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

King Family Barbecued Ribs

This recipe was developed about eight years ago.  My son-in-law, Christopher King, mentioned his family used to barbecue the best ribs.  This recipe is a combination of hints and suggestions many of the King relatives happily emailed me.  Instead of trying to create a new barbecue sauce, I used Christopher's suggestion for a whiskey based sauce and used Jack Daniel's.   The main component everyone remembered was beer!

Beer Marinade:

3 bottles of beer

spices, salt and pepper

Put everything in a bag large enough to hold the ribs.  (Or a very deep bowl)... refrigerate overnight

Preheat oven to 200F

Put 4 lbs. of pork ribs in a large, flat baking pan.  Put ribs and beer in the pan.  Cover with foil.  Bake for two hours.  Remove from heat.  Allow to cool.  Do not remove aluminum foil.

Barbecue Sauce:

Mix one bottle of Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce with Whiskey and two ounces of Grand Marnier. You can grate in a little fresh orange peel if you want a little tang.  Spread over ribs while barbecuing.

Classic Potato Salad

I have been experimenting with recipes for potato salad and my favorite seems to be my own.  Simple, uncomplicated and easy to prepare, this can be made in less than an hour and stored in a covered container in the fridge.  There is nothing extraordinary about potato salad.  Optional ingredients are your own preference.  

Ingredients:

1 small bag of red or yukon gold potatoes, quartered

1 cup of chicken stock

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 cup of mayo

1/4 cup of bacon, crumbled

Optional:  celery leaves; onions or scallions; chives; etc.  

Put the potatoes and chicken stock in a microwavable container, cover and nuke for six minutes. Check to see if potatoes are tender.  If not, nuke another couple of minutes.  Continue testing tenderness until you are happy with the result.

Immediately add the remaining ingredients to the potatoes (do not drain out any remaining chicken stock) and toss with a fork.  Sprinkle top of mixture with a little paprika.   Taste.  If necessary, add salt and pepper.  (If you use chicken stock that is salted, most likely you won't need to add salt.)

Refrigerate until serving time.