Your Favorite Barbecue Food

 It is the beginning of the grilling season  and everyone is rushing to out their favorites over  hot coals or in a cool salad. Here's the question  - what is your favorite barbecue or picnic food?

The New York Times reported today that Americans love shrimp. while it's my favorite food t eat at Moby's down in the Atlantic Highlands. I don't really cotton to it on my grill. I;m more of a hot dog kind of girl .It has to be a good beef one on a potato bun - nothing added.As far as salads - I like three bean or my brother's invention potato salad with a chopped apple added for crunch and sweetness. The dogs and the salad are the perfect barbecue fare - although I usually eat mine inside. 

What is your faves? Are you a grilled burger kind of eater.Do you like to have a fixings bar as part of your outdoor set up.Do you like your dogs vegan with a vegan chili sauce. Do wings and turkey legs sign to you or do you prefer good old fashioned steaks grilled to pink perfection or a rack of chewy , tangy barbecued ribs. Many people love corn on the cob.Is that your side go to> Do you have it drizzled with melted butter or plant based butter or slathered in cotijillo and spices for Mexican street corn.what about Italian grilled veggies like egg plant and tomatoes? Or are you a sweets lover ? Is your perfect barbecue food pineapple rings brushed in melted butter and brown sugar and grilled to golden perfection? Or do you go with the more traditional s'mores? And do you like the adult ones of chocolate graham crackers and ninety percent dark chocolate? Or the kids one made with Hershey bars and traditional graham crackers?

Let us know here. What you;'re favorite outdoor fare? Rib's or s'mores ?Bean salad or chicken wings. Let's here what America and the world  has to say (and include recipes!!!)

Your Barbecue Checklist

 It's Memorial Day and that means one thing = do you have enough for a good old fashioned barbecue.Ther'es nothing worse than being in the middle of a cookout and running out of stuff.Make sure you're ready for the big day ahead.

Luckily grocery stores are open tomorrow and MOnday so there's no panic if you have forgotten something. The most important, besides the food , are the paper plates and utensils. Do you have enough to accommodate your guests and family? What about plastic glasses for soda and lemonade? The next item you should have plenty of is aluminum foil. This is essential for tenting chicken ribs and even turkey legs  along with placing ears of corn in them.As for the food itself - do you have enough variety for meat eating and vegan friends? Figure it this way . Everyone usually eats about two burgers each.If you're cooking for ten then have around twenty. The same goes for hot dogs. After the second people are usually stuffed or want a change Wings are a little different. The average person can go through five ro six in one sitting. A group of fifteen could easily munch their way through sixty piece of chicken. Turkey legs are just easier. Most people are usually stuffed after one leg.

As for condiments - are there enough to satisfy a crowd. Remember some people prefer Dijon mustard over honey or any kind Have favorite brands if the guests request them. The same goes for ketchup too. (although mostly everyone is happy with Heintz) You may want to have some barbecue sauce too along with relish for those who like some variation. Also make sure there are plenty of sliced onions and tomatoes for those building their burgers (sliced tomatoes are also a good nibble while waiting for the food to cook up).Is there enough mayo? What about vegan mayo for the vegetarians? As far as the sides will there be enough three bean salad to feed a group?What about the potato salad? These are usually the sides that go first. Have backup ingredients in case you have to add to the bowls.Dessert is usually simple s'more's A bag of marshmallows is perfect for a crowd yet you may have to get extra chocolate bars along with graham crackers to satisfy people.

