Recipes for Memorial Day Gatherings

From your first cocktail to dessert time, we’ve got your holiday weekend menu roundup.

Cherry Moscow Mule

From Recipes From Trisha’s Southern Kitchen

6 ounces ginger ale
6 ounces ginger beer
4 ounces vodka
3 splashes cherry juice
2 limes, juiced, plus wedges, for garnish

Divide the ginger ale, ginger beer, vodka, lime juice, and cherry juice between 2 lowball glasses or copper mugs. Stir to combine. Add ice and serve with lime wedges.

Blueberry-Basil Margarita

Courtesy RJ Mexican Cuisine

½ ounce agave nectar
½ ounce lime juice
¼ ounce lemon juice
¾ ounce blueberry simple syrup (or blueberry honey)
1½ ounces preferred top-shelf reposado tequila
¾ ounce Grand Marnier
4 blueberries
2 basil leaves

Combine the agave nectar, lime juice, lemon juice, blueberry simple syrup, tequila, and Grand Marnier in a cocktail shaker. Shake.

Pour over ice and garnish with blueberries and basil leaves.

Oak-Grilled New York Steaks

From Santa Maria-Style Barbecue Recipes From Alisal Guest Ranch And Resort

6 (10-ounce) New York strip steaks

Basting Sauce

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons garlic-infused vegetable oil

Seasoning Salt

1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
3 teaspoons salt

Mix basting sauce ingredients together, and mix seasoning salt ingredients together. Coat both sides of steaks with basting sauce and place on hot grill. Season tops of the steaks with salt mixture. Turn the steaks before the heat causes the juices to come out the tops of the steaks. Baste and season the tops of the steaks. Turn the steaks 2 more times, basting and seasoning after each turn. Continue turning the steaks until they are done to your liking. Check doneness with a meat thermometer.

Smoked Brisket

From The Texas Food Bible by Dean Fearing

When buying brisket, allow about 3 servings per pound of trimmed meat. If the meat has not been trimmed, calculate about 2 servings per pound.

(Serves 4 to 6)

2 cups Fearing’s Barbecue Spice Blend (recipe follows)
1 10- to 12-pound beef brisket, fat trimmed to a thickness of ¼ inch

Using your hands, generously massage the spice mix into all sides of the meat; it should be well coated. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Prepare the smoker as directed by the manufacturer. When the fire is gray and ashy, add your soaked or green wood pieces (the wood should begin to smoke almost immediately) and cover. Open both the top and the bottom vents and, once the smoke has settled, take the interior temperature. It needs to be at least 220 degrees and no more than 250 degrees. Insert the bottom grill grate and place a pan of water on it, opposite the coals. Insert the top grill grate and lay the brisket on it directly over the water. Cover and smoke, replenishing your coals as needed, for about 5 hours, or until the internal temperature registers 160 degrees.

Keeping the fire/smoke going, remove the brisket and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. You can, if desired, coat it in a barbecue sauce or additional spice mix before wrapping. If it seems dry, you can pour about 1 cup of beer or stock over it before wrapping, taking care that all the liquid stays within the wrap. Return the brisket to the smoker and smoke for an additional 2 hours, or until the internal temperature registers 190 degrees. Uncover and let the fire die out, leaving the wrapped brisket on the grate for another hour. Unwrap and place on a cutting board to catch the juices as you carve.

(Chef’s note: Here’s a little tip I learned from old-time Texas pitmasters: When you want to know if your brisket is cooked to perfection, take a meat fork and stick it down into the center of the meat and give it a twist. If it twists easily, the meat is ready to eat.)

Fearing’s Barbecue Spice Blend

From The Texas Food Bible by Dean Fearing

(Makes about ¾ cup)

¼ cup Pendery’s chile powder blend
1 tablespoon ground chipotle chile
1 tablespoon ground dried ancho chile
1 tablespoon hickory-smoked salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon granulated garlic
½ tablespoon Aleppo pepper
¼ tablespoon freshly ground pepper

Place the Pendery’s chile powder in a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine. Store, tightly covered, in a cool, dark spot until ready to use. Keeps for 3 months.

Stuffed Pasilla Chiles

From Santa Maria-Style Barbecue Recipes From Alisal Guest Ranch And Resort

4 large pasilla chiles
8 Channel or Gulf shrimp
4 ounces provolone cheese, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Roast chiles directly over flame until totally blackened. Remove from heat and cover with a clean cloth. Let cool, then peel off the burnt skin. Carefully clean out core and seeds, leaving chiles intact.

For marinade: Combine olive oil, butter, wine, and lemon juice. Skewer shrimp and grill, basting with marinade while they cook. Chop shrimp and mix with cheese. Stuff chiles with shrimp and cheese mixture. Return chiles to the grill and cook until cheese is melted.

Smoked Corn With Alabama White Sauce

Courtesy The Resort at Paws Up

(Serves 16)

16 ears fresh corn
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup apple cider
1 tablespoon jarred horseradish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon black pepper, cracked
½ teaspoon salt
½  teaspoon cayenne pepper
Cotija cheese, crumbled
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven or smoker to 250 degrees.

With the husks still on, wash and smoke the corn for 2 hours or until the kernels are soft.

For the Alabama white sauce, whisk together mayonnaise, cider vinegar, cider, horseradish, lemon juice, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Peel the husks back and gently torch the kernels with a kitchen torch. If you don’t own a torch, place corn on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; cook 2 – 4 minutes or until corn is lightly browned, turning frequently.

Drizzle corn with sauce and top with Cotija cheese and cilantro.

Butterscotch Pie

From Recipes From Trisha’s Southern Kitchen

1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large eggs, separated
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 9-inch pie crust, homemade or purchased, prebaked as directed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, heavy cream, and butter. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil, becoming thick and brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the milk. Slowly add the remaining milk to the sugar mixture.

Whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks, vanilla, and reserved 1 tablespoon of milk in a medium bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sugar mixture over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the prebaked pie crust.

Make a meringue by beating the egg whites and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until they begin to set stiff. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and hold peaks. Spread the meringue on top of the pie, taking care to spread it to the edges of the crust. Bake until light brown, about 10 minutes.

More Recipes For Memorial Day

Recipes From West Texas
Recipe: Avocado Fundido
Top Chef Brooke Williams’ Lobster Roll Recipe
Recipe: Brush Creek Ranch’s Grilled Cowboy Bison Rib-Eye
Recipe: Brazos River Lodge’s Smoked Beef Ribs
Cocktail Recipe: Blackberry Refresher