First Cookout of the Season

On Saturday the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was sunny, barely a cloud in the sky, and that perfect spring temperature (somewhere in the 70s) where there's a slight breeze and no humidity. We invited our friends C & D over for the first cookout of the season.


We got some ground beef from the Amish market to make burgers and grilled some hot dogs. Potato chips, potato salad and coleslaw rounded out the meal.


C made brownies, which I just realized I didn't photograph. Trust me, they were delicious. She also brought some fruit to help cut the richness of the brownies.

Memorial Day Cookout

On Sunday we had friends over for a Memorial Day cookout. They brought chips and salsa that we enjoyed out in the back yard, along with Rum Runners and Pina Coladas:


SP grilled up some hamburgers and hot dogs:


... and I made pasta salad:


I was really pleased with the pasta salad. Our guests had requested a traditional pasta salad with Italian dressing; something I've never made. I couldn't use something bottled so I made my own Italian dressing using this recipe and tossed it with the hot pasta. I also diced green and orange peppers, tomatoes, olives, broccoli, celery, red onion and scallion and tossed everything together with a little more dressing. It was really good, if I do say so myself. My plate:


The burgers were juicy and tasted great with lettuce, tomato and red onion. Our guests also brought cupcakes to round out the meal:


I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend!