Here are all the recipes from the post Summer Vibes | The BBQ. Please note that the recipes included here were provided by readers of the Dancing At the Edge blog, and have not been officially tested or vetted. When possible, I’ve included an internet link to the recipe. When available, I’ve provided specific source information. Most recipes, though, have just been shared by readers themselves.

I hope you’ll be inspired to try something new . . . next time you’re looking for a tasty, summer-y dish to pass!

Happy eating!

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ON THE APPS TABLE

Kat’s Charcuterie Board

Arrange an assortment of Italian meats and cheeses, a variety of crackers, slices of melon, and some fig jam on a charcuterie board or tray and serve.

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Carole’s Deviled Eggs

  • 12 large eggs, hardboiled and peeled
  • ¼ cup mayo
  • 3T sweet relish
  • 1T yellow mustard
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Paprika for sprinkling

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and put in a medium-sized bowl.

Add the mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, mustard, salt, pepper. Use a fork to mash well. Add a little more mayonnaise if needed for a creamy consistency.

Spoon or pipe the filling into each egg white. Sprinkle with paprika.

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Mary’s Caprese Skewers

The recipe is just tomatoes, basil, and those little fresh mozzarella balls, skewered on a toothpick. With maybe a little salt and pepper.

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Jane’s Hummus with Roasted Tomato and Basil

Although Jane just mentioned making this in passing for a recent barbecue she’d attended and not for purposes of this post, exactly. . .  I thought it would be a great addition, so I’m including the inspiration for it anyway. Here is a link to a recipe for Hummus with Roasted Tomato and Basil for you. It’s not Jane’s recipe, but it’s probably fairly close. (Jane served her hummus with fresh veggies.)

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Patty’s Antipasti Bites

Here is a link to this deliciously simple online recipe.

Patty’s Fresh Lime Margaritas

Patty shared the ingredient list for her Lime Margaritas. She told me she uses store-bought simple syrup. If you want more detailed instructions, here’s a link to the whole recipe. Here’s Patty’s ingredient list:

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FROM THE GRILL

Kym’s Fish Tacos

This tried-and-true family favorite is from the Great Food Fast cookbook (from Food Everyday/Martha Stewart Living). Modification: We usually use more tilapia than the recipe calls for, and we cook it on the grill.

             

SALADS & SIDES

Bonny’s Napa Cabbage Salad with Ramen Noodles

(Bonny tells me that her recipe is for Ramen Noodle Salad, which is also called Napa Cabbage Salad. But in her family, they just refer to it as . . . That Good Salad.)

Bonny notes that she has made a few changes to the original recipe she received in the interest of saving some calories, but she also tells me that she doesn’t think the taste is compromised; in fact, she likes it better. Here’s the original recipe with Bonny’s changes noted.

1 stick of butter (I don’t use)
2 pkgs Ramen noodles – crushed, discard the flavor packet
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (I don’t use, cashews are enough)
Melt butter and saute above ingredients until browned (I don’t do this)

1 head Napa cabbage
1 small onion
Chop cabbage and onion and combine in bowl.

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil (I use 2/3-3/4 cup)
1 cup sugar (I use 1/2-2/3 cup)
1/2 cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
Mix well

Combine Ramen, nuts, cabbage, onion, and dressing about 1/2 hour before serving. (I don’t do this. I think the salad is better if the noodles soak up the dressing and the tastes meld, so I put it all together in the morning and eat way too much at dinner.) I’m trying it this week with broccoli slaw mix in place of the Napa cabbage (because ours aren’t ready in the garden yet) so we’ll see how that tastes.

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Vera’s Eggplant Marinara

Ingredients

  • 1 eggplant (~ 1 lb) peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1/4 C vinegar (rice wine or red wine)
  • 1/4 C chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/4 C raisins
  • 2 TBS chopped pimiento
  • 2 TBS pine nuts, toasted
  • 2 TBS EVOO

Procedure

  • Simmer eggplant for 5 minutes and then drain
  • Mix together: vinegar, basil, oregano, sugar, garlic, s&p.  Stir in eggplant, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Stir occasionally.
  • 1 hour before serving: add raisins, pimiento, pine nuts and EVOO.  Cover and set aside.  Stir occasionally.
  • Serve at room temp.

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Linda’s Rice and Black Bean Salad

You can find Linda’s tasty recipe online . . . just click here. (Linda notes that this salad travels well, and the beans add some protein into the mix. She tells me the dressing is the key to all the flavor — it makes the vegetables sparkle.)

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Vicki’s Fresh Fruit Salad

Vicki sent me her formula for a super easy and delicious fruit salad. Here it is:  Honeydew, green grapes, kiwi, blueberries (and/or blackberries), currants, and fresh basil, drizzled & lightly tossed with good honey.

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Chloe’s Lime Rice

Chloe sent this simple recipe off the top of her head:

Jasmine rice, dressed with fresh-squeezed lime juice to taste (and maybe a bit of olive oil), chopped scallions, and bite-size pieces of chopped-up supermarket rotisserie chicken all tossed with parsley or cilantro.

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Debbie’s Greek Orzo Salad

Debbie says she tried this salad (from Ina Garten’s latest cookbook, Go To Dinners) for an actual barbecue earlier this month. She notes that she served it cold.

             

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Dee’s Mom’s Macaroni Salad

Okay. Dee absolutely wins the prize here for her mom’s recipe! (Dee’s mom’s recipe for macaroni salad is as elusive as my own mom’s recipe for potato salad was . . .) Anyway, I’m going to share Dee’s recipe exactly as she shared with me. Enjoy!

