insisted on a fresh turkey for holiday celebrations.  This righteous rule makes a big difference in taste.  Order a fresh turkey for your feast.  Refrigerate it until time to cook it.  Please use a spatterware turkey roaster (vintage ones are hard to find...I inherited my grandmother's).  If you can't find one, follow the directions for using aluminum foil.

Preheat oven to 400F

1 turkey

Bell's seasoning

clarified butter

salt

pepper

1 large spatterware turkey roaster with cover

Allowing the turkey to be the star of the dinner table means nothing fancy...no fresh herbs, no fancy ingredients and very simple spices.  My mother always started her turkey before midnight, allowing it to cook all night at 200 degrees.  We would awaken on holidays and the house smelled like a holiday.  She later turned the heat up to brown the turkey.  Either way is fine.  

Put one stick of butter in a measuring cup and nuke for 1 minute.  Brush the turkey with the butter (not the foamy stuff).  Sprinkle the Bell's seasoning generously on the bird.  Sprinkle salt and pepper.  Put the roaster uncovered in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes.  Cover after the turkey has browned somewhat.  Turn the oven temperature to 350F.  Roast for another 2 to 3 hours (follow the directions that came with the turkey).  If you have no cover, use heavy duty aluminum foil.  You don't need to baste over and over again if you have spatterware.  Use an instant meat thermometer to follow the progress of the cooking.  Use the drippings to make a fantastic gravy.

EASY YEAST ROLLS

My grandmother didn't bake much.  When she died, we found almost no baking pans.  She did, however, make awesome bread and rolls.  Here's the basic recipe:

Preheat oven to 350F

1 package of dry yeast

1 cup of water (110F)

1 tbl. of sugar

2 tbl. of melted butter crisco

dash of salt

2 cups of all-purpose flour

Put active yeast in tepid water.  Allow to set for five minutes (I use a measuring cup with a pour spout).  In your food processor, put your dough blade.  Put flour in processor.   Add sugar and salt (if you like very sweet rolls, double the sugar).  Add cooled melted shortening and yeast.  Process for about a minute or so.  Pour the dough into a buttered bowl.  Cover with a towel and allow to rise (25 to 30 minutes).  Use a buttered  muffin pan and put a good amount of dough in each.  Bake for 15 or 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore

This is a very easy recipe for a crockpot.  Cacciatore translates to hunter.  In some regions of Italy, this stew is traditionally made with rabbit.  You can utilize leftover chicken or supplement the recipe with any fresh chicken parts.  Serve with a hearty red wine and crusty Italian bread!

Ingredients:

2 cups of chopped chicken

2 bay leaves

2 cups of Italian meat sauce or marinara sauce

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 whole onion, peeled

1 cup of uncooked carrots, chopped

1 tbl. of demi glaze

2 cups of water

1 small can of tomato paste

red or white wine

Put everything into a slow cooker.  Simmer all day on lowest heat.  Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmigianno romano 

Rustic Country Bread

Preparation:

Get a big ceramic bowl and oil the sides and bottom with extra virgin olive oil.  Set aside and have a clean linen towel ready.

I suggest that you go down to Home Depot and buy six large ceramic tiles and put them on the bottom rack of your oven for bread making.  They are a lot cheaper purchased this way then buying a baking stone for bread and pizza.

Bread Dough

2 tbl. of active yeast

Measuring cup and ¼ of tepid water

3 cups of all purpose unbleached flour

1 tsp. of salt

1 tsp. of sugar

2 tbl. of heavy cream

1 pat of butter

¼ cup of water

You can cover the bread dough with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc. after the dough rises.  Just sprinkle a little on the counter and roll the finished loaf in the seeds.

Prove Yeast

Put yeast in dry measuring cup.  Add ¼ cup of tepid water.  Let sit for five minutes.  The water temperature is crucial to proving the yeast.  If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise. 

Put dough hook in food processor.  Add flour, salt and sugar.  Pulse.  When yeast is ready (it will look milky and smell yeasty, add the yeast to the flour mixture and pulse for ten seconds.  Add cream, butter and a couple tablespoons of water (room temp).  Pulse.  Add water accordingly as the processor turns the flour into dough.  Stop adding water when the dough is coming off clean from the sides of the processor. 

Put dough in prepared ceramic bowl and cover with the linen towel.  Allow the dough to rise for one hour.  Punch the dough down after first rise.  Roughly knead the dough and turn it over for second rise.   The dough should have risen to fill the bowl halfway.  When you punch down the bread dough, turn the dough over a few times and smooth it into a nice round ball.  Second kneading will be more important.

