Memorial Day Snacks

Come holiday time, I tend to bite off more than I can chew. I always plan a grandiose menu of items and kill myself cooking and for what? A blog post or two. Not that my guests aren't receptive to my fare, but I could probably serve hot dogs and make them just as happy.

(Note from MinxBro: Hot dogs would not make me happy.)

This sweaty Memorial Day, Mr Minx dragged out the grill and cooked up a beer can chicken, pork chops, and skewered shrimp, all with an Asian flavor profile. The beer can chicken got a dose of Cambodian lemongrass curry seasoning, the pork chops were marinated in coconut milk, ginger, and garlic, and the shrimp we all garlick-ed up. But man does not live by meat alone, so I whipped up some coconut gazpacho  (this time adding red bell pepper and cucumber, hold the onion), and a cucumber/radish salad.

But that's not all, folks. I also made what I'm going to call tǎn zhū, or pigs in a blanket, Chinese-style.

Basically, I used puff pastry, a la the samosas I made last week, to encase a mixture of sautéed onion, Chinese sausage (lap cheong), and raw scallion. Served with a dipping sauce made from hoisin, sesame oil, and soy, they were a big hit.

I also made some summer rolls stuffed with chicken meatballs made with this recipe, with carrot, radish, and cucumber, plus fresh mint, basil, and cilantro from the garden. Not pretty, but really really good.

(The dark bits in the meatballs are chia seeds to add moisture. See this post for more info.)

After all that prep, I wasn't about to make dessert. Luckily, Yia Yia's was open and my brother picked up a huge cherry pie, which we served with coffee ice cream.

And a good time was had by all. Hope your Memorial Day was as tasty. :)

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.