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More Memorial Day Menu Ideas

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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

Salt Potatoes

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

Baked Beans {from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}

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

Greek Pasta Salad (from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}

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

Orzo Salad

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

Mediterranean-Dip-with-Pita-Chips
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!)

The Classic Lime Margarita {from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}
Sausage, Pepper, Onion, and Potato Bake (I’m making this tonight- one of my favorite summer dishes!)

Sausage, Pepper, Onion, & Potato Bake {from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}
Frozen Cupcake S’mores: a great summer treat!

Frozen Cupcake S'mores {from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}
Patriotic Star Sugar Cookie Cut-outs: for the very ambitious Memorial Day celebraters!

Star cookie cut-outs

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?

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Salt Potatoes

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Growing up in Syracuse, salt potatoes use to be one of my favorite summer side dishes at a barbecue.  Salt potatoes are an iconic Syracuse dish originating from the late 1800s.  At that time, the Irish immigrants working in the salt springs around Onondaga Lake would bring in small bags of unpeeled potatoes and boil them in the salt brine for their lunches.  The dish later progressed to cooking young potatoes or small potatoes in a pot of highly salted water and serving with melted butter.

Salt potatoes have a delicious salted skin with a creamy potato inside that is perfectly matched with the melted butter it is served with.   The potatoes get their creaminess from the high temperature of the salt water that cooks the starches in the potatoes more than regular water.  When I young I didn’t know that salt potatoes were a regional dish.  I thought everyone ate salt potatoes at picnics like macaroni salad or coleslaw.  It makes me sad to think about what you were all missing!   So, please do make these to take this burden off of me! 

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Salt Potatoes
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Recipe type: Side
 
Ingredients
  • 4 pounds new white potatoes or small creamer potatoes (cleaned)
  • 12-16 oz Kosher salt (about 1½ to 2 cups)
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
  1. In a large pot add potatoes, salt, and 8 cups of water.
  2. Cover pot and bring to boil.
  3. Cook for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are tender.
  4. Drain potatoes in colander and let dry until salt is crystallized on skins
  5. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup.
  6. Serve potatoes with melted butter poured on top.

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Greek Pasta Salad

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Greek Pasta Salad from 2 Sisters 2 Cities

It’s now officially summer! And it has come in with a bang in the Boston area- 98 degrees yesterday and it may hit 100 later today.  With such heat, we usually opt to grill outside as much as possible.  For Father’s Day on Sunday, I pulled together this simple Greek Pasta Salad with some ingredients I already had on hand.  I loved how it came together and it was the perfect accompaniment to our grilled steak tips, sausages, and zucchini.

I recommend making this Greek Pasta Salad early in the day while it’s cooler out and the flavors get a chance to meld together.  I also don’t add the tomatoes until I’m ready to serve the pasta salad as tomatoes lose a lot of their flavor if they are refrigerated.  If you don’t feel like dicing up olives or roasting a red pepper, be sure to check your supermarket antipasto bar- an olive tapenade or pre-made roasted red peppers will work in a pinch!

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Greek Pasta Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: Side dish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
The perfect pasta salad for a hot day
Ingredients
  • 16 oz box fusilli pasta
  • 1 red pepper, washed, trimmed, and cut in half
  • ½ cup olive oil (or more to taste)
  • ⅓ cup lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons snipped fresh oregano or 2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ cup kalamata olives, diced
  • ½ small red onion, diced
  • 1 cup feta cheese
  • 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place red pepper halves on a baking sheet covered with foil. Bake for about 15 minutes until peel starts to blacken. Take baking sheet out of the oven and wrap pepper tightly with the aluminum foil it was baking on. Once it has cooled, remove peel and dice red pepper into small pieces.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, oregano, anchovy paste, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  4. In a large bowl toss together the cooked pasta, red pepper, olives, red onion, feta, and dressing. Cover and chill in refrigerator for as least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, add diced tomatoes; toss. Makes 12 to 16 side-dish servings.

What is your favorite dish to prepare when the temperatures are soaring?

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