Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summertime for many of us. We honor the lives of those who have fought for our freedom and spend time with friends and loved ones. It’s a time of picnics, pool parties and cookouts, all of which have something in common: great food!
To help you prepare, we’ve put together a list of simple recipes that will be easy winners for any Memorial Day gathering, whether you’re a host or just a participant. Read on for some delicious ideas that will help you spend less time in the kitchen and more time hanging out this Memorial Day weekend.
Grilled chicken is sure to satisfy, and this recipe by Closet Cooking is an easy-to-make, delicious centerpiece for your Memorial Day gathering.
There are few side-dishes that say summertime more than corn on the cob. Try this delicious recipe by Blissful Basil for a tasty twist on a classic recipe.
It’s not a real cookout if there’s no mac n’ cheese! This recipe for easy macaroni & cheese by Genius Kitchen requires only 30 minutes and serves 6.
This ingenious dessert by Family Fresh Meals takes just a few minutes to prepare. It’s also a relatively healthy option for a dessert dish.
We wish you a great Memorial Day weekend, and hope these recipes make your gathering delicious!
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, you may want to celebrate the end of your winter hibernation by inviting family and loved ones over for a weekend gathering. Or maybe you’ve been asked to help out a friend hosting a backyard cookout. While events like these are joyful, important elements of our social lives, they also take some planning, which can be stressful. We’re here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way!
We’ve put together some basic tips for hosting a great get-together, as well as a few easy recipes for keeping large groups of people well-fed and satisfied.
1. Simple is Better
There’s no need to weigh down the atmosphere with painstaking details that – let’s be honest – only you will notice. Keeping food, decor, and expectations casual will let all your guests know that everyone is just there to have a good time.
2. Make Food in Advance
It’s a good idea to prepare as much food as you can before your guests arrive. You don’t want anyone waiting around with an empty stomach for too long. This will also give you time to adjust if an unforeseen problem arises.
3. Only Clean What’s Necessary
Cleanliness is a good thing, obviously. However, there’s no need to deep clean your home in places where your guests will not be spending any time. Give your attention to bathrooms, the kitchen, and your living room. But don’t sweat the small stuff: nobody will judge you if a throw pillow isn’t fluffed.
Here are two easy, crowd-pleasing recipes from CDKitchen, a great online resource for simple dishes.
Ingredients
Meat:
3 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons dry onion flakes
2 large egg, beaten
2 cups breadcrumbs
2 cans (8 ounce size) tomato sauce
Sauce:
2 cans (8 ounce size) tomato sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
For the meatloaf, combine the ground beef, salt, pepper, and onion flakes until just mixed. Add the beaten egg and breadcrumbs and mix well. Gently mix in the tomato sauce. Shape the meat into small oval loaves and place in a single layer in a baking dish (not touching each other if possible). Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Drain off excess grease.
For the sauce, combine the tomato sauce, brown sugar, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce until well blended. Pour the sauce over the meatloaves in the baking dish and bake for 5 more minutes or until meatloaves are cooked through. Serve hot or cold.
Ingredients
3 cups hot water
12 ears corn on the cob, shucked
Directions
Place a rack in the bottom of an 18-quart roaster oven. Add the water. Cover and heat to 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Place the shucked corn on the rack. Cover, and let the corn cook for 25-30 minutes or until tender. To keep the corn warm during serving, reduce the roaster oven temp to 300 degrees F.
Ingredients
4 potato, cut into cubes
2 onion, cut into cubes
1 bay leaf
1 piece (1 inch size) finely chopped ginger
4 green chiles, sliced lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon panch phoron
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 chopped tomato
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 whole red chiles
salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 bunches chopped cilantro
2 cups water
Directions
For seasoning: Heat oil. Add panch phoron, bay leaf and whole red chili. Fry for 30 seconds. Add potato and onion. Fry for a few minutes. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder. Fry for a few minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and sugar. Fry for few minutes. Add water and cook till potatoes are cooked properly and gravy just thickens. Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve with roti, puri or paratha.
