[gardeners] 4th of July feasts
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 03 Jul 1998 17:59:53
Since my Dad worked shift when I was a kid we didn't often have a big feast
on the fourth. When we did it was usually at the local Baptist church and
it was a feed much like that Catharine listed (I'm still salivating from
reading that one).
Lots and lots of fried chicken, pies of every description, cakes of every
kind known. Several different types of potato salad, devilled eggs with
various toppings, my favorites were bacon and paprika. Home made pickles by
the crock full, hardly ever any salads except fruit salads. Green beans and
new potatoes with dill seed, yumm.
You know the mind starts to go but the salivary glands remember somehow.
Don't see many big community bashes down here in SW Louisiana but there are
going to be lots of small parties tomorrow and Sunday. Saturday we go to
Moss Lake to the Doctors Drumwrights "camp", actually a double-wide trailer
on a canal leading into the lake. Doctor Jack has promised to have grilled
king mackeral from his most recent fishing trip offshore and Doctor Bonnie
is cooking up one of her North Carolina pork roasts that has been marinated
for a few days in the refrigerator. We're taking a very large green salad
and a big bowl of fresh gazpacho and a blueberry cobbler I made today.
Sunday our friends the Russell's are coming over and we're making a burnt
sacrifice on the grill. Jenny Russell is known world-wide (they're retired
USAF) for her lemon meringue pies and Sam is bringing his Cajun ham. Take a
large ham, coat it with gumbo file', pour a quart of root beer over it and
bake, basting often. Not bad grub that. I'm gonna grill some top sirloins
to perfection. It's amazing to me how cheap beef is now so we're taking
advantage of it. Had these steaks cut 2 inches thick and I put them in a
Tupperware container today with garlic, black pepper, some cut up chiles,
and some (actually lots) of onion. No liquid, just the herbs and spices,
when we cook them Sunday afternoon they will have absorbed lots of good
flavor to complement the red meat. We'll probably have whatever is in in
the garden as side dishes. I've got my eye on a couple of cucuzzi that
should be just right by then. Know for sure we'll have crowder peas with
chiles and onions and garlic. Sam has an old White Mountain ice cream maker
and we'll probably make some ice cream while we're at it. His two boys, 22
and 26, can crank the thing since they'll probably eat most of what's cooked.
Hope all of you have what you desire most for the Fourth of July and don't
forget the veterans and the currently serving men and women of our Armed
Forces when you say grace.
George