Food Friday: Labor Day

It’s the calendar end-of-the-summer moment even though the temperatures tell us something completely different. It’s almost time to start squirreling away the acorns, can the tomatoes, clean the gutters and haul the boat out for the last time. Then again, you have a three-day weekend, nowhere to go, and a perfectly good back yard that encourages social distancing. It is time for you to have an end-of-summer blowout with the half dozen people in your quarantine pod. Let’s cook all those dishes that we never have got around to this summer and have some great Instagram-envy-inducing moments.

Crab fest! Hooray. https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/fooddrink/how-to-throw-the-perfect-crab-feast/

Kabobs. Here are dozens of ideas: https://www.southernliving.com/food/holidays-occasions/easy-grilled-kabobs-recipe

Baby back ribs. Stay home. Stay safe! https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/the-best-baby-back-ribs-1241297

Lobster. And lobster rolls. Go to the source: https://lobsterfrommaine.com/steaming-lobster/

Grilled Shrimp. Variety is the spice of grilling shrimp: https://www.thespruceeats.com/the-best-grilled-shrimp-recipes-333576

Grilled pizza. We stick to the basics, because we value our finger prints, but you can get very fancy if you wish. https://www.brit.co/grilled-pizza-recipes/

Grilled corn. We usually just wrap the ears of corn in aluminum foil, with a couple of pats of butter and a handful of Maldon salt, but we are set in our ways. Feel free to experiment: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/honey-buttered-grilled-corn

Grilled potatoes. Thanks, Martha! https://www.marthastewart.com/355490/grilled-potato-wedges

Grilled asparagus. You can’t go wrong with Alice Waters and garlic: https://www.mountainfeed.com/blogs/learn/homemade-aioli

Pesto. Shame on you. Get cracking: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/fat/basil-pesto

Be slightly au courant. Watermelon Frosé: https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/a32702671/mason-jar-watermelon-frose/

Pina coladas. It’s the last weekend of summer. It’s your last chance: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/bas-best-pina-colada

Key Lime Pie. This is the best never-fail Key Lime Pie recipe we have ever found, and yet, we haven’t made one this year. Shocking. Look in the bottled lemon juice section of the grocery store. Buy a graham cracker crust. Make good whipped cream. You will never regret the calories. Trust me: https://keylimejuice.com/nellie-joes-key-lime-pie/

S’mores. Forget the campfire, and do them on the grill: https://www.grubstreet.com/2020/09/adam-platt-on-smores.html?

Goodbye, Summer!

“Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.”
― Carl Sandburg