There isn’t too much to be said here. Ground meat, or ground fake meat in this case, is one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen. In the UK, they call it mince and it is the base for so many delicious recipes. It seems counter-productive to make mince out of already formed patties, but it works! It is far from Impossible!
We’ve got some delicious Labor Day inspired recipes coming out later this week, but today I’m excited to share some of my favorite picnic-themed recipes to inspire you for the upcoming holiday weekend. We did an array of research and came up with our best entries from our readers and past articles. Whether you are planning to start the summer fun with a picnic, meal delivery kit, barbecue or just a simple picnic with friends and family, we have put together the perfect menu ideas for Memorial Day 2020.
If you’re anything like us, you usually make WAY too much food for important events, holidays and family get-togethers. If you went to our wedding, you’d know this. No one had any room in their stomachs left by the time first dessert was served. Second and third desserts weren’t even touched. I don’t think people even looked at them. For St. Patrick’s Day, we always make far too many corned beefs, and in some cases, we buy so many of them that we don’t even cook some. Either way, whether you have cooked ones sitting in the fridge or uncooked ones, we found a fun way to repurpose them… by making BBQ!
Intriguing. When you think about it, that isn’t a word that you would normally associate with food. You might think, ‘wow, this is intriguing’ at first, but after some thought, you’d find a better-suited word. Sometimes for better and often for worse, we have a tendency to give more credit than is due when it comes to food. Just think about the hysteria that erupts when well-known foods (such as poke and ramen) are brought to areas where the population aren’t familiar with them. Hysteria.
Then, there are the few times that you really are truly intrigued by what you’re eating. The thought of it is so complex, so mesmerizing that you can’t help but learn more about it. And no, we’re not talking about a sushirito here (aka a sushi burrito) or any other nonsensical scheme to be different, cool, or earn money fast–we’re talking about the true gems out there.
Can we just avoid writing any words and let you eat with your eyes for a moment? As you can tell from all the pictures below, the food here is beautiful and a considerable amount of extra time is spent on presentation, which we appreciate, because it’s a testament to their high standards. The elephant in the room is that The Crustacean, owned and operated by the House of An from Vietnam, is a little on the expensive side, impossible to get a reservation, and requires you to dress up like you’re heading to a wedding, right? Wrong and none of these are necessarily true.
While you can’t walk in off the streets on a Friday night wearing sandals and a fitted cap, expecting to be seated quickly and fill your stomach with a $10 bill, The Crustacean is a lot more than a “fancy restaurant” in the heart of Beverly Hills. Its atmosphere can be magical with the elaborate indoor setup that makes you feel like you’re in the Vietnamese equivalent of a castle grand dining hall. As the host walks you through the entry into the two-level main room, passing over bridges made from beautiful wood, it’s impossible to ignore the glass-covered river underneath the floor filled with large koi. You’ve been successfully transported into a different part of the world and then you eat.
Hungry had a long day at work on a Saturday (yuck!) and I had a hankering for cooking, so I wanted to make him a nice dinner. I am a vegetarian while he is not, so I don’t cook a lot of meat dishes. However, tonight I would! We had some nice lean beef in the house, so I wanted to make scrumptious meatballs! However, we didn’t have any breadcrumbs…hmm… Luckily, I was able to find a recipe to base mine off of that lacked breadcrumbs. This actually turned it accidentally into a “paleo” recipe. Hungry and I are far from being paleo, but I know it’s popular right now, so maybe this will help you out!
Protein! Get your protein here! But, seriously–this meatloaf is chock full of protein and damn good flavor. My mum found a recipe for meatloaf and changed it to make her own and I was lucky enough to be nearby–it turned out to be the best meatloaf recipe ever. I may be a vegetarian, but the rest of my family really enjoyed it. Hungry even said it was one of the best he’s ever had–better than restaurant quality. That’s a rare compliment! It’s an incredibly simple recipe that even has vegetables! This is a great back-to-school recipe that can feed the whole family twice over. You know protein and flavor are important to us and that’s why this recipe is a hit.
Nommmm
BONUS PUPPY PIC
Dog days of summer
If you know me, you know I have a weird diet philosophy. I call myself a vegetarian, but I will eat any wild-caught fish or hunted meat. Just my desire to go back to a more natural age before the meat industry. ANYHOW, now that you know how and what I eat, let me introduce tonight’s dinner: Wild Boar Burgers and Chips. Everything homemade, of course. It actually turned out great despite my NEVER cooking boar before and rarely (pun intended) ever cook meat. Check it out
Ingredients
Directions
It turned out very well, the chips were crispy, the burgers were loaded with flavor, and our bellies were very happy. I hadn’t eaten any kind of meat (last time was wild bison) in about a year. Oh, and our drink of choice, none other but gourmet root beer.
Go ahead and try out the recipe, let us know if you have any questions about anything. PS- you can see Nymeria on the step-stool in the picture above.
Cheers!
