THE PREFECT HAMBURGER

HOW TO MAKE THE PREFECT HAMBURGER

Burgers may be the basic of all picnic menus, but they needn't be boring. Jazzed up with spices and seasonings or topped with your favorite condiments, a good burger is hard to beat. From basic lettuce, tomato, and pickle to sautéed onions or bacon, the possibilities are endless. Burgers just taste better when cooked on the grill and enjoyed outdoors.

Building a better burger is easy when you follow these suggestions:
Make sure the grill is the appropriate temperature too hot, and the burgers will burn on the outside before getting done on the inside. Medium-low to medium heat is best.
Keep the lid closed while cooking. A closed lid retains heat, shortening the cooking time and thus keeping the burgers moist.
Use beef that is no leaner than 85% Fat is needed for the burgers to be moist and flavorful.
If using ground turkey or chicken, add a little broth or olive oil to keep them moist.
Use a gentle touch overworking the mixture will produce a tough burger. Mix ingredients just until combined.
Don't form patties too thick or too thin A ¾-inch thick patty is ideal for even cooking. To keep patties from swelling in the middle, make small indention in the center.
Always clean and oil the grill grate This prevents burgers from sticking, extends the life of your grate and helps put those beautiful grill-marks on your patties.
Turn burgers only once and never, ever, press burgers with the back of a spatula: the sizzling sound may be fun to make, but the pressure releases all of the flavorful juices.
Cook burgers properly for safety's sake; cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (170 degrees F for poultry).
To check the temperature, insert the thermometer into the patty horizontally for an accurate reading.

SOUL FOOD FAMILY OUTING MENUS

When you are planning a picnic, family group picnic or just an old-fashioned get together, these soul food picnic menus work quite well for outdoor gatherings.

PICNIC MENUS

GRILLED SMOKED SAUSAGE
Grilled Hamburgers
Macaroni Salad
Baked Beans or Chips
Watermelon Wedges
Sandwich Buns
Lemonade/Iced Tea

BBQ CHICKEN
Grilled Hamburgers
Grilled Hot Dogs
Southern Potato Salad
Macaroni Salad or Corn on Cob
Rolls and Buns
Lemonade/Raspberry Tea

BBQ SPARE RIBS
Grilled Smoked Sausage
Southern Potato Salad
Fresh Garden Salad with Dressing
Baked Beans
Rolls and Buns
Lemonade/Raspberry Tea

Mini Sandwiches
Potato Chips
Fresh Fruit
Cookies
Lemonade/Raspberry Tea

KIDS PICNIC MENUS

GRILLED HOT DOGS WITH BUNS
Corn on Cob
Baked Beans
Potato Chips
Cookies
Fruit Punch

OLD-FASHIONED LEMONADE

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup boiling water
1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice
4 ½ cups cold water
Ice cubes
Lemon Slices

Place sugar, boiling water, and lemon juice in a 2 quart pitcher and stir vigorously with a spoon until sugar is dissolved. Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Add cold water, ice cubes and lemon slices. Stir. Pour over ice cubes in a 10to 12 ounce glass.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

MAY BLOG

I know we're only in the middle of May and it almost feels like summer to me! Temperatures are up, the sky’s are BLUE, birds are singing, flowers are blooming and showing their beautiful colors. I spent the whole day watching my husband and the boys work in the yard. I prepare some of my Homemade Lemon Aid and Sweet Tea to keep them happy. Boy! I'm happy, it will be ready for Memorial Day cook out. Our family always comes together Memorial Day to honor our love one so we will never forget them.
What cookin’ this month, a few summer dishes, favorite back yard party menus, and great picnic lunches to take with you to the beach, park, sporting events, and afternoon in the park concerts or movies.

WHAT IS SOUL FOOD

In the mid 1960's when the civil Right Movement was just beginning, terms like soul man, soulful and just soul were used in connection with blacks. It caught on with main stream American and someone coined the term, soul food for the black cuisine and it stuck. My dad said when they gave pork the name soul food the price of pig parts and pig inners double in price and everything the Government though was soul food the price was double and that was the end of low cost PIG PARTS.

Each black family, however, has it’s own idea of what is soul food.
Today most people think of soul food, is a table heavy with trays of watermelon, ribs, candied sweet potatoes or yams, greens and fried chicken. Hogshead cheese sliced on saltine crackers with hot sauce and beer is one such dish. Crab cakes, carrot and raisin salad, fried cornpone, hush puppies, red beans and rice, greens, liver and onions, lima beans with ham hogs, stewed okra and tomatoes, cornbread dipped in buttermilk, fried catfish, smothered chicken, pickled pigs feet, cabbage, neck bones, tongue, chittlin’s, tripe, gumbo, breaded fried pork chops with a mess of green, black-eyed peas…..…… and grits. Although grits is truly a southern dish.

Our family idea of soul food cooking is how really good southern
Black Cooks, cooked. They would cook with what they had available to them; such as chickens from their own back yard and collard greens they grew themselves, as well as home cured ham, and baking powder biscuits, chitlins and other pig parts.