Barbeque Birthday Extravaganza!

Sorry I've neglected the blog this week. We had leftovers on Tuesday, a school barbeque on Wednesday, last night was a gong show, and tonight we had grilled chicken folded in naan bread with some frozen peas and carrots. Not many blog-worthy recipes there!

Tomorrow we're having my birthday party - everyone's bringing their own meat to grill, and I've made up a few salads. I think I'm going to grill some burgers and eat them with smoked gouda cheese, avocado slices (or maybe I'll make guacamole), and some chipotle caesar dressing.

The dressing goes along with my $5000 Salad, which I'm also making tomorrow. (I'm simplifying it though... dressing, romaine lettuce, diced avocado, and smoked gouda).

I also made a potato salad, adapting a recipe from Epicure's 10th Anniversary Cookbook, and a bean salad that I got from my friend Jon's mom. I hate most bean salads, except this recipe. My mom tries to copy it, but she puts canned green beans in it, which totally ruins the whole thing in my opinion! It's such a pretty, colourful salad, and it makes a huge batch so it's perfect for potlucks. (But seriously, canned green beans smell and taste funny, and they are so dull in colour compared to the rest of the ingredients. Trust me, leave them out!)

POTATO SALAD
6 c. diced potatoes, boiled
4 green onions, sliced
5 radishes, sliced
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 1/2 tsp. Lemon Dilly Dip Mix
6 hard-boiled eggs, diced

JON'S MOM'S BEAN SALAD
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can corn, rinsed & drained
1/4 c. red onion, diced (I used a green onion today instead)
1 red pepper, diced
1 c. celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp. fresh basil or oregano, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. dry mustard (whisked into vinegar)
hot sauce, to taste (I used a pinch of chili pepper flakes today)
For both of these recipes, just throw everything into a bowl and toss it all together. Pretty simple!

I'm also going to make some pseudo-sushi rolls:

PSEUDO-SUSHI ROLLS
tortillas
cream cheese (seasoned with Lemon Dilly Dip Mix)
smoked salmon
cucumber, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
avocado, sliced

Spread tortillas with cream cheese. At the bottom edge, lay salmon, cucumber, and avocado on top of each other in a row. Wrap up tortilla and cut into slices. I don't have any pictures at the moment, but if I remember I'll take some tomorrow. Have a great weekend!