I asked my mom for her macaroni salad. I’m typing it down EXACTLY as it was told to me……measurements her exact words when I asked “how much?”.
  • Elbow macaroni ————how many people are you feeding. Make enough for all of them.
  • Chopped celery and carrot ———- when it looks like enough.
  • Miracle Whip —– enough to make it sloppy.
  • Celery Seed ————at this point, she just started rolling her eyes.
  • Salt and pepper ————-I didn’t even ask.
That’s the recipe. Hope you enjoy it. I’ve made it this way for years and it always turns out just fine. (I did go rogue one year and put sliced hard boiled egg on top. My mom just rolled her eyes.)

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Carolyn’s One-Dish Mexican Street Corn

(Technical difficulties here; please check back later.)

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Kathy’s Greek Village Salad

You can find Kathy’s tasty recipe online . . . just click here. Kathy tells me that she never uses the recipe, though. She just chunks up roughly equal volumes of tomatoes, cukes, and feta; adds onion and kalamata olives to taste, and dresses with olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano.

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Pam’s Garden Fresh Roasted Green Beans

Pam says her garden is loaded with fresh green beans right now, so she’ll just roast some in olive oil and garlic (in a pan, on the grill), and squeeze some lemon on top!

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Margene’s Watermelon and Tomato Salad

Margene has another fresh-from-the-garden/just-throw-it-together concoction for us: cut-up watermelon and tomato chunks sprinkled with mint and feta cheese.

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Christine’s Garden-Fresh Cucumbers

And Christine has another simple, garden-inspired side dish: she likes to slice cucumbers very thin, and then marinate them with seasoned rice vinegar.

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Jane’s Strawberry Spinach Salad

Jane explains that her recipe is “a bit loose but workable,” and comes from Beyond Parsley, a cookbook put together by the Junior League of KC. (Kym’s note: I always find old Junior League cookbooks to be full of fabulous recipes!)

Toss together in a large salad bowl:
1 bag of baby spinach
1 box of fresh strawberries, sliced – plus more for the dressing
Toasted Slivered Almonds
3 oz Feta Cheese
Dressing:
Mash 1/2 c. strawberries to release juice. Combine with
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. sugar
1/4c. canola oil
few drops of Sesame Oil
a dash of S and P.
Whisk or shake all ingredients together. Dress salad just before serving.

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Kym’s Deli Pickle Potato Salad

I love potato salad, and so does everyone in my family. While my mom used to be the Queen of Potato Salad in our family, sadly. . . she took her recipe with her when she died. (It was never written down, and she never quite got around to sharing her potato salad secrets with us.) Anyway, I try all kinds of potato salads – usually with great results – and this has been my go-to potato salad this summer. It’s from Deb Perelman’s newest cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers.

             

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SWEET FINISHERS

Marilyn’s Rhubarb Cream Cake

Marilyn even sent me a photo of her Rhubarb Cream Cake!

Here’s the recipe:

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or use Pam on a 9X13″ pan.
  • Cut up 4 cups of rhubarb and put on bottom of pan.
  • Sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the rhubarb.
  • Mix either white or yellow cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Pour over the rhubarb and sugar.
  • Pour 2 cups of cream over the top of the cake mix.
  • Bake for 1 hour.
  • Can be served with whipped cream or Cool whip.

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Kim’s Blueberry Cobbler

You can find Kim’s tasty recipe online — just click here. Kim is also planning to bring some homemade vanilla ice cream to go with the cobbler.

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Sarah’s S’mores Rice Krispies Treats

Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
one 12 oz. jar marshmallow spread (2 1/2 cups)
7 cups puffed rice cereal
2 sheets graham crackers chopped
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Grease a 9×13 in. baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallow spread and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter and marshmallow spread are well blended (3-5 minutes). Turn off the heat, add the rice cereal and graham crackers, and stir until well combined. Immediately fold in the chocolate chips.
Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish and let cool until set (3 hrs. at room temperature or 30 min. in the refrigerator). Cut into squares. For extra indulgence, put several squares onto a metal skewer and toast over a fire or grill.
(Okay. So it’s that last line that gets me . . . “for extra indulgence, put several squares onto a metal skewer and toast over a fire or grill.” Oh. Yes. Please.)

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Lora’s Lemon Bars

Lora uses Ina Garten’s fabulous Lemon Bars recipe to make her bars — and it can be found online. Here’s the link!

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Carole’s Blueberry Pie

Here’s the recipe for Carole’s favorite summer dessert!

  • 5-6 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 3 T. corn starch
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tea. Salt
  • Pie crust of your choice

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix blueberries, lemon juice, corn starch, sugar, and salt. Stir gently, being careful not to crush the berries. Let the mixture bubble until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Roll out one disc of dough, and fit it into your pie plate. Pour blueberry filling in, and spread evenly if necessary. Roll out second disc of dough and cover the pie however you like, crimping and sealing the edges. Coat in egg-wash and sugar if preferred, and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes before placing in the oven. Bake pie on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper to catch drips. Bake for about 40 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Use foil or a pie shield to protect outer crust from browning too much after about 20 minutes. Let pie cool for at least one hour before serving.

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Christine’s S’mores Squares

You can find Christine’s yummy S’mores recipe online – just click here. Christine recommends using parchment paper to make it easier to remove the bars from the pan and then cut them into squares.

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Thank you to everyone for sharing your recipes!