It’s frustrating when Memorial Day weekend is stunningly beautiful except for the day of the barbeque. Is it on? Is it off? Our diehard hosts, John and Claudia, cleared out the barn, threw up a tarp and went for it.
On Memorial Day the three major food groups are hot dogs, burgers and linguica. And don’t get me started on the desserts.
Memorial Day is the day of the Boat Race, an annual event that takes place on the Mattapoisett River with homemade wooden two-man boats. 60 or so boats enter, and at 8:30 AM they are off, one at a time, every 2 minutes. It’s a timed race, and the nearly 2 inches of rain we’d had the night before made it a bit dicey, as the swollen river now made twists and turns that were unexpected to some racers. We, the lazy spectators, gather on my cousin’s porch and cheer them on as they near the finish. They all looked wet, tired, and like they wished it were over. Can’t blame them.
At around noon we moseyed across the river to Claudia and John’s, unloaded our coolers and pot luck dishes, unfolded our chairs and watched a rousing wiffle ball game while John manned the grill.
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This potluck isn’t the usual potato salad and coleslaw affair. We get some tasty morsels on the table, like Israeli couscous salad; 3 different kinds of gourmet potato salad; watermelon-feta-lime salad; pasta and vegetable salad; arugula, walnut and goat cheese salad; and my entries – corn, bacon, avocado salad, and green bean and tomato salad.
Bacon, Corn and Avocado Salad
4 ears of corn, stripped (or a bag of frozen corn)
6 strips of bacon
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 large avocado, diced
¼ c. chopped cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
Salt & pepper
If using fresh corn cut the kernels off of the ears.
Cook the bacon until crisp (in a frying pan or the oven), remove to a plate to drain and cool.
Pour 1 T. of bacon fat into a frying pan on med-hi heat (or pour off the fat from the pan you used, leaving 1 T.). Add the corn let sit until the kernels sizzle, 1-2 minutes. Continue cooking until the corn starts to brown a bit. Transfer corn to a bowl and let cool.
Just before serving combine the corn, red pepper, avocado, cilantro and lime juice. Crumble the bacon over the top and mix gently. Season with salt and pepper.
6 servings.
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Who needs hot dogs and hamburgers? Well, obviously we did, because they all went. On Memorial Day the three major food groups are hot dogs, burgers and linguica. And don’t get me started on the desserts.
Hope you had a great holiday, rain or shine!
We really do know how to have a good time regardless of what Mother Nature throws at us. By the way, leftovers were even better the next night!
It was a wonderful day, despite the rain. Beautiful surroundings–were we in Acushnet or Rochester on that porch? Great fun to watch the river race and to catch up at the cook-out with so many of your friends and relatives, some of whom I have met before, enjoying other phenomenal Deborah’s Dishes in Fairhaven.
Thanks so much for a memorable, old-fashioned Memorial Day in “real country” that amazingly still exists.
Janice
We were in Mattapoisett, but these rolling back roads all look alike after a while!
We had a great time. Wonderful salads and visiting the chickens. We will be making that avocado and corn salad soon!