cookout recipes Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by Meaghan Barry on July 24, 2014

Mama's Pickles

T is the kind of 3-year old who loves pickles. He’s the kid who requests them for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner. He’s the kid at the summer cookout who will be holding a pickle in one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. When I made my own pickles for the first time last summer, T was elated and started to refer to them as “Mama’s Pickles.” The name stuck in our house and homemade dill pickles henceforth were known simply as Mama’s Pickles.

garden

One of the vegetables that I have planted in my garden this summer are pickling cucumbers (in addition to Marketmore cucumbers.) The cucumbers have really taken off and are climbing all over my garden fence and the other plants. I’ve already harvested quite a few of them so I knew it was time to make my first batch of Mama’s Pickles for the season, this time with my own homegrown pickling cucumbers!

Cucumber_plant

This recipe is very flexible and you can cut the cucumbers whichever way you see fit (spears, slices, whole, etc.) T prefers “stick pickles”…his terms for pickle spears, so that is how I cut them for this first batch. Feel free to halve this recipe or double as you see fit.

pickle ingredients

prepping pickles

Mama's Pickles

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Prep time: 48 hours 10 mins

Total time: 48 hours 10 mins

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh dill
6 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
6-8 pickling cucumbers, washed and ends cuts off
6 cups water
¾ cup distilled white vinegar
6 tablespoons kosher salt

Instructions

Gather three to four clean mason jars and put a couple sprigs of the dill and some of the pressed garlic on the bottom of each jar. Next, slice the cucumbers up into spears, slices, or keep them whole depending upon your pickling preference. Place the cucumbers into the mason jars.
In a large bowl with a spout or measuring cup, mix together the water, vinegar, and salt. Stir until the salt is fully dissolved. Pour the vinegar mixture into each mason jar until it fully covers the cucumbers. Place a few more sprigs of dill and more of the pressed garlic on top (if desired.) Screw on mason jar covers.
Refrigerate for at least 2 days. Then, enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner if you have the same love of pickles as my little guy!

Source: Slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats

sister m signature

Posted by Meaghan Barry on July 17, 2013

caprese pasta salad

I’ve been too caught up in newborn/toddlerland to post for the past few weeks, but I’ve finally decided to hop back on the blogging train. I haven’t been cooking too much lately as we’ve also been fortunate to have had a lot of meals brought to us each evening. Baby N is pretty relaxed during the day, but things get a bit chaotic around dinnertime each night with him and T. Yesterday, I had big plans to make this caprese pasta salad right after lunch today while both boys were sleeping. However, T fought his nap big time, N woke up earlier than expected, and I spent any downtime I had trying to make our house look a little less like a scene from Hoarders.

I finally got a chance to start making this caprese pasta salad around 5 last night, but didn’t get a chance to start taking photos until 7 and I was losing natural light fast. Baby N was a bit fussy so I had him in the Moby wrap while I was photographing. Hence, these are not the most stylized or perfectly lit/focused photos. But, I promise what my photos lack, this recipe makes up for in taste!

caprese pasta salad

This recipe combines two of my favorite types of summer salads: a good pasta salad made with fusilli and a caprese salad. I love the bright flavor that the white balsamic vinegar brings to this recipe as well. While I was making it, I was a bit concerned about using a half a cup of vinegar, but I think this is the ingredient that really makes this recipe shine. This caprese pasta salad would be a delicious summer dish on its own or served on a side with a piece of grilled chicken or steak.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Ingredients

4 cups fresh basil leaves
1 pound fusilli pasta
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped into bite size pieces (you could also use small mozzarella balls)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, chopped (I used a combination of the two)
2 tablespoons capers, drained

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath in a separate bowl Once water is boiling, blanche basil leaves for 30 seconds. Once they turn bright green, use a slotted spoon to add them to the ice bath. Drain well, squeezing out any excess liquid. Add basil to the bowl of a food processor.
Using the same pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water until cool. Add drained pasta to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, in the food processor, add the vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper to the basil. Process for a few seconds. Continue to process and drizzle in the olive oil slowly through the top of the food processor until fully combined.
Pour dressing over the top of the pasta. Add mozzarella, tomatoes, and capers. Stir together all ingredients until fully combines. Can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Source: Slightly adapted from Love and Olive Oil

sister m signature

P.S. Happy, happy birthday to my favorite co‐blogger of all time! That glass of rosé is for you!