Kneading the Dough

Spread out a large linen cloth on your counter (if you don’t have marble or granite).  You do not need this if you are working on marble or granite.  You will need several cups of flour.  Spread some flour on your counter or your cloth.  Put the dough in the middle and knead the dough with buttered hands.  Add flour sparingly as you do this, just to keep the dough consistency correct.  Knead for about five minutes, until you have a smooth round ball of dough.  The goal here is to remove any large air pockets.  You want to press and roll the dough out at the same time, allowing the large air pockets to fill in as you work the dough.  Let the dough rest for a couple of minutes after kneading.

Heat  Oven to 350F

Boil Water

This sounds a little strange but have several cups of boiling water ready before you put the bread dough in your oven.

If you have a bread peal, have it handy.  Put bread dough on the bread peal and place it on the heated oven stones.  Throw a cup of boiling hot water in the bottom of your oven and quickly shut the door of the oven. (This step is totally unnecessary if you have a brick oven.)

Bake your bread for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Bread is done when the crust is golden and when you tap it, you get a nice crisp sound.  Or, you can stick a toothpick in it and if it comes out clean, bread is done. 

LENTIL SOUP

One of my favorite soups...easily made in a slow cooker.  This is the vegetarian version.  Progresso helps make this easy but you can substitute lentils for the lentil soup if you can find canned lentil beans

Ingredients:*

64 ounces of vegetable broth

2 cans of Progresso vegetarian lentil soup  or 4 cans of lentils

2 carrots, halved

2 stalks of celery, cut

1 large onion, peeled

1 can of tomato paste

2 bay leaves

16 ounces of fresh mushrooms

Put all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook all day.  Remove bay leaves before serving.  Serve with grated Italian cheese and a loaf of hearty bread

Slow Cooker Lasagna

This is a fantastic recipe in a rectangular slow cooker.   When you get back from your busy day, you walk in the house and smell an Italian kitchen!  Serve this with a good, crusty Italian loaf of bread and plenty of grated cheese.  (This picture is for demonstration purposes and does not show the lasagna cooked in a slow cooker.)

1 lb. of lasagna noodles (non-bake version)

2 cups of ricotta cheese

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (Italian flavored)

Six eggs

1 cup of parmigiano reggiano

2 lbs. of cooked Italian sausage

20 ounces of thawed chopped spinach

salt, pepper and nutmeg

4 cups of spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup of freshly grated mozzarella

8 slices of provolone

Prep time for this recipe is a little longer than ten minutes.  The night before, put the frozen spinach packages in a pie plate to defrost overnight.  (I leave these on my marble counter but it works in the fridge.)   Before assembling this recipe, cook the Italian sausage for five minutes in your microwave.  You can either slice the sausages or use sausage meat.  Either way works.  Set the slow cooker on the counter while you prepare everything so you can just drop ingredients in as you go.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta, breadcrumbs, eggs, parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle in a little salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg.   

In the bottom of the slow cooker, spread about one cup of sauce.  Layer with noodles.  Cover with cheese mixture.  Add a little sauce.  Add another layer of noodles, the cheese mixture and the sausage.  Cover with more spaghetti sauce and another layer of noodles (save last cup of sauce for top).  Cover the final layer with sauce, mozzarella and provolone.  Lowest setting on slow cooker.  The slow cooking process will gently caress the hard noodles turning them into a delicious lasagna dish.

Hot Dog Stew

My brother, Carl Piermarini, is a good cook.  This recipe has had many lives.  Everyone in the family makes a version.  I like Carl's version the best.  When I make this, I use Kayem Old Time Franks in natural casings. You can do a vegetarian version using vegetarian hot dogs and vegetarian beans.  The cowboy music is Carl's personal choice but it does seem perfect with this humble dish.

Set your slow cooker to the lowest possible setting (warm is fine).  You can brown the onions and hot dogs the night before if using the slow cooker.  

1 lb.  pkg. beef franks,  {sliced into I/2 inch thick

pieces)

1 med. onion (diced)

1 large can of baked beans

½ cup of ketchup

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

I tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

In a large frying pan on medium heat, add the oil, butter and diced onion. Cook onions, stirring occasionally until they start to brown lightly. Add the sliced franks and cook (and stir) until they are browned around the edges. Be careful not to burn franks at this point. Now add the baked beans and the ketchup, stirring until all ingredients are well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with some brown bread, or better yet, corn muffins listening to cowboy music!        Carl Piermarini

Swedish Meatballs

This is my second favorite meal that my mother made.  Cooking for a large family meant stretching your food dollar as far as it could go.  She served this very simply over cooked white rice, adding the sour cream at the very end of the cooking time.  Doing this in a slow cooker means stirring in the sour cream very, very carefully, tempering it with a little of the hot sauce from the slow cooker.  You can brown the meatballs the night before if you choose to brown them.  (Alternatively, you can buy frozen meatballs but your own taste better.)

