Replay: Host a Patriotic Memorial Day Party, Beer Can Chicken and more!

Since I'm on the road this week and my schedule is a little off; I completely forgot that Monday is Memorial Day! Since this post has been one of the most popular that we've ever done, I thought I'd rerun it for you in case you're like me and need a few last minute ideas for the weekend's festivities. 

In a salute to the troops and in honor of our country's struggle to get back on our feet financially, let's all fly the flag and throw a classic backyard Memorial Day party this year! I love going old school-- and although I love keeping up with the trends, I am really old school at heart. This backyard BBQ is a blast from the past. From the music, to the decorations, to the backyard games and the dogs and burgers on the grill, this one goes back to Memorial days past but with a few new traditions that you'll love!

To read more, go to our original blog post: Back to the Classics: Host a Patriotic Memorial Day Party!

If you want a real crowd-pleasing recipe and a great presentation, too, try my Beer Can chicken recipe. You can do two or three of these for a big crowd and they are great for a party because they require little effort... more time with your guests!

For more ideas and great supplies for your party, go to Oriental Trading Companyand for recipes, how-tos and more, try our great friends at MyRecipes.com 

Or try our Backyard Asian BBQ... it's a great way to entertain. Your friends will love it! See the slideshow or watch the video now!

Back to the Classics BBQ for Memorial Day: Dessert Ideas

Don't forget the dessert! For this year's back-to-the-classics Memorial Day BBQ, you're going to need some refreshing old-school desserts to round out the menu. Here are a few easy suggestions: 

WATERMELON FREEZE

Everyone loves watermelon at a summer BBQ so I always have it on the menu. In addition to big wedges of watermelon, I've added a new favorite I call Watermelon Freeze. You can make this with or without the alcohol but we loved it with!

Use a small melon baller to scoop out about 10-12 melon balls per guest. Put them in a large mixing bowl and add 1 cup lemon-lime soda and 1/2 cup Limoncello liqueur. (I substituted Orange liqueur once and it was good, too) Toss well to coat the melon. Allow it to absorb the liquid for about an hour in the fridge then you can pop the melon balls into individual serving cups or you can transfer to large freezer bags if you need to transport. Place into the freezer allowing the melon to freeze for at least 2 hours. To serve, carefully scoop the frozen melon balls into serving dishes and top with a drizzle of the Limoncello- I keep my Limoncello in the freezer so it is really cold. Delish!

ICE CREAM DREAMS

I dream about ice cream, do you? Homemade ice cream is not as difficult as it was when I was a kid; there's no cranking these days! My mom made the best homemade ice cream so we never really complained about the cranking--- it just took too darn long to get to the good stuff! Here's a recipe I found on MyRecipes.com that is very close to my mom's fresh peach ice cream, which was one of our favorite treats every summer. Make ice cream sundaes, or just add a bunch of sweetened, fresh berries to your double scoop. Here's a whole ice cream slideshow to help you find the perfect recipe for your crowd.    

OH MY---PIE!

How about an ice cream pie? I've seen tons of beautiful cherries in the stores lately--- so perhaps your should pick this Cherries Jubilee Pie as your sweet ending? Yum.

So, you don't want to cook this holiday weekend? Then I have a little secret for you. Costco has the most amazing apple pie! It is soooo good and it is beautiful, too. I have served this several times and guests thought it was homemade. (I may or may not have corrected them) Take a look at this Costco apple pie topped with ice cream-- the ultimate old school dessert for our back-to-the-classics BBQ.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Update on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 9:14PM by Martie Duncan

Hey! I made the Watermelon Freeze again yesterday for a backyard BBQ with friends Sam and Carolyn--- two of my favorite foodie friends and most reliable recipe taste testers. Sam made his famous ribs and BBQ sauce-- more on that tomorrow!! Yum!

A few more tips for Watermelon Freeze:

If you don't want to fool with a melon baller, watermelon chunks taste just as good!

Save your watermelon juice to make Watermelon Mojitos--- recipe to come!

Use 1/2 of the amount of Limoncello to the lemon-lime soda. You can always add a little more if you like.

Leave it in the freezer for about an hour before serving--- max. Tastes best just slushy.

