Traditional Picnic Food

Now that I've started this blog, I've been waiting and waiting for an occasion to write about. And I thought I had my chance: my younger brother's birthday. I usually go up to Toledo where he lives and cook for him for his birthday. This year he asked me to come up and cook a BBQ for his friends. Cool. My brother, Steve, is 23, and enjoys a good time. He and his friends spend a lot of time at bars (though, they don't usually go for dinner) and hangout...which also never includes food. However, this BBQ was to be held at my mom's house...so it would most definitely only include food and limeaide.

I started coming up with ideas right away. Maybe a bar food menu with grilled wings, potato wedges and pretzels with beer cheese... Or maybe he'd want something light and summery like BLT's on baguettes with watermelon and potato salad. So I called him up and asked him what he wanted. Hot dogs and hamburgers. Really? Not even hamburgers and brat's?...just hot dogs and hamburgers? Yes. "His friends won't care." Okay, so traditional picnic food (sometimes I forget that a lot of people really just like the classics). I wasn't sure how adventurous his friends are so I kept it to simple guy food with some small twists.
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Blackened hamburgers
(I couldn't bring myself to make hot dogs...sorry)
For every one pound of meat, I add 1 small finely chopped onion and about a Tbsp of steak sauce (for extra juiciness). I like to make big, thick patties ( about 3 per pound). Then I coat the patties in a mixture of black pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and mustard powder. I try to grill them medium-medium well. I don't want to get sick , but I don't want to eat hockey pucks either. The key in cooking them is to get a nice sear on the spices. If the heat is to low and the spices sort of bake in, the burger is WAY too spicy. If the spices "blacken" a bit without totally charring, the flavor is fantastic!

If you really want to have some fun, grill some fresh pineapple for these burgers and serve them with teriyaki sauce. Oh man!

Taco Salad
(Mark's favorite salad. I usually make it as a main dish.)
1 pound hamburger meat, browned and seasoned like taco meat (I use chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. You can also use one of those taco seasoning packets)
1 head lettuce, chopped (something that is really nice and crisp)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 package shredded cheese
1/2 bag of Doritos, broken up
Italian salad dressing to taste

Mix it all up. I wait to put in the wet stuff and the chips until just before serving so it doesn't get all mushy.

Hormel Chili Cheese Dip
(This is my most requested party food outside of Welsh Rarebit, and it's so easy I find it embarrassing to admit that I "make" it)
3 cans Hormel Chili (This is a canned chili product. I prefer the texture of the vegetarian.)
2 blocks cream cheese

Melt everything together in the microwave, and serve with tortilla chips
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As it turns out, Steve's friends aren't used to eating at their BBQ's, I guess. Because none of them came hungry. In fact, none of his friends, except his girlfriend and one other guy, even ventured into the house to be tempted by the food (our family had finished eating when they came). Oh well. Steve really appreciated it anyway. And, my mom's husband Matt loved it. He ate two heaping plates full.