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First want to shout out a Thank You to all our Veterans on this Memorial Day weekend!!
Whether you are headed to the beach or staying home this Memorial Day weekend, you’ll want to keep the food light and simple…maybe with a few surprises. Memorial Day is the first true taste of summer of the year. Wherever you are, we encourage you to celebrate with the perfect ingredients- great food, together with friends and family!
Our shopping list should help mix things up this year:
- Shrimp– for the barbecue or my cold shrimp appetizer below
- Chilled, sliced watermelon– perfect ending to a summer meal
- Crusty Loaves of bread (to toast on the barbecue with olive oil and sliced garlic-yum!)
- A cold tuna and string bean salad– see my recipe below
- Rice for a cold rice salad- see my recipe below
- Mixed steamed vegetable salad– see my recipe below
- Vanilla gelato or ice cream (for a sweet and simple end to the meal) topped with any fresh fruit like strawberries and blue berries for a patriotic dessert.
- Condiments -extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and black pepper in a grinder.
- Paper plates and plastic utensils (be sure they are recyclable) and you will get to enjoy more of the fun!
- Don’t forget the most important ingredient- your smile!
Maria’s Memorial Day Favorites
Cold Shrimp Appetizer
Ingredients:
- 20 large spinach leaves
- 18 shrimp (steamed) cleaned, deveined, peeled
- ¹⁄8 cup butter (unsalted & softened)
- 1 tsp. capers
- 2 anchovy fillets packed in oil
Wash spinach leaves and cook in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, dry well and leave in a colander to drain. Chop anchovies and capers together. Place the butter, chopped capers and anchovies in a bowl. Blend together with wooden spoon. Separate the spinach leaves. On a plate fold out one leaf at a time and place 1 teaspoon of butter mixture topped with some shrimp pieces. Fold leaf over so you have a sack or turnover. Place in refrigerator till time to serve
Cold Steamed Vegetable Salad
Mixed steamed vegetables served cold are easy to prepare and rich in vitamins. Almost any vegetables that you can find at a produce store work great: potatoes, beets, (these 2 have to be cooked not steamed ,but do make delicious additions to the mix), carrots, zucchini, string beans, etc. Just cook
them in separate pots with some salt and pepper, let them cool and enjoy a refreshing and delicious side dish!
Fagiolini e Tonno in Insalata (Fresh Green Bean and Tuna Salad)
String bean and tuna salad is perfect for a hot summer day. Cool cooked
string beans, mix them with tuna in a large bowl and add olive oil,
lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Insalata di Riso (Cold Rice Salad)
Rice salad is a classic Italian summer dish. The recipe greatly varies
from cook to cook, ingredients can be substituted and added according
to your preferences. Chilled cooked rice is a base for the salad.
Tomatoes, olives, capers, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, artichoke hearts, parsley
give the salad its flavor. Serve chilled.
No matter where you are or what you decide to eat this weekend, make sure it is a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend filled with family and friends!
For Holiday recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions- 2nd edition.
Guest Blogger: Morgan Shearer
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