Summer's Last Hurrah - A Perfect Labor Day Picnic Meal

With Labor Day comes the sad ending to summer. As a teacher I have to go back to work and everyone starts getting ready for the cooler weather. However, everyone enjoys a long holiday weekend and hopefully this Labor Day meal will help you enjoy it even more! Get your grill ready...or your stove if you live in an apartment like me :)

Drink...Shandy
It's still summer, so I decided to make a light, refreshing drink that tastes great on a hot day.
Shandy originates from the United Kingdom. It is simply beer mixed with carbonated lemonade. How much more refreshing can it get?
Ingredients:
(makes 2 drinks)

• 2 12oz bottles of beer (I used Paulaner Hefeweizen because it is a light wheat beer that goes well with citrus flavor. However, my beer expert, Doug, thinks a Belgian wheat beer would go better in this. Ex: Hoegaarden)
• 8oz of sparkling lemonade (I used Trader Joe's brand, but I think other brands taste much better. Try using San Pellegrino.)
• Raspberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Pour each 12oz beer into a glass.
2. Add 4oz of sparkling lemonade to each glass. Stir.
3. Garnish with a few raspberries floating on top.

Dinner...Grilled Brats with a Savory Beer Sauce
*recipe taken from http://www.bratwurstpages.com/bratrecipe1.html
Everyone knows bratwurst is delicious and a great picnic food. This recipe improves upon traditional American bratwurst by adding a sauce. 
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

• 4 bratwurst
• 2 12oz bottles of beer
  (Use a dark, flavorful beer. I used Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.)
• 1 onion
• 1/2 a green pepper
• 7 oz (1/2 a can) of stewed tomatoes
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tbs flour
• 4 brat buns
• mustard

Directions:

1. Cut 1/2 of the onion into slices and place in a skillet.
2. Put the bratwurst in the skillet with the onions and pour one of the bottles of beer over the brats and onions.
3. Parboil the brats for 20 minutes. (Do not let the beer boil or the brats will burst...just a light simmer)
4. While the brats are cooking, begin making the sauce in a saucepan. Chop the other half of the onion and the green pepper and place in a pan.
5. Add the stewed tomatoes, brown sugar, and the other bottle of beer to the onion and green peppers. Simmer the ingredients together for 15-20 minutes. Do not let it boil. After the sauce has cooked for at least 15 minutes stir in the flour to thicken it.
6. When the brats are done parboiling, pour out the beer and either grill the brats, or if you don't have a grill, cook them in a pan until all the sides are golden brown.
7. Place the brats in the buns. Top with the sauce and mustard.

Corn on the Cob with Smoky Lime Butter
*This recipe was created by Doug 
This is a great twist on the original corn on the cob. The lime flavor makes it extra summery! 

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

• 4 ears of corn
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 2 tsp of chili powder
• 3 tsp lime juice
• Salt

Directions:

1. Cook the ears of corn. (You can boil the corn, but I use a method I learned from my Grandad - microwave it! Wrap the ears in Saran Wrap and microwave for 2 minutes or until hot. Surprisingly, they come out just as crisp and delicious as when they are boiled...as long as you don't microwave them too long.)
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
3. Add the cumin, lime juice, and chili powder and mix well.
4. Pour over the ears of corn.
5. Salt the corn before eating.
   

Dessert...Cheeseburger Cupcakes with Sugar Cookie Fries
These are perfect for a picnic. They taste delicious and look so real they even fooled one of my friends who thought she was biting into a real cheeseburger, but was pleasantly surprised with a cupcake!
Ingredients:

• 1 box chocolate cake mix + ingredients listed on box to make cake
• 1 box yellow cake mix + ingredients listed on box to make cake
• 1 tub of vanilla frosting (divided and dyed green, yellow, red, and tan)
• 1 log of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

Directions:

1. Bake the chocolate and yellow cupcakes according to the directions on the box.
2. After cupcakes have cooled, remove liners and cut the tops off the chocolate cupcakes and discard, or eat :)
3. Slice the bottoms of the chocolate cupcakes in half horizontally so you have thin round cakes that look like hamburger patties.
4. Cut the yellow cupcakes in half horizontally (this will be the top and bottom of the bun).
5. Place the bottom of a yellow cupcake on a plate, then put the sliced brown cupcake (hamburger patty) on top of it. Add green, yellow, and red icing around the top of the patty to represent lettuce, mustard, and ketchup.
6. Place the top of the sliced yellow cupcake on top of the patty and icing. Put dots of tan icing on top of the bun to look like sesame seeds.
7. Roll the sugar cookie dough out until it is flat and 1/4 inch thick. Bake the dough according to package directions. You will probably need to add extra time since you are baking it as a whole large cookie.
8. Get ready to move fast because you must cut the "fries" out while the cookie dough is still hot or they will crack and break! As soon as the cookie dough is done baking, remove from the oven and use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into small strips for the fries.
9. Let the fries cool and place them around the hamburgers. You can even add a little cup of red icing as "ketchup" to dip the fries in.

Happy Labor Day!

Now you have a summer meal to help celebrate the long weekend, so, grab some friends, a picnic basket, and find a patch of grass to relax and enjoy a holiday meal without doing too much labor!