Giant Portabella with Leeks and Feta Cheese
Memorial Day isn't just about meat. Though meaty, these giant portabella mushrooms from Palm's Mushroom Cellar are easy to prepare. Place 1/2 cup of sesame oil and 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
in a bowl. Add a chopped leek (Black Earth Valley Farm), making sure the liquid saturates the mushroom gills.
Place on a preheated grill (medium heat), with gills facing up. Place the leeks on top of the mushrooms. Grill until the mushroom is supple.
Remove from the grill and sprinkle with some feta cheese (Capri Cheesery)
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Cheesy Bun Hamburger
Prepare your meat. We used Cherokee Bison Farms ground bison, added a chopped green onion (Yang's Produce), an egg (Pecatonica Valley Farm) and 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs. Mix well and form one pound into four patties.
Place on a very hot grill for five minutes. Turn over and cook another three minutes. Normally the way to cook bison is slow and cool. We've added moisture and used a relatively short cooking time. Ours were quite moist.
Place on a warmed Stella's Bakery hot and spicy cheese bread bun. Add a tomato slice (Don's Produce) and lettuce (Hummel's Farm).
OR...
... for a super double cheesy treat, add Farmer John's Veggie Co-Jack cheese in the last two minutes or so on the grill. (We admit we went a little bit overboard and instead of "super" double cheesy we ended up with "ridiculously" super double cheesy. We had to Photoshop out some of John's cheese or it would have run all over your keyboard.)
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With a Salad on the SideSame burger as above, except this time we've made it about half the size (eight burgers to the pound), added Tilston Blue Cheese from
Hook's Cheese, and placed it on a
Silly Yak Bakery Whole Wheat Bun. We've added a salad on the side using mixed greens from the DCFM and suggest using a little Horseradish with Beets from
Land of Oo's for a little (OK, a lot) of zing for the burger.
For the salad add some vinaigrette from
Renaissance Farm, salsa from
Tomato Mountain Farm, or infused vinegars from
Nord Haus Gartens and Crafts with sunflower oil from
Driftless Organics or
Cherokee Bison Farms.
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Quick and Easy Grilled SideUse a similar marinade to the one you used above for the mushroom except, use 1/2 cup sunflower oil from the market and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar. We used shittake mushrooms from
Herb'n'Oyster, leeks from
Black Earth Valley Farm, and green onions from
Wa Lee Xiong.Let them marinade for 15 minutes or so. Place them on a vegetable tray on the grill over medium heat. While they are grilling take a couple of tomatoes (
Canopy Gardens), cut them in quarters and put them in the marinade. After the vegetables have grilled for around ten minutes add the tomatoes to them. Grill for another five minutes or until the vegetables are supple.
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Barbeque Grilled Country Ribs
These are super easy and super delicious. We used country ribs from Fountain Prairie Inn and Farms. Trim any fat wider than a quarter inch or so. Place the ribs on a very hot grill for five minutes. Turn over, lower the heat to medium and add your favorite barbecue sauce. Grill for another five to eight minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
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Quick Hunan Grilled Chicken
(Photo and recipe by Sue Lau)
We actually didn't cook the specific dish that is shown. The electrical power went out and we were a little nervous about our knife work in the dark (Actually, we're not that keen on it in the light, either). But we've made this dish in the past and can attest to its tastiness. [RECIPE]
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Finally, Dessert
Rhubarb Pie!
For this one there's no baking involved. That's because Larry and Loretta at Pilgrim's Pantry have done it for you. Check out their six inch pies then choose several to serve at your Memorial Day fest. The nice thing is that at six inches you can afford to mix and match so everybody will find their favorite on your dessert table!
--Photos by Bill Lubing
except where noted.
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