If you start every day with that phrase, then you’re in the right place. Coffee is the world’s favorite drink to wake up with, and it’s become the center point of a modern culinary revolution. Today’s coffee shops have transformed a common cup of Joe into a meticulously measured art form. Lattes and cappuccinos are topped with beautiful foam creations, iced coffee is brewed for 24 hours before it’s ready, and hot brews are poured at specific temperatures for the “perfect flavor profile.”
In addition to being a bit intimidating, the coffee shop can also be a bit overpriced, but with a few basic lessons and a couple pieces of brewing equipment, you’ll be well on your way to transforming your 1st Lake kitchen into the best java joint in the neighborhood!
Coffee beans come in a variety of sizes, colors, and flavors. The variations of flavors depend on the region and conditions in which they were grown. According to The Spruce, “Most regional varietals will fall into two main categories, Robusta or Arabica.”
Robusta coffee beans tend to be used in large-scale commercial brews, and they’re considered to have a more acidic taste and higher caffeine levels. Arabica beans tend to have more diverse flavor notes, but they’re difficult to grow, which increases the demand and price of this superior bean. If you buy your beans from a local coffee shop, you’re most likely buying Arabica beans.
The beans you buy come in a range of caramel to chocolatey brown colors, but they don’t start off that way. The original green colored beans are roasted with a dry heat, but their roasting times play an important role in the coffee’s brewed flavor. The three main categories are light, medium, and dark.
Light roasts retain a larger amount of the bean’s original flavor. They tend to be a little more acidic and feature brighter, sharper tastes and little to no “roasted” notes. Medium roasts have a darker color, an oily appearance, and tend to have a balance between the roasting effects and the bean’s original flavor. Medium beans tend to be the most popular of the three categories. Dark roasts focus heavily on the flavors derived from the roasting process. The bean’s original flavors are almost completely overcome by the roast, so your coffee will have a powerful smoky taste. Dark roasts are typically used in espresso drinks, like lattes and macchiatos.
Gone are the days of basic automatic coffee makers. With this new knowledge, you’ll be able to find the roast you’re the most interested in and brew coffee at home like a pro. If you plan on buying your coffee pre-ground, it’s best to use it as fast as possible. The Perfect Daily Grind says, “Coffee has a shelf life. This will vary, but a good rule of thumb is to only buy the coffee you’ll drink that week. Store your coffee in an airtight container at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.”
If you’re buying roasted beans, you can either grind the beans at home with a hand grinder or electric grinder, or you can bring your bag to a grocery store for grinding. A lot of coffee shops will grind the beans they sell to you before you leave the store. If you’re grinding your beans at home, it’s best to grind only what you will need to brew for that day and store the rest away.
So, you’re probably asking, “What do I do with my coffee now?!”
There are two techniques that have grown in popularity over the past few years: pour over brewing and immersion brewing. You can achieve both of these at home, but you will need some equipment to properly brew using these techniques.
Pour over coffee can be achieved using a coffee-specific glass pitcher, a porcelain dripper, a coffee filter, a kettle of hot water, and a kitchen scale. The porcelain dripper can be placed on top of either the glass pitcher or the coffee mug you intend to drink from. We like Blue Bottle Coffee’s easy-to-follow guide to the perfect pour over coffee.
Immersion coffee is most commonly associated with the French press or AeroPress. You can find French press and AeroPress coffee makers in home goods stores across the Greater New Orleans area. French press style is one of the easiest brewing styles, and unlike the single-serve pour over technique, it allows you to make larger amounts at one time. Follow The Kitchn’s guide to French press brewing here.
Not only will making coffee at home save you money, it will help keep our environment clean of plastic cups and harmful plastic straws. If you’re interested in learning more about the complex range of coffee flavors and roasting styles, you can visit a local coffee shop for one of their free “cupping” lessons. This is a great way to find the flavor profile that suits your tastes and puts you on the fast track to home-brewing glory.
But first, coffee.
Our brand-new luxury living community in Elmwood, Clearwater Creek Premier, is loaded with state-of-the-art features and apartment amenities you won’t find anywhere else in the Greater New Orleans Area. One of our goals for this new development was to provide energy efficient options in every single one of Clearwater Creek Premier’s living spaces.