Be ready for the grilling days ahead. Make sure your barbecue is red hot and ready. Have everything on hand and waiting to go

Turkey On The Go

 Turkey on Thanksgiving can be troublesome. It's a big ,unweidly bird that rquires a lot of care and attention, Now imagine making that bird a to go one. It cna be daunting unless you have the right guide. Thanksfully there is  one.

regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Most make ahead recipes call for roasting a whole turkey, letting it cool and then cutting it into pieces before chilling.This is a convenint method because the meat is already carved. However it also intensifies the usual problems of roasting a whole bird. The dark meat will remain moist while the breast dries out. Even if the first roasting goes well, the second roasting will surely dry out the meat. You could always just rehreat it with  gravy or broth, but them you wind up with tough ,soggy meat and even worse,limp and slippery skin. Some home chefs cut up the pieces and then roast it. Theorectically this does work, but as Ms. Calrk found out from the reheating it still leaves you with tough  breast meat.The legs and other parts will be fine however, perfect for those who like them. The ones who want white meat are in for a disappointment.

What to do? Ms. Clark recommneds her favorite method,  - spatchcocking. This is simply butterflying the body by cutting along the backbone and snipping the joints so that it lies flat on a pan. Your buther can do it expertly for you if you;re having qualms about doing it. A plus of this is that spatchcocked birds cook faster, in half the time fo a traditional roast. Just reheat as is  without any added liquid to the roasting pan. The skin and fat protect the breast, preserving its; juiciness,The legs remain just as succulent and juicy as when they were first roasted.It should be reheated for the same amount of time that it took for the first roasting  - forty-five minutes, however lower the oven temp to 350 degrees Farenheit(the bird ahould have originally been cooked at 450 degrees Farenheit). Keep in mind that the turkey does need to rest at least two hours before re-roasting it. You can also line the bottom of the roasting pan with fresh herbs for not only a great taste but to give the kitchen a fantastic aroma.

If the bird has to travel, do it right. It'll make everyone's Thanksgiving easier, safer and more delicious. have the bird ready wheever you and it wind up.

A Political Hot Dish

Food and politics bring like minded people together. Nothing is more like that than voter house parties that are  popping up all over Iowa.Hot dishes and candidates are becoming part of their diets these days.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about this interesting tradition in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It works in one candidate's favor . Amy Klobuchar is well familiar with a variation of this, the Minnesota church gathering and a dish specific to the state - the hot dish. This is a mix of protein, starch and vegetables held together with a creamy sauce baked until it bubbles. It helped conserve meat a century ago during World War One and helped feed families during the Depression. Nowadays it's topped with Tater Tots and/or mixed with rice. Hot dishes offer working parents an inexpensive way to get an easily made  dinner on the table after a long work day. Ms. Klobuchar 's Taconite Tater Tot Hot Dish, named for a rock mined in the Iron Range, located in northeastern Minnesota. Hers is a mix of chicken and ground beef with onion, typical ingredients yet she zings it up with the addition of cheddar jack cheese. Some found it too spicy, others liked it.

It's not the first time hot dish made political news. Disgraced pol, Al Franken created a hot dish competition as a way of uniting the state's congressional delegation. Not surprisingly Senator Klobuchar won. In 2017 an unusual dish won, thanks to Representative  Democrat Colin Peterson. His dish , A Right To Bear Arms had bear (!) meat in it!!!!Representative Betty McCollom, also a Democrat created the Asian inspired Hot Dish A-Hmong Friends that had cabbage and ground beef topped with fried egg roll wrappers. She paid homage to the large Hmong population from China, Laos and Vietnam who made up her district. Controversial Ilhan Omar made a hot dish full of chickpeas , chutney and , of course, Tater Tots. It's called Moga-Hot-Dishu and was inspired by a Minnesota blogger's samosa chaatdish. For something closer to the Midwestern heart there was Republican Jim Haggedorn, Ms Klobuchar's close competition, who created Make'n Bacon Great Again. His hot fish had two pounds of bacon and a pound of sausage mixed with eggs and cheddar. Hot dish can be made fancy as "What's Eating America" host and Senator Klobuchar friend Andrew Zimmer can attest. He has created fancy versions with turkey legs and veloute. He does go back to a more humble recipes of green beans, turkey, beef and Tater Tots.

The Minnesota Hot Dish not only unites families but also Iowa voters too. This hearty dish can help soothe tensions and create long time allies. It's also a good dish to serve on a winter's night too.