Ingredients:

1 lb. of hamburg

1 lb. of ground pork

½ cup of chopped onion

¾ cups of breadcrumbs

1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce

1 tbl. minced parsley

1 ½ tsp. of salt

½ tsp. of pepper

1 egg

½ cup of milk

2 cups of broth

1 container of sour cream

Mix all ingredients except broth and sour cream.  Shape into balls.  If you choose to, brown in vegetable oil.  Remove the meatballs from the frying pan and put them in a bowl.

In the same frying pan, add ¼ cup of flour, 1 tsp. of paprika, a dash of salt and a dash of pepper.  Make a roux by simmering over lowest heat.  Remove from heat.   Alternatively, beat these ingredients in a bowl with a fork before adding to the slow cooker.    This becomes the roux or thickening agent.

Transfer the meatballs and roux into a slow cooker.  Add 2 cups of stock and sour cream.  Serve over noodles.

AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

My mother, Rita Brosseau Piermarini, was a cook by default.  With five children and a hungry household, she prepared simple hearty food.  (Living next door to my grandmother, who was an outstanding cook, must have been intimidating.)  This recipe always confounded me---not because my mother did a great take on it---the history of it was always elusive.  This popular New England staple has almost no relationship to the Chinese dish and it is almost exclusively a regular item in New England diners.  Delicious!

  

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

Dash of salt

Dash of pepper

1 jar of Ragu meat sauce

1 lb. of cooked elbow macaroni

Brown beef and onion.  Add celery and just enough water (2 tbl.) to make the celery get tender.  Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer for ½ hour.

Eggplant Parmigiana

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

Eggplant is probably one of my favorite dishes to make and to eat.  When freshly harvested, this simple vegetable offers a variety of preparations.  This is my ultimate vegetable dish! 

Preheat oven to 350F

Ingredients:

2 to 3 small eggplants

Italian breadcrumbs

3 eggs

Grated parmigianno regianno

Grated mozzarella cheese

Skillet with extra virgin olive oil

Cooling rack

Lay out several paper towels and put cut slices of eggplant on the paper towels to absorb extra water.  In a pie plate, pour flavored breadcrumbs.  In another pie plate, place three eggs, a little garlic powder and a teaspoon of grated cheese (parm).  Toss these with a fork.  Dip slices in egg mixture and then coat with breadcrumbs. 

In a skillet, put extra virgin olive oil.  Keep heat on medium or everything will burn.   Fry coated eggplant slices on both sides.  Cool on a rack covered with brown paper. 

Put slices in baking dish.  Cover with sauce and cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Chicken Soup

CHICKEN SOUP

Chicken soup is easy, tasty and satisfying.  My grandmother usually made chicken soup with a fowl.  She always had the fowl well cleaned out and reserved the neck and the edible organs (which she froze for other dishes).  The stock would simmer for what seemed like forever...she added only whole onions, celery with leaves and carrots, washed and trimmed of greens.  When the broth had turned a golden yellow, she removed everything by straining the broth into a colander over a large bowl.  She allowed the ingredients to cool while she placed the broth back onto the stove, adding fresh spinach or kale and red or white beans or cooked pasta or rice to the broth.  The result was delicious!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken or fowl (remove insides; reserve neck and freeze everything else)

cold water

1 to 2 large white onions, peeled

2 to 3 stalks of celery, washed and white base removed but leave leaves

3 carrots, washed and greens removed

Place the chicken and neck in a slow cooker.  Cover with cold water.  Add other ingredients (cut up to fit slow cooker).  Simmer until serving time.  Take chicken and vegetables out of pot and put into a bowl to cut up.  Add any leftover pasta or rice (warmed up) and 10 ounces of frozen kale or spinach (thawed out).  Allow those to warm up a bit.  While that is happening, remove chicken from bones, cut up veggies and then serve by putting those back in the pot.  Lots of grated cheese and a crusty loaf of bread make this a hearty meal! 

TRI PIE

TRI PIE

This is a triple berry pie.  Make your own crust or use a store bought version.  Preheat the oven to 375F (if using a glass pie plate) or 400F with anything else.  Easy recipe...just choose three berries.

Ingredients:

6 cups of berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.)

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tbl. of cornstarch

1 tsp. of lemon juice

Mix everything in a deep bowl.  Line the pie plate with the bottom crust.  Add berry mixture.  Dot with butter.  Add top crust and seal the crust edges.  Bake for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until crust is golden brown.   You can also choose fresh peaches instead of a berry, just measure carefully.  You may need to make this a deep dish pie if you have a lot of fruit, or two smaller pies.

