FOOD ART AND FAMILY TRADITIONS - MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Our season is about to change!  Summer is on the way! 

Right before summer arrives on Monday, May 30th we stop to observe Memorial Day.  

On this day we are remembering all the American soldiers that gave us the freedom to enjoy life in our country.   All the wars that our country commemorates on this day have brought change and transition to our nation, so it is fitting that this day also brings change and transition to the time and seasons of our lives here on earth.  We remember this as we move from Spring toward Summer. 

Spring has been so lovely this year that I hate to tell it goodbye, but I'm sure summer is going to be just as wonderful. There are so many things I love about Summer! I don't know where to start.....maybe a Memorial Day picnic is a good place to begin? 

I hope you and your family have covered the bases this year and taken some time to remember the soldiers in a specific way.  A Memorial Day trip I will always remember is one that my family and I took to the Berman Museum in Anniston, Alabama.  That is a great place to go if you want to bone up on your American and World History.  They have an amazing collection of the items from every war ever fought on American soil and foreign soil.  The trip is a great history lesson.

 After that trip,we were educated and totally prepared to have a little gathering to celebrate the fact that we do still live in a free country.  In all of these thoughts about the cost of freedom the emphasis hangs on the fact that we must be the heroes now.  All of us in our daily lives must do our part to carry on the victory that those who have gone before us have given.  It is a group effort that requires the motivations of every citizen of the country.  We all have to do our part to keep this country free.  We are living in a crucial time for America as well as the whole earth.  Recovery starts by remembering what has happened in the past and keeping a deep respect and appreciation for our history.  Perhaps a little patriotic celebration in the homes across the land will light that one little candle needed to instill a ripple effect of pride in our nation.

Of course we cannot gather without food!  
So here is our menu:

MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC MENU

Cool Red White and Blue Cocktails

Red White and Blue Flag Fruit Kabob Platter

The Ultimate Memorial Day Open Faced Short Rib Sandwich

Memorial Day Potato Salad

White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes with Blueberry Topping

The recipes are below, but first let's decorate our table!  I'm using the table on my back deck this year, so we can enjoy the beautiful summer day, but I'm also setting the dinning room table and the kitchen table for those who cannot tolerate the heat.  This gathering is a lot about the older generation communicating the past to the younger generations.  I want them all to be as comfortable as possible, so that they linger over the stories and soak them in to repeat to their own children in the future.

 I want to be very patriotic this year, so every thing is red, white and blue, not very original, but quite a cheerful setting.  

This will really throw our guest off, because I'm usually a modern-contemporary type decorator, but this occasion calls for some old fashion celebrating and I want the house to match the mood, nostalgic, old fashioned, traditional and colorful.    

I'm putting two deep red candle sticks at the center ends of the table.  I'm placing a patriotic basket container between them, and sticking  lots of little flags inside the basket.  The room is full of vivid colors!   

I'm mixing my flag patterned dishes with my solid blue plates and my solid red bowls, creating another mixture of cheerful red, white and blue.  This creates a casual, laid back summer kind of style that will suit the mood for the day.  

It is all about lingering and resting and listening to others talk.    I'm going to pick up some ferns for the deck and the hearth, because I think the greenery in the background adds a lot to all the red, white and blue.   Of course I want to incorporate my blue and white starred napkins into this whole tablescape.  I found an old red white and blue picnic basket.  Lovely! 

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  They were a lot of fun to find and try at our table, and they just seem to fit the whole occassion nicely. 

RED, WHITE AND BLUE COCKTAIL

1/2 cup crushed ice

1/2 oz Wild Hibiscus Flowers and Syrup (can be ordered on line from Amazon)

1/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

2 oz Hpnotiq Liqueur (A Refreshing Blend of Natural Exotic Fruit Juices, Premium Vodka and a Touch of Cognac)

2 oz Dry Sparkling Wine or Champagne

Mixing Instructions:

Separate the Flowers from the Wild Hibiscus Syrup. Place 1 Wild Hibiscus Flower standing upright at the bottom of the champagne flute.

Mix Lemon Juice and Hibiscus Syrup together. Pour the Hibiscus Syrup and Lemon juice mixture over the flower. Add crushed ice on top of the Wild Hibiscus Flower and Syrup. Slowly pour in Hpnotiq Liqueur over the ice. Slowly top with Dry Sparkling Wine or Champagne.

How it looks is Red on the bottom, layer of Blue in the middle and the crushed ice floats to the top with the champagne giving the illusion of white.

To make this cocktail in batches make sure to separate the flowers from the syrup.   Each one liter Jar of Wild Hibiscus Flowers contains approximately 25 oz. of syrup, which will make 50 cocktails. To pre-mix the Hibiscus Syrup/Lemon Juice add 12.5 oz Lemon Juice to every 25 oz. of Syrup.

RED WHITE AND BLUE FRUIT KABOB PLATTER

Grab a bowl of freshly washed blueberries, thinly sliced strawberries, and button sliced bananas.  Dip the sliced fruit in lemon juice to maintain freshness and pure colors.  Lay kabob skewers horizontally on to a square platter.  Make a flag pattern with the fruit, using the blueberreis for the blue starry part of the flag, the strawberries for the red stripes and the bananas for the white stripes.  Clever and eye catching, but so easy and tasty. 

For the main course I selected The Ultimate Memorial Day Short Rib Open Faced Sandwich.  This is not just a sandwich – it is “quite a sandwich indeed.”  Your going to love it.  It takes a little planning ahead and a little time to prepare, but the results are SO worth the trouble.  Your guest will remember it forever.  

