Marietta Patch Provides Recipes for Memorial Day

The first and main purpose of Memorial Day, of course, is to honor those who have sacrificed and dedicated their lives in protecting the United States of America. In fact, that’s a necessity any day of the year … to thank those who have sworn to protect our freedoms.

And because of their service, we have the ability (aye, the luxury!) to reflect upon the other essential purpose of Memorial Day. (No… not recover from the Indianapolis 500.) Celebrating the first official day of the year for grilling.

Our Patch Picks assignment of the week was to provide several recipes for Memorial Day. And pretty much the only recipes that qualify are ones for the grill. At least that’s Marietta Patch’s opinion.

So here are a few, several created by Marietta Patch but all used by Marietta Patch:

Rosemary and garlic shrimp

Here’s an MP creation and a simple but great appetizer. You’ll need a few cloves of garlic (minced), six sprigs of rosemary, olive oil and a half pound of jumbo or large shrimp.

Soak the rosemary sprigs in water for about a half hour. Peal and devein the shrimp.  Skewer the shrimp with the rosemary sprigs...about three per sprig. Place the skewers in a dish appropriate for marinating. Mix the olive oil with the garlic and liberally brush the mixture onto the shrimp skewers. Place in refrigerator for two hours.

Set the grill to medium to medium-high heat. Grill the shrimp skewers for about two to three minutes per side until the shrimp is opaque. Remove the rosemary skewers and eat.

Grilled corn

A bit of a cheat here because there’s really no recipe involved. Some folks boil the corn for about 15 minutes before grilling, but Marietta Patch simply bathes the corn in olive oil and puts on a medium to medium-high heat grill and turns every few minutes until done. This simple Marietta Patch process works fine with most other vegetables, although you might use a shaker basket on the grill for cut or small vegetables so they don’t fall into the burners or charcoal.

Bacon-wrapped beef fillet steaks with basil butter

Not an Marietta Patch creation, but an amazing recipe all the same.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

½ cup finely chopped basil plus four sprigs for garnish

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 slices crusty bread, cut to same size as fillet steaks

4 beef fillet steaks

4 strips of thick-cut pepper bacon

1.     In a bowl, thoroughly mash together the butter, basil, a pinch of salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Should be at room temperature before using.

2.     Use a medium-high heat on the grill.

3.     Lay the bread on the grill, cover and toast until they are lightly brown on both sides, about three minutes. Transfer to plates.

4.     Wrap the edges of each steak with a strip of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Lay the steaks on the rack. Grill, turning once, until the steaks are crisp and brown and done to your preferred temperature.

5.     Set steaks on bread. Season with salt and pepper. Top each steak with a fourth of the prepared basil butter.

Grilled bananas.

So we’ve given you an appetizer, an entrée, vegetables and now the dessert… also prepared with the grill.

2/3 cup unsulphured molasses

¼ cup dark Jamaican rum (we suggest Myer’s)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons Pickapeppa sauce

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

6 firm bananas, peeled

Freshly ground black pepper

1.     Preheat grill to a medium-high heat.

2.     Arrange bananas in a single layer in a shallow, disposable aluminum pan.

3.     Mix together the molasses, rum, soy sauce, brown sugar, Pickapeppa sauce and lime juice. Drizzle half of the mixture over the bananas. Set the pan of bananas on the rack.

4.     Cover and grill, basting occasionally for 10 minutes.

5.     Add the remaining molasses mixture, continue to grill and baste until the molasses has thickened and the bananas are glazed and tender. This takes about another 10 to 15 minutes.

6.     Remove and transfer to plates. Season with pepper and serve hot or warm.