July 4th is this weekend and all I can think about are all of the tasty dishes I have ahead of me.  And since we’re getting into primo cookout season, I figured why not pull together all of my favorite cookout recipes and put together what I would consider the perfect Classic Cookout Menu. Enjoy!

Basil French 75

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Basil French 75

Ingredients:
5 Basil leaves
1 tsp. Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 ounces of Gin
1/2 lemon, juiced
Ice
Champagne or Prosecco

Directions:
1.  In a glass tumbler, muddle the basil leaves and sugar using a muddler or a wooden spoon
2.  Add the gin and lemon juice to the tumbler and stir until sugar is dissolved
3.  Fill tumbler with ice as desired
4.  Top-off the tumbler with champagne, stir, and serve

Boiled Peanuts, & Watermelon Sliders

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Boiled Peanuts

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs large green peanuts, washed & uncooked
2 cups of salt
3 Tbsp Old Bay Seasonings, cajun spices, etc (optional)

Directions:
1.  Soak peanuts in water for about 30 minutes to soften them up; drain
2.  Get a large stock pot and fill about 3/4 full with peanuts (you can actually fill the pot higher, but it can boil over)
3.  Add water; you need to fill the pot with enough water so that there is about an inch or two of water above the peanuts
4.  Add 2 cups of salt (you can easily add more if you like them saltier).  I know this seems like a lot, but not all of it will soak in.  You can also mix it up with other seasonings, i.e., Cajun spices, old bay seasonings, etc.  (make sure you mix everything up really well before adding to the pot)
5.  Bring to a hard boil and then let simmer with a lid for about 4-5 hours
6.  After finished cooking, the longer you let them soak in the water, the more flavor (salt, et al.) will soak in through the shell

Watermelon Sliders

Ingredients:
1 Watermelon
2 blocks Feta Cheese
1 cup fresh Basil Leaves
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
1.  Using a large knife, cut away the watermelon peel; cut watermelon into 1 inch cubes
2.  Cut feta cheese into 1 inch cubes
3.  Place one basil leaf on top of a watermelon cube; place a feta cube and watermelon cube on top of the leaf to create a stack or slider
4.  Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the slider
5.  Push a toothpick through the slider to keep it from falling apart and serve!

Spring Vegetable & Salmon Salad, Corn Salsa, & the Best Potato Salad EVER

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Spring Vegetable & Salmon Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 pound fresh asparagus
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 1/4 pounds skinless salmon fillets, cut into 2-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups chopped romaine lettuce hearts
1/2 cup uncooked shelled fresh or frozen edamame, thawed
1/4 cup sliced radishes
Creamy Herb Dressing

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler with oven rack 6 inches from heat. Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Cut asparagus into 1-inch-long pieces, and cook with sugar snap peas in boiling salted water 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water; drain.
2. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper; broil on a lightly greased rack in a broiler pan 3 to 4 minutes or to desired degree of doneness.
3. Arrange lettuce, edamame, radishes, asparagus mixture, and salmon on a serving plate. Drizzle with dressing

Corn Salsa

Ingredients:
5 ears of corn, shucked OR 12oz bag of frozen sweet corn
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 orange and 1 red bell pepper, julienned
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil (an additional 2 if you use the frozen sweet corn)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil, julienned

Directions:
1.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone.  Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color.  If using frozen corn (as I did), saute for 3-5 minutes on medium/high heat.
2.  Once corn has cooled, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.
3.  Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4.  Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil.
5.  Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Best Potato Salad EVER

Ingredients:
5 lbs Red Petite Potato
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1/2 Large onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup Sweet Salad Cubes (relish works as a substitute)
5 Large eggs
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Mustard
Paprika

Directions:
1.  In a large pot, boil potatoes until easily pierced with a fork, approximately 10 minutes.  Drain, peel, and cube potatoes.
2.  In a large bowl, mix potatoes, celery, onion, seasoned salt, black pepper, and sweet salad cubes (add some of the pickle juice as well if you like a sweeter taste).
3.  In a smaller bowl, mix the mayonnaise and mustard (mixing separately will help the two blend better).  Add to the potatoes and mix until potatoes are well coated. Add salt and pepper as needed.  Set aside.
3.  In a small pot, hard-boil eggs, approximately 10 minutes.  Let cool, and then peel.
4.  Using an egg slicer, slice three eggs length-wise and cross wise.  Fold into the potato mixture.
5.  Slice remaining two eggs crosswise, place slices across top of potato salad so that the potato salad is mostly covered.
6.  Sprinkle paprika across the top of the potato salad and serve or chill until ready.

Daddy’s Famous Chicken Wings

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Daddy’s Famous Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
24 Chicken Wings
Seasoned Salt
Pepper
Sauce of choice (we like our family’s secret Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce)

Directions (intended for a Green Egg):
1.  Start a hot fire (approximately 400-450 degrees) in your grill with the dome open, then, close the lid and using both lower and upper vents at half-open/half-covered choke the fire until flames have died down and coals are glowing red
2.  While fire is choking, sprinkle wings with heavy dusting of seasoned salt and pepper (NOTE: do not add spices until at least 10 minutes before ready to go on the grill or else the chicken will dry out)
3.  Placing the chicken on the grill, cook the chicken first for 15 minutes, flip all wings and cook for 25 minutes more all with the dome closed
4.  Check wings for doneness, if you prefer sauced wings, brush sauce across tops of chicken wings, flip wings, and sauce other side; cook for 5 minutes; check wings again, sauce wings again, flip, sauce the other side and cook for 5 minutes more; if you prefer dry wings, continue cooking wings until they have reached desired level of crispiness and Enjoy!

Champagne Floats, & Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

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Champagne Floats

Ingredients:
1 slice, Butter or Lemon Pound Cake
1 cup, Fresh Raspberries, divided
1/2 cup, grated Lemon Peel
Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream
1 bottle, Sparkling Rosé

Directions:
1.  Cut the slice of pound cake into 16 even squares; toast until firm but not burnt to create croutons
2.  In 2 ice cream bowls, evenly divide a half cup of raspberries; spoon several scoops of ice cream over raspberries
3.  Sprinkle and evenly divide the remaining raspberries, lemon zest, and croutons on top of ice cream
4.  Pour Rosé over ice cream as desired and serve immediately

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
Red food coloring
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract

 

Directions:
1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease two 9×2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment; grease paper. Flour pans, tapping to remove excess; set aside. In medium bowl stir together 3-1/3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat butter with mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat 2 minutes more. Add 1/8 tsp. red food coloring; beat to combine. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. In bowl stir together milk, lemonade concentrate, and extract (mixture will look curdled). Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture to butter mixture, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Remove half (4 cups) the batter; spread in one pan. In remaining batter, stir 1/4 tsp. red food coloring. Spread in second pan.
4. Bake about 35 minutes, until tops spring back when lightly touched. Meanwhile, prepare Lemonade Butter Frosting.
5. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove layers from pans; peel off paper. Cool completely on wire racks. Trim off domed tops of layers so cake will stand flat. Cut each layer horizontally in half, making four layers. Brush crumbs from layers.
6. Place one dark pink layer, cut-side down, on a plate. Spread 1 cup frosting just to edges. Top with a light pink layer, followed by second dark pink layer, spreading frosting on each just to edges. Stack final light pink layer, cut-side down. Spread frosting on top and sides as desired.