It looks really pretty when you add the lemon-lime soda-- it fizzes up. You might add a little at the table for show just before serving!

If you want to make it for the kids, skip the Limoncello and add a little sprinkle of lemon-lime Kool-Aid mix, and stir in the soda.

Back to the Classics! Patriotic Parties for Memorial Day

Monday, May 25th, 2009 is Memorial Day! In a salute to the troops and in honor of our country's struggle to get back on our feet financially, let's all fly the flag and throw a classic backyard Memorial Day party this year! I love going old school-- and although I love keeping up with the trends, I am really old school at heart. This backyard BBQ is a blast from the past. From the music, to the decorations, to the backyard games and the dogs and burgers on the grill, this one goes back to Memorial days past but with a few new traditions that you'll love!

The Party Vibe

Go old-school with lots of USA flags, buntings and streamers. You can find all kinds of flags at Oriental Trading Company. Add different lengths of ribbon to flutter in the breeze. Tie them in trees or to the top of a pop-up tent like we did. This is a fun decorating idea for any party theme. Mix and match your red, white and blue--- don't worry about perfection!

I love this adorable standing Uncle Sam flag holder ($29.95 Oriental Trading Company) to greet guests as they arrive--- especially helpful if most of your guests will be coming to your home for the first time. Let him be an annual guest at your Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day parties.

12-feet of flags $3.29 Oriental Trading CompanyMake pennants from a cheap white clothesline (under $5 at Wal-Mart or hardware stores) and red, white and blue bandanas. You can re-use both at another time. If you are not feeling it, just order these metallic 12-foot pennants; perfect for decorating a deck or a fence. You can use them year after year.

Make life easy by ordering a patriotic party pack of hats, balloons and old-fashioned noise-makers (don't get this if you have kids, they will get on your very last nerve until you hide or break them--oooopps!)

The Party Menu

This one is easy. hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans and your favorite slaw. There are so many great recipes on myrecipes.com; check it out for some new twists on your family's favorites. Here are the recipes I plan to make:

Spicy Cheddar Stuffed Burgers; the chipotle pepper puree adds some extra zip. If you don't want to make the puree, sub chipotle pepper instead but go easy- a little goes a long way.

Grilled Blue Cheese Burgers can be made ahead and grilled at the last minute. A great twist on the cheeseburger and a new classic!

Need burgers or steaks for your next backyard bash? Omaha Steaks is great one-stop online shopping and they've always got a deal!

Grilled Red Onions- perfect to add to a burger, snaz up a hot dog, or serve as a side to potato salad or baked potato. Yum.

And what about the hot dogs? Throw on a bunch of your favorite slaw to add a little garden to your dog and you'll give this old-school classic a healthy twist.

And what is an old-fashioned backyard cookout without potato salad? Every family has their favorite recipe but if you need some help, here's a classic potato salad recipe that is very similar to my favorite.

Check out the red, white and blue rims for this raspberry lemonade! Add some fun straws or stir sticks and you'll be able to use your beverages not only as a drink and as fantastic party decorations! Cut the stars out of pineapple with a cookie cutter. Add some citrus vodka or raspberry vodka to give this recipe a little kick!

 No party is a party until the music starts. You can create and post your own playlist on iTunes or just download your favorite summer tunes to your MP3 or iPod and the music can play all summer long!

Some tunes on my ALL SUMMER LONG playlist include:

All Summer Long-Kid Rock

Summertime-DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Summertime- Kenny Chesney

California Girls- The Beach Boys

California- 2Pac

Hot Fun in the Summertime- Sly and the Family Stone

Beautiful Day-U2

Summertime Blues-Alan Jackson

Three Little Birds- Bob Marley

Summer Nights- from the Grease Soundtrack featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

Smooth- Santana and Rob Thomas

It Must be Summer- Fountains of Wayne

The Party Fun

The wheelbarrow race, three-legged race, hula hoop contest, bobbing for apples, sack race and the egg and spoon race are all back to the classics favorites that require little or no equipment!   

Here's to a great summer season of entertaining with friends--- simple, cheap and fun. Grab a wheelbarrow and fill it with ice and drinks and you're ready to roll!