Today, Christine from Design Esquire brings us her summer BBQ essentials. Christine and I met at a design class last fall, and I love the “traditional with a twist” styles that she features on her blog. I’m also very impressed by her latest sewing projects!
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marthastewart.com
Layered Salad
This is my mother’s recipe, and it is very easy and my husband LOVES it. You can change the amount of all of the ingredients, depending on how much (or how little) you like any of them.
Ingredients:
1 head of lettuce
1 bag of frozen peas
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
about 6 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
Mayo
Directions:
Basically, clean and chop up the lettuce and put it in a bowl. Then pour the peas over top. If you’re serving the salad in a few hours, the peas can be frozen at this step because they will thaw in the fridge. But if you’re serving it soon, run cold water over the peas to thaw them before adding them to the salad. Then spread a layer of mayo over the top of the peas. Then spread the shredded cheese over the mayo (I usually use about 3/4 of a bag). Last step is to sprinkle the bacon over the top. This salad holds very well, so you can make it the night before a party, and it also holds well for a day or two afterward (it never lasts that long in my house though!).
Salamida - spiedi.com
Spiedie’s Original State Fair Marinated Chicken
I first heard about this Salamida marinade through Erin at Elements of Style (Laura’s college roommate!). When I saw the Original State Fair marinade at a specialty store, I knew we needed to give it a try. Marinate beef (or chicken or pork) overnight, and then grill the next day. Here’s a link to the company’s website, if you want to purchase it online (only $2.95 a bottle!), HERE. I really like the Original State Fair marinade, and I’ve also tried the Lemon Garlicious marinade, it’s great too! I doubt you can go wrong with any of their marinades.
haagen-dazs.com
Strawberry Ice Cream
To cool off from this incredible heat wave, I would love a little strawberry ice cream from Haagen-Dazs. Sometimes the simple flavors are the best, especially in the hot weather!
Thanks for having me Laura! I hope everything is going well with Junior!
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No, thank you Christine for helping out, particularly today since we are finally leaving the hospital with our little peanut! It’s been a week since we arrived and I’m so ready to be home. Although, we’ll miss leaving Junior in the nursery overnight so we can sleep! I have no idea how these night feedings are going to go. I’ve been feeling pretty good, but expect that to turn to utter exhaustion very soon! He gets cuter by the day, so it’s all worth it. 
Laura, thanks again for asking me to guest post! I’m so glad to hear that you all are home and that both you and Junior are doing well!
That recipe sounds yummy and easy!! Thanks for sharing
Hey, too funny, my mom makes that same exact salad!! Perfect for summer! Janell
I’d like an invite to Christine’s next party!
Hope Junior is a little angel and treating his Mommy and Daddy right.
Great post! I just found both of your blogs! Thanks for sharing these goodies, Christine.
I have to try that salad out! Thanks for sharing Christine!
yummy! perfect for a warm summer eve.
xo,
cristin