An End To Summer Bash!

Just as Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer, Labor Day is the unofficial end. There is reason for this. Once upon a time, most school years ended shortly after Memorial Day. And the new school year didn’t begin until the Tuesday following Labor Day. Hence summer – as in summer vacation was between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Now some schools are year-round, with breaks every nine weeks or so, while others have modified year-round, and those that have a more traditional school year start sometime in August, ending sometime in May. So the unofficial start and end to summer has little or no resemblance to what it once was. Kiddo attended a modified year-round and that was great. He had three weeks off for Christmas, two for Easter, and the entire month of October off. It was great for get-aways with nice weather and fewer crowds.

Now that he’s a grown man, our “summer” revolves around work schedules. When you are in the Event Service Industry, July is a slow period. It’s also too darn hot to really go anywhere, with crowds and peak season pricing on hotels.

This year, when it came time to plan the first of Summer barbecue menu, I got a little carried away. Nothing new there. So some of the recipes I had originally slated for Memorial Day were postponed to be a part of our Labor Day festivities.

End of Summer Pot Luck Celebration
Spicy Chorizo Pinwheels
Buttermilk Ranch Potato Salad
Lemon Blueberry Trifle

---

Spicy Chorizo Pinwheels
1/2 lb Chorizo
4 oz Mild Cheddar Cheese
4 Green Onions
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Picante Sauce
1 Lime
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
1 cup Whole Black Beans
4 oz can Diced Hatch Chili Peppers
3 large (Burrito-size) Flour Tortillas
1 medium (Fajita-size) Flour Tortilla
Cilantro and tomatoes for garnish

Remove chorizo from encasing, fry in a cast-iron skillet. Break meat into small pieces as it cooks. Drain well, set aside to cool.

Using the smaller holes of a cheese grater, finely shred the Cheddar Cheese. Set aside until ready to use. Clean the green onions, trim roots. Stack onions together and thinly slice. Set aside until ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer, cream together the cream cheese, sour cream and Picante sauce. Cut lime in half, squeeze juice into the cream cheese mixture. Season with taco seasoning. Set aside.

Rinse and drain black beans. Drain Hatch Chilies. Fold beans, chilies, grated cheese and green onions into the cream cheese mixture. Add drained chorizo, stir to blend.

Working with 1 large tortillas at a time, spread filling over the tortilla, leaving a small border around the edge. Roll tortilla tightly over the filling. Trim ends, wrap filled tortilla in plastic wrap and place on a rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish. Repeat with remaining large tortillas. Once fishing, there should be enough filling remaining to spread on the medium tortilla.

Place tortilla wraps in the refrigerator to chill for several hours. Remove from the refrigerator, unwrap one at a time and slice into 1-1/2 inch slices. Arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with cilantro and tomatoes for a nice presentation. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Note: If traveling, skip the platter for now. Place pinwheels in an air-tight container, pack in a cooler. When ready, get out the platter, and there you go. Great appetizers for a pot-luck gathering.

---

Buttermilk Ranch Potato Salad
12 Red Potatoes, skins on
Salt to taste
6 slices Bacon
6 Green Onions
2 tablespoons Parsley
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Buttermilk
2 tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
Black Pepper to taste

Scrub potatoes, place in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let potatoes cool a bit. Cut into bite-size pieces, set aside.

While the potatoes cook and cool, stack bacon strips, dice into pieces. Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon. Discard or save the bacon grease for future use.

Slice green onions, set aside. Chop parsley, set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk and ranch dressing mix to create a dressing. Set aside.

When ready to assemble, place the diced potatoes, bacon bits, green onions and parsley in a large bowl. Pour buttermilk dressing mixture over the potato salad, toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning as desire with salt and pepper. Chill well until ready to serve.

---

Lemon Blueberry Trifle
3 cups Milk
8 oz Cream Cheese
2 loaves Angel Food Cake
2 (3.4 oz) boxes Instant Lemon Pudding
8 oz Cool Whip
4 cups Blueberries
2 Lemons, for garnish
Additional Blueberries for garnish
1 can Whipped Cream, for garnish

Let milk come to room temperature and the cream cheese soften. While the milk warms, cut the cake into 1-inch cubes, set aside.

In a bowl, beat cream cheese with dry pudding mix until smooth. Slowly add milk, continue to beat until fully incorporated. Fold in 2 cups of the cool whip. Set mixture aside.

In a 3-quart Trifle Dish. Layer 1/3 of the cake cubes, 1/3 of the blueberries and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat layering two more times, for a total of three layers. Smooth out the final pudding layer.

Slice lemons in half, then slice into half-moon slices. Garnish the top of the trifle as desired with lemon slices, blueberries and dollops of whipped cream. Chill well until ready to serve.

---

Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.