During the summer months growing up, our house on Stonehedge Drive in Southaven was party central for the neighborhood.
In addition to all the extra teenagers congregating there, friends of my sisters and me, my parents’ friends and neighbors would roll in around sundown from work to say hello. Then, the grill was lit, my mother whipped up a couple of dips and sides, and someone was sent to the store for ice. People borrowed swim trunks and bathing suits, and the ultimate cookout happened – completely spur-of-the-moment.
These friends and neighbors were like second parents to my sisters and me, and my parents were second parents to their children. We came and went from house to house on foot or bicycle and sometimes by riding lawnmowers (a story all on its on), knowing we would find a cold drink or a listening ear or a rowdy round of karaoke just down the road.
And there was never a dull moment. Oh, the stories I could tell!
I was blessed with a happy childhood filled with laugher and unforgettable memories and lifelong friends -- some of the best, most entertaining characters you will ever meet.
And in all of these memories of growing up, there is one common theme. A visit from friends, a grill, and a dang good time.
So as we kick off summer this weekend with Memorial Day, I urge you to fire up a grill and make some memories.
My husband, Keith, and I grill often. I like to think of it as the “Yay! I’m not cooking” night, and I encourage it two or three times a week. Keith looks as it as part of being male – build a fire, cook meat, bang chest.
I love a foil packet meal. Whether you put it on the grill or in the oven, wrap it up in an aluminum foil packet, and you have a meal in one neat little package. And cleanup is a snap.
This recipe is on my list to try this summer.
Grilled Shrimp Boil in a foil packet
1 pound diced red potatoes
2 ears corn, shucked and cut into six pieces
Four ounces of chicken or turkey Cajun-style andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon Old Bay seafood seasoning to taste
Preheat grill to about 425 degrees. Cut eight sheets of 12 by 12 sheets of aluminum foil. Use two sheets of foil per packet. Place whole potatoes (poke holes in them!) on a plate and microwave on high power for 1 1/2 minutes, rotate and microwave 1 1/2 minutes longer. Once cool enough to handle, dice. Divide potatoes among each of the four double lined foil sheets (layering ingredients in center), followed by corn, sausage and shrimp.
Melt butter in a microwave safe dish in microwave. Stir in lemon juice, thyme and garlic. Divide butter mixture among packets drizzling about two tablespoons evenly over each. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon of the seasoning. Wrap up sides of first sheet of foil, then place second sheet going opposite length and wrap while crimping edges to seal. Grill sealed side up about 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and shrimp have cooked through.
My daddy used to be part of the Paddlewheel Porkers barbecue cooking team that competed at Southaven Springfest, Memphis in May, and others. The guys on this team were a bunch of characters, and the tales of their adventures are those of legends, well, to those of us who knew them best.
Now these guys could cook! And due to his help with the barbecue team, daddy picked up some of their tricks of the trade. To me, the best thing daddy produced on the grill was his chicken leg quarters. I haven’t had anyone top them to this day, although my sisters and I are working to reproduce this nostalgic summer holiday favorite.
Grilled Chicken Quarters
Rub
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a zipper bag and add the chicken. Chill and marinade in the refrigerator for four hours.
Grill the chicken on a well-oiled grill until it's browned on all sides, turning once. About 30 to 40 minutes (meat near thigh bones should no longer be pink when tested with the tip of a knife).
Many years ago, at the anniversary of our first year of dating, Keith and I went to dinner at one of those Brazilian steakhouses – the ones where the waiters bring you meat after meat until you display a red card alerting them to stop.
They seated Keith and me on the same side of a table in a small alcove framed with a canopy of white curtains, and waiters came before us displaying the various grilled fares. It was a complete production, and we had a blast.
At the end of the meal, we were getting up from the table to leave, and as I stood up, I reached for the wall of the alcove to steady myself. However, the wall was an illusion, and I took a header into the curtains.
Now this restaurant was busy. Very busy. And I don’t think anyone would have noticed my little accident if I hadn’t have alerted them with my scream. And they might not have seen me on the floor if my feet hadn’t tangled in the curtains.
Keith: “Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone saw.”
Me: “Then why are they laughing?”
Keith: “Well, they might have seen.”
Even after all of the meat we ate at this Brazilian steakhouse, our absolute favorite dish was the grilled pineapple, and we brought the idea home for our own cookouts. You can also grill fresh peaches the same way.
Grilled pineapple
1 pineapple, rind cut off, cored, and sliced into 1/2 -3/4 inch slices
1/4 cup brown sugar
Canola oil spray
Toss the pineapple with the brown sugar and let sit for ten minutes.
Spray the grill with canola oil or wipe some on with a paper towel. Cook the pineapple for two to three minutes on medium heat. Flip over and do the same.