At the center of this effort are the electric convection range and double-ovens located in the kitchen of each residence. The range uses radiant heating elements on its stovetop, which is significantly more energy efficient than its generic electric coil counterparts. Radiant coils are similar to traditional coil burners, but instead of protruding from the top of the range, they sit under a smooth and flat ceramic surface. Heat is conserved better under the ceramic top, which allows for faster heating times and higher heat outputs. Plus, it’s easier to clean!
Just under the range’s sleek stove are two, that’s right, two ovens! The ovens on this range utilize a dual element baking technique, which combines the efforts of the baking coil and the broiling coil for comprehensive cooking. The smaller top oven is ideal for warming or short cooking times, while the larger, convection-style oven offers delay bake and audible preheating capabilities.
If you’re ready to enjoy all of the perks of your Clearwater Creek Premier stovetop and range, put on your chef’s hat and try your hand at a few of our favorite seasonal recipes below!
Warm up when there’s a chill in the air with this rich and creamy Corn and Crab Soup recipe from Bon Appetit:
Reserve 1/4 cup corn. Bring remaining corn and milk to boil in medium saucepan. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Puree mixture in blender. Add clam juice, 3 tablespoons green onions, and 1 teaspoon ginger; puree again until almost smooth. Return puree to saucepan; bring to simmer. Mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add reserved 1/4 cup corn; sauté 1 minute. Add crab, 1 tablespoon green onions, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 3 teaspoons lemon juice; stir just until warm. Season with salt and pepper. Divide soup among bowls; mound crab mixture in center.
Good luck starts by pre-heating your state-of-the-art oven. Munch on this recipe from My Recipes:
Preheat oven to 425°. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 17- x 12-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until crispy and dry, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes.
Mardi Gras will be here before you know it! Parade your new oven’s capabilities with this popular Mardi Gras King Cake recipe from Epicurious:
If you’re looking to make moves in 2018, consider visiting Clearwater Creek Premier today! Not only will you enjoy the cost-saving benefits of our kitchen appliances, but you’ll gain access to a multitude of other living amenities that will make you feel like you’re living in a luxury resort.
With football season underway and the weather cooling down, fall is truly the perfect time to tailgate in New Orleans. If you’re in need of some football tailgate recipe inspo, take a look at these fun and easy recipes perfect for a crowd.
Sure, we live in New Orleans, but we can enjoy a little love from the Low Country with this creamy, cheesy dip recipe from Food Network. Serve it with tortilla chips and crudité like carrots or celery.
Ingredients:
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, green onions and cayenne pepper. Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish, such as a 9-inch pie pan. Top the mixture with the cracker crumbs and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and top with the bacon.
These aren’t exactly healthy, but roasting is a better alternative than typical breaded, fried poppers while adding deep, complex flavor.
Ingredients:
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut 1/3 of each pepper off lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place on a baking sheet. If peppers do not sit flat on the baking sheet, slice a thin piece off the bottom of the pepper so it will not roll around.
Mash the feta, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cilantro, and onion together and stuff the peppers with the mixture. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is brown at the edges and bubbly.
Finish on a salty-sweet note with these delectable dessert bars!
Ingredients:
For the base
For the filling and glaze
Recipe:
Make the base: Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, extending it over the sides. Put the butter in a medium heatproof bowl; position the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water). Once the butter melts, stir in the sugar and cocoa. Whisk in the egg; cook, whisking, until the mixture is warm and the consistency of hot fudge, 6 minutes. Remove from the heat; mix in the saltine crumbs and peanuts. Press the crust into the pan. Set aside the saucepan of water.
Make the filling: Spread the jelly over the crust in the pan; place in the freezer for a few minutes. Beat 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter, the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar with a mixer until light. Spread over the jelly layer; return to the freezer while you make the glaze.
Place the chocolate and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a heatproof bowl; set over the pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat; stir until smooth. When cool but still runny, spread the glaze over the chilled peanut butter layer. Freeze for another 30 minutes.
Use the foil flaps to remove the bars from the pan; cut into squares while still cold. Serve cold and keep leftovers refrigerated.
All recipes via FoodNetwork.com
Check out more great recipes here!
1st Lake Properties | P. O. Box 73709 | Metairie, LA 70033 | info@1stlake.com
