Second Spring: The Food of the Fourth (and Drink)

There is just something about summer time food.

Things you don't usually eat unless the temps and the fun are running high.

Here is our Fourth (or the weekend before, in this year's case) of July Menu.

We enjoyed "Mundo's Ribs" also know as "Andy-que"

This is the basic idea/recipe that was used this year for the ribs.

Start with 6 racks of ribs.

For the Rub:

4tbls brown sugar

2tbls paprika

2tbls essence of emeral

2tbls garlic powder

2tbls black pepper

2tbls kosher salt

2tsp cayenne pepper

Mix the rub ingredients well and rub thoroughly on the racks of ribs.

Wrap the ribs and put in the refrigerator over night.

Grill all day long (about 6 hrs) on a Weber grill 200-250 degrees. Start with ribs, bone side down. The first hour of cooking, smoke with apple and cherry wood briquets.

Rotate the rack of ribs from back to front about half way through the total cooking process.

Grilled corn on the cob and garlic bread. The gang likes to wrap the bread and corn in foil and grill until done. The bread gets unwrapped and grill marks are 'applied'. We fancy it up that way. tee hee.

Grilled zucchini

I wasn't in on this recipe, but slicing the zucchinis into 'steaks' and then marinating in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, smashed garlic, salt and pepper and some lemon juice usually does the trick.

Grandma's Mac Salad

This recipe will yield about 6 servings

Ingredients

2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed, and drained

1/3 cup diced celery

1/4 cup minced red onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained (I have left this out when I made it while pregnant/nursing, because onions and Fifi weren't agreeing, and it still came out really good)

1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 tablespoons sour cream

1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl combine the macaroni, celery, onion, and parsley. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, 2 mustards, Worcestershire sauce, relish, sugar, vinegar, sour cream and salt. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold (it just doesn't taste right unless it has chilled, so plan ahead for this one, it's worth it).

Store covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. I promise, it won't last that long though.

Also enjoyed before dinner, Garden Party Cocktails.