I originally began making this sandwich from a recipe in The Southern Living 2008 Annual Recipes Cookbook.  I’ve changed the recipe over time to suit my own needs by adding a few twists, and have accommodated it to my own style of cooking for Memorial Day.  My recipe should make it easy for you to prepare for 8 people.  If you want more, just add more ingredients. 

THE ULTIMATE MEMORIAL DAY SHORT RIB OPEN FACED SANDWICH

Ingredients for Cooking Ribs:

12 lbs. short ribs

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. Ground Pepper

12 tsp. crushed garlic cloves

4 Carrots, chopped very small

4 Celery ribs, chopped very small

2 Onions, chopped very small

2 14.5-oz cans Italian Style Chopped Tomatoes

4 cups dry red wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. Rosemary

1 tsp. Thyme

1 tsp. Oregano

Make the ribs first.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  While you are waiting, gather the ingredients needed and use a food chopper to finely chop all the vegetables.  Rub the salt and pepper into the ribs, place ribs in a large Dutch Oven and cook in the oven for about 7 minutes on each side.  Remove the ribs to another dish.  Add garlic, carrots, celery and onions to the Dutch Oven.  Cook the vegetables on top of the stove on medium heat until they are tender and brown, this will take about 8 - 10 minutes.  Set the vegetables aside in another dish and stir the tomatoes, wine, chicken broth, rosemary, thyme and oregano into the dutch oven, bring this to a boil.  Once boiling, pour into a temporary container, wash and line the Dutch Oven with heavy duty aluminum foil, then return the ribs to the Dutch Oven.  Covering with a tightly sealed lid, to the stove, baking at 350 degrees for 4 hours until the ribs are tender.  At some point, while the ribs are cooking, drain the vegetables through a wire-mesh strainer and reserve the juices for gravy.  Let the juices stand while the ribs are cooking and skim any fat that forms from the gravy.  When ribs are cooked, add the gravy and vegetables back to the Dutch Oven and cook for about 20 more minutes over medium high heat uncovered until thickened.  Set this aside to cool.  After the ribs are cooled, remove the meat from the bones and shred.  Reserve the gravy in another bowl.  Gather the following ingredients for making the sandwiches:.   

2 large red onions sliced thin

8 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 12-oz. Sour Dough French Bread Loaves

6 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

6 cups of shredded short ribs prepared as noted above

 1 cup gravy from short ribs recipe above

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

6 cups arugula lettuce

Saute the onions over medium high heat for six minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add balsamic vinegar and let stand for five minutes.  Cut the sour dough bread into sandwich sized pieces.  Place on a wire rack in the oven and broil 6 inches from heat for about 3 – 4 minutes.  Bread should have a lightly toasted look.  Spread mustard on one side of the bread.  Mix the shredded meat and gravy.  Place bread slices on a baking tray.  Spoon the meat and gravy mixture over the bread.  Sprinkle this with crumbled blue cheese.    Broil in oven about 4 to 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  Toss arugula into onion mixture, which is now cooled.  Place sandwiches onto pretty patriotic plates (I mixed solid red and blue plates with flag patterned plates at my own table).  Top each sandwich with the onion and arugula mixture.  Serve warm open-faced sandwiches as your  main course.  Delicious!

MEMORIAL DAY POTATO SALAD
4 potatoes
1/3 cup French Dressing
1/4 cup chopped vidalia onion
1/4 cup green onion
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1/4 cup sliced radishes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
3/4 cup thin sliced celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Peel and cube potatoes.  Cook in boiling water until tender.  Drain.  While still warm, combine potatoes, French dressing, onion, pickles, radishes, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to coat potatoes.  Cover, refrigerate overnight.  Just before serving stir in celery, mayonnaise and eggs.   

(I serve the potato salad in a large deep navy blue bowl.  It adds another splash of color to the table.)


WHITE CHOCOLATE BLUEBERRY MINI CHEESECAKES

 

For The Crust:  2 cups crushed graham crackers, 1 cup slivered almonds, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup butter, melted, 2 tablespoons caramel topping.

For The Filling:  1 pound white chocolate (chopped), 4 8-ounce pkgs. cream cheese (softened), 3/4 cup white sugar, 4 eggs (beaten), 2 egg yokes, 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For The Topping:  1/2 cup white sugar, 3 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/4 cup water, 1 pint fresh blueberries, 2 teaspoons lemon juice.

Directions:  Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Make the crust by blending together the graham cracker crumbs, almonds and sugar until the almonds are fine.  Use a chopper, blender or food processor for this.  Melt the butter and caramel and pour into mix.  Press this mixture into individual wrappers inside a cupcake tin  (if you can find patriotic colors, all the better).  Be generous with the crust.    Make the filling by melting the white chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stirring until smooth.  Set aside.  In a large bowl beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar until smooth.  Beat in the eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time.  Beat in the flour and the vanilla and blend in the melted white chocolate slowly, beating until the filling is well combined.  Pour filling into the individual crust holders.  Bake the cupcake tin in the middle of a preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Turn off the heat, crack the oven door an inch, and let the cheesecake cook in the oven to room temperature.  Cover loosely in cooled cupcake tin and refrigerate overnight before removing from the pan.  Make the topping in a saucepan by combining 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in water 1/4 cup of water and 1 pint of blueberries.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Press through a fine sieve.  Stir in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and allow to cool, then store in a glass jar until time to serve.  At serving time, pour over top of mini cheesecakes.   (I stacked these on top of two tiered navy blue glass servers, they add wonderful color to the presentation, and are so tasty!)

When you thank God for this bountiful feast He has granted, thank Him too for the soldiers who presently defend our country as well as those who have gone before them.  Pray that our country will be renewed to the glory of God and flourish and remain to be a place worth living and dying for. 

GOD BLESS AMERICA