BEEF STEW

This is my mother's recipe.  It is perfect for a slow cooker.

2 or 3 lbs. of beef (she used chuck)

2 to 3 onions, halved

2 stalks of celery with tops on, chopped

2 to 3 carrots, cut in bite size pieces

Water and beef bouillon (I use beef consommé when I make this …either works)

Just put everything in the crock pot and let simmer until beef is tender.  Salt and a little pepper work too.  

If you use beef consommé, four cans is good.  Or, use good beef stock (4 cups).   My mother-in-law also made a good beef

stew, adding tomato paste and peas (as seen in picture).  She used the tiny frozen onions instead of fresh.  Your choice. 

BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP

This soup is really delicious. 

Ingredients:

3 to 4 beef marrow bones

4 to 6 beef ribs or chuck pieces for stew (if you use ribs, leave on the bone until just before serving time…I really prefer the ribs because they provide better flavor)

2 stalks of celery (chopped with leaves on)

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, halved

4 cans of beef consommé

(or 32 ounces of beef broth)

2 bay leaves

Salt & pepper to taste

Garlic powder (optional)

1 cup of cooked barley (I use fast cooking barley if I can get it)

Throw everything in the crock pot and walk away.  Allow this to simmer for eight hours

VEAL STEW

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of veal meat

1 carrot, diced

1 onion (peeled)  and one sprig of fresh rosemary wrapped in cheesecloth and well tied

1 can of tomato paste (with basil)*

1/2 cup of wine**

1 lb. of exotic mushrooms (fresh)

bay leaf

32 ounces of chicken stock

Everything goes into the slowcooker.  Veal doesn't have a lot of flavor so you need to add flavor to it.  If you have demi glace, add some.  Remove bay leaf and cheesecloth ball before serving.   You can choose to garnish with fresh parsley but for a weeknight dinner, why bother...just set out the cheese for grating and enjoy!

*Note about tomato paste:  buy Cento...it's the best

**Do not use cooking wine.  Even little bottles of wine are sold now everywhere so if you have no wine bottle open, buy real wine.

PASTA E FAJIOLI

PASTA E FAJIOLI

                           

My grandmother always saved prosciutto ends for her recipe and my aunt always used smoked ham hocks.  If you can get a prosciutto end, use one and then add two smoked ham hocks.  This will give you wonderful flavor.  If you have a butcher who makes his/her own Italian flavored sausage, use that.  You need a very large slow cooker for this soup.  

Ingredients:



1 bag of yellow eye beans (dry)

1 large onion (diced)

half a bunch of celery, with leaves (diced)

3 or 4 fresh carrots (diced)

2 ham hocks and one prosciutto end or three smoked ham hocks

six Italian sausages

1 head of garlic, chopped finely

1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes (with basil)

2 cans of San Marzano tomato paste

1 can of beef consommé

12 ounces of chicken broth

1 large can of cannelloni beans

1 large can of red kidney beans

1 cup of peccarino romano cheese

2 cups of cooked macaroni (traditionally tubettini)

salt and pepper to taste

The night before you make this hearty soup, soak the yellow eye beans in cold water.  This will prepare them for the soup.  You need to pick through the entire batch of beans, discarding any beans that look bad.  If you find pebbles or leaves, discard them also.  Add a teaspoon of baking soda (this helps eliminate intestinal gas).  Also, if you have no cooked pasta, cook the pasta (tubettini) but undercook by three minutes.  (Refrigerate the cooked pasta until needed.)

Before putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker, rinse the beans in cold water.

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker except for the canned beans and pasta.   Before serving time, nuke the pasta and beans just on the warm-up setting of your microwave.  Add the pasta and beans to the slowcooker.

Many cooks add fresh basil but since the tomatoes have basil, adding fresh basil may be too much. 

  

Serve with a good loaf of Italian bread and plenty of freshly grated parmigianno regianno.  (One of my cousins prefers the taste of pecorino romano cheese so this is a personal choice.  You can get both imported cheeses at most markets or order online.  The longer this soup simmers, the better it tastes.  It freezes very well just remove any bones before freezing.  

A Perfect Summer Cake

Baking a perfect cake for a summer outing depends on great ingredients and allowing the baking time without distractions.  This cake requires focus and attention but is not difficult to make.  You can create a wonderful summer dessert if you follow the directions carefully.  Almost all the ingredients are already in your pantry or refrigerator.  Although this cake contains liquor, you can substitute juice if you don't want alcohol in your cake.  

