Father's Day Dinner

Yesterday morning Jim got up VERY early to golf with his dad, brothers, cousin, and uncle. I got up a little bit later :) to prep for the father's day dinner we were hosting. 10 people for dinner - my in-laws and my in-law's in-laws. Good times.

My plan to have dinner under our big beautiful walnut tree was ruined by the humidity, so I was forced to set up inside. We still all fit at one big table :)

Dinner menu:

Buttermilk chicken on the grill

Grilled kielbasa

Skewered vegetables

Grilled corn on the cob

Potato Salad

Pasta Salad

Corn Muffins

Dessert:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Shoo-fly Pie

Old Fashioned Berry Layer Cake

The buttermilk chicken was found in the June 2010 edition of Martha Stewart Living. We had the cut-up chickens marinating in buttermilk, garlic cloves, and rosemary for about 18 hours. It was so moist and delicious!

Photo: Martha Stewart

Recipe HERE

Grilled kielbasa doesn't really require a recipe - just cut it up and stick it on the grill. Yummy. Slice it lengthwise and then on the diagonal to make it look pretty.

Skewered vegetables: I used what I like - red and green bell peppers, vidalia onions, mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini.

Grilled corn on the cob. If you still boil your corn in water, please stop immediately! Put it on the grill. You'll thank me later.

Potato Salad. This one is my mother's recipe, and I haven't decided if I will share it on my blog. Not yet at least. It's kind of my secret weapon :) I make it all the time, and everyone loves it. It's kind of a big deal - the potato salad, that is. I mean, I hate mayonnaise, and I LOVE this potato salad - that's how good it is. We'll see - I won't post it yet, but one day I might :)

Pasta salad. I'm no pro, but I basically use the following: some kind of veggie or whole-wheat pasta. Recently I have been using Wacky Mac. Cook the pasta, and let it cool. Chop up your favorite veggies - I use red and green bell peppers, broccoli (this time I used Trader Joe's broccoli slaw - so easy!), shredded carrots, english cucumber, and some celery. Then I just use whatever oil-based italian dressing I happen to enjoy at that time of year. Yesterday I used my old standby - the Good Seasonings italian salad dressing mix that comes in the packet that you mix up yourself. Done.

Corn Muffins. Thank you again, Martha. This one came from the July edition of Living that showed up in my mailbox last week. They were delicious. I only just acquired the taste for corn muffins. These were yummy.

I'll link to the recipe when she puts it on her website. Or if you have the magazine it's on page 115.

Desserts were quick and easy, but oh-so delicious. In fact, I will post the recipes this week.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I've made this one at least 4 or 5 times now, and every time people rave about it. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream. YUM.

Shoo-fly Pie. The recipe I found for this is amazing. I tweaked the cooking time a bit and love it.

Old Fashioned Berry Layer Cake. It's on the cover of Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and I've been wanting to make it for years. Finally did. So worth it. With raspberries from our garden, no less!

Recipes tomorrow!