Posted by Meaghan Barry on June 19, 2013

Herbed Potato Salad (from 2 Sisters 2 Cities)

I recently came across this recipe for Herbed Potato Salad in a recent copy of Better Homes & Gardens. While I am not one to be craving potato salad on a daily basis, I certainly appreciate it’s place as a summer side whenever we make grilled chicken, hot dogs, or hamburgers. I tend to associate potato salad with tons of creamy mayonnaise. I was very surprised how much delicious flavor this recipe had considering the relatively small amount of mayonnaise and sour cream it used. I have definitely been eating it by the spoonful before the serving bowl even hits the dinner table.

Another thing I really like about this recipe is that the method for steaming the potatoes is pretty much foolproof. I am a chronic potato under‐cookerer (yes spellcheck, I realize cookerer is not a word, but it should be.) Nothing is worse than biting into a rock hard potato center…yuck! However, they have come out perfectly done every time using this steaming method.

Bowl of Herbed Potato Salad

I have already made this Herbed Potato Salad several times this spring and I’m sure it will be making it’s way to our dinner table many more times this summer. It’s tastes even better the next day (that is, if there is any leftover!) I also love that it uses a relatively small amount of fresh herbs so that I can use my container garden supply. I’m certainly not yielding any pesto‐sized crops yet so it’s nice to be able to use my my own herbs in recipes that call for a scant amount.

Herbed Potato Salad

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

3 pounds small red potatoes, washed, unpeeled, and cut into 1‐inch pieces
3 tablespoons extra‐virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1‐2 tablespoon(s) fresh herbs (I have been using a combination of chives, thyme, and oregano)
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (regular or light)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon celery seed

Instructions

To prepare potatoes, boil a large pot of water and place a steamer basket just above the water line. Once the water is simmering, add the potatoes to basket. Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot. Allow potatoes to steam for 18‐20 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool down a bit.
In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Add the cooled potatoes and stir to combine. You can serve immediately or place in the fridge to be served at a later time.

Source: Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, June 2013

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on May 23, 2013

Before K and I start delving into a whole new season of summer recipes, we wanted to share a few of our favorites from the 2S2C archives. With Memorial Day weekend coming up (seriously people, I’m pretty concerned about what just happened to the entire month of May- eek!), I have been starting to plan my menu for the holiday weekend. If you are looking for even more Memorial Day menu ideas, be sure to check out our Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July menu round-ups from last year. In addition, K’s post about our Fourth of July family reunion party from last year is chock-full of patriotic menu and decoration ideas. I really want to make her DIY Patriotic Pennant Banner to have on hand for all the patriotic holidays!

Even though the weather forecast is looking pretty lousy for the Boston area this weekend, I’m still hoping to do a lot of grilling. In addition, we are going to have our first lobster night of the summer- can’t wait! I’m also going to try to make some of the 10 summer recipes shown below.

10 Memorial Day Menu Ideas

Salt Potatoes: an upstate NY summer tradition

Baked Beans: a great side dish for summer cook-outs

Greek Pasta Salad: the perfect side for hot dogs and hamburgers

Orzo and Spinach Salad with Lemon-Cranberry Vinaigrette: a family favorite (and a 2S2C old-school photo flashback!)

Tex-Mex Pimiento Cheese Dip: serve with red and blue tortilla chips! {I realize I put this dish in just about every round-up that I do, but you will not regret making this for your next party!!}

$Tex-Mex Pimiento Cheese Dip$
Mediterranean Dip: this recipe is great for showcasing fresh summer produce

The Classic Margarita: get the weekend started off the right way with this perfect margarita (5 more weeks to go until I can sample one!)

Sausage, Pepper, Onion, and Potato Bake (I’m making this tonight- one of my favorite summer dishes!)

Frozen Cupcake S’mores: a great summer treat!

Patriotic Star Sugar Cookie Cut-outs: for the very ambitious Memorial Day celebraters!

Well, it looks like K is a way better summer-blogger than I am considering that 80% of the above recipes are hers. I can’t promise that I’ll be able to catch up to her pace this summer with baby #2’s arrival, but I am still hoping to share a few of my new favorite summer recipes over the next few months. What do you have planned for your Memorial Day weekend menu?