Preheat oven to 350F

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup of sour cream

3 to 4 eggs

1 pkg. of instant pudding mix (I use either white chocolate or cream cheese pudding mix)

1/4 cup of vegetable oil 

1 cup of liquid (equal parts of orange juice, Triple Sec and vodka)

1 tsp. of grated dried orange peel

Spray a bundt pan generously with Pam.  Sift a little of the cake mix into the pan, coating all sides and the middle.  Put the remaining cake mix back into your mixing bowl.  

I love using a mixing bowl with a pour spout for delicate cakes.  Put all the ingredients in the bowl and mix well with an electric mixer.  You can substitute Grand Marnier for the Triple Sec or orange juice for the entire cup of liquid required for this cake.  The batter can take more liquid than normal because of the instant pudding mix.  Bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.    Allow the cake to cool completely (at least two hours) before removing from the pan.  

Decorating the cake:

Finishing this cake can be as plain and simple as sifting confectioner's sugar over the top and placing fresh raspberries on it.  You can make a chocolate ganache (this pairs well with orange) or a raspberry coulis...  

Sandcastle Cake

The difficulty level of this cake is extreme.  Many things can go wrong.  However, careful attention to detail will result in a great conversational piece.  Order the cakepan and go from there.

I'm not including a recipe because any cake will do.  Preparation is everything, however.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  

Spray the cake pan generously with spray shortening.  Dust the cakepan with flour, coating everything liberally.

Make the cake according to directions.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes.  Shut oven off and leave cake in oven for a few minutes to settle.  Cool on a cooling rack for a minimum of one to two hours.  If you try to remove the cake too early, it will crack or fall apart.  If that happens, do not despair...sandcastles get broken so you can still serve it with humor!

Barbecued Steak

Barbecued Steak

Hot and sultry weather can be challenging if you have no air conditioning.  Barbecued food solves that issue if you cook outdoors and avoid heating your kitchen up even more than usual.  My grandmother, Lucy Piermarini, often cooked in her summer kitchen which was located in the basement of her home.  She had no air conditioning and didn't seem to mind the heat.  It did not matter what my grandmother cooked, it was always delicious!  This barbecue marinade will make whatever meat you choose to grill taste great.

Marinade:

1 can of beer

1 tsp. of rosemary

1 tsp. of garlic powder

1 orange, diced and split into pieces

Put the meat in a marinade dish/pan.  Add all the ingredients.  Marinate for several hours.  Baste with barbecue sauce.  Grill the meat to your preferred choice of finish.  

Watermelon Salad

This simple salad will WOW your guests.  Easy to prepare, tasty and delicious...perfect for the 4th

Ingredients:

1 small melon, cubed (save the little halves)

feta cheese (cubed or crumbled)

mint

red onion, chopped or rings

Mix and refrigerate after putting back into the watermelon halves

(I actually add sea salt to this dish...)

Aunt Alice's Macaroni Salad

Rita Brosseau Piermarini and Alice Brosseau Murphy*

Aunt Alice's Macaroni Salad

My mother’s sister,  Alice Brosseau Murphy,  made the best macaroni salad.  Her original recipe calls for salad oil and vinegar (I don’t use these in mine).  Try it both ways to see which you prefer.  Honestly, I’ve never had a better macaroni salad….

Ingredients

1 lb. of elbow macaroni, cooked

1 small onion, grated or cut fine

2 tomatoes, chopped (I use those miniature plum tomatoes instead)

1 can of shrimp, rinsed

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 clove of garlic, grated or 1 tsp. of garlic powder

2 raw carrots, grated

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 tbl. salad oil

1 tsp. of vinegar

Cook macaroni the night before, rinse well and add the oil and vinegar  (I use extra virgin olive oil).  The next day, toss the ingredients and refrigerate until serving.

*This picture was probably taken when the two sisters sang for the USO.  They were very popular.

Best Deviled Eggs Ever

My husband's grandmother, Cecile Ellis, made very simple but delicious meals.  Sunday dinner was her deviled eggs, ginger ale and a roasted chicken.  Her deviled eggs were the best...

Ingredients:

6 boiled eggs (home done or store bought)

1 can of deviled ham

bacon bits

mayo

If you use store bought hard boiled eggs, check the expiration date to ensure they are safe.  They are smaller than home hard boiled eggs but are a time saver.  

Slice the eggs, putting the hard yolks in a bowl.  Mix the yolks with the other ingredients (mayo to taste---I start out with one heaping tablespoon).  Fill eggs and refrigerate until serving time.

Optional:  chives, onions, scallions, etc.  Shake paprika on top for finishing touch