Memorial Day Means Macaroni Salad

Of course, Memorial Day means more than Macaroni salad. It is the day that we remember all the soldiers that have given so much, so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we do. For that, we can-not thank the veterans enough for their service.

However, certain holidays mean certain foods. In our family by tradition, we have Turkey on Thanksgiving, Prime Rib on Christmas, Chargrilled Ham on Easter, and Macaroni Salad on Memorial Day.

Above: Thanksgiving Turkey, Christmas Prime Rib and Easter Ham

Macaroni Salad is a must for Memorial Day.

Above: The classic Kenny Marinated Macaroni Salad

Check out the recipe

Memorial Day is the kick-off for the summer. It usually means we are eating outside and using the grill. Macaroni is a perfect side. I use one of my mother’s tricks that she uses to make her legendary potato salad/ The key to mom-mom’s potato salad is to marinate the cooked potatoes in olive oil, vinegar, onion and celery. That trick works wonders with Macaroni salad as well. They say that you marry the girl just like the girl that married dear old dad. Well, I knew I was in trouble when a third generation picked up on the marinate the Macaroni trick.

Mom-Mom started it
My wife Susan asks for it every Memorial Day
My son’s wife Lauren has become the newest fan

Above: Susan with les enfants, Mom mom and Lauren with Declan

The traditional roast turkey has been replaced by a fried turkey.

A few years ago my daughter’s in-laws from Brooklyn NY came to Memphis for thanksgiving. To give them a taste of southern cuisine I decided to fry a turkey in addition to my conventionally roasted turkey. In effect we had a taste panel where our twenty guests got to try both a roasted and fried turkey. There was no question that the fried turkey tasted better. It was very savory, and had a richer flavor. It gave new meaning to the saying: “you can fry anything, and it will taste better”. Fried turkeys are great, but frying is dangerous.

I had a neighbor who once almost burned down his house. The poor guy thought you had to have the oil boil, before putting the turkey in. He was lucky he didn’t kill himself. He did however, set his house on fire. The funny part of the story was that my buddy just happened to be wearing a tee shirt that said “Chicago Fire Department”. When the local fire department got to the house my friend noticed one of the firemen looking at his shirt quizzically. My buddy told him the shirt was a gift. To which the fireman responded: “I figured”.

The Kenny family tradition was to overcook the prime rib

Above: The perfect medium rare Prime Rib

Every family has their holiday traditions. A prime rib of beef for the Christmas meal was the standard fare. Without fail, no matter who was the cook , the prime rib would be overcooked. Most cookbooks call for cooking to 135 degrees. This is a recipe for disaster. If you take the roast out of the oven at 135 it will continue to cook to 145 degrees and higher. That produces well done versus medium rare.

Paula Dean’s recipe that targets pulling the roast out at 120 degrees works really well just don’t tell my sisters.

Our tradition is to Char Roast a ham at Easter

What do you if your family wants ham and turkey at thanksgiving and you only have one oven? Years ago, I used my grill to roast a ham. The result was a ham that charred black on the outside, but juicy and flavorful on the inside. The char-roasted ham looks horrible but tastes great.

Several years ago, I char roasted a ham at my sister’s house. My nephew Jimmy kept telling me that my ham on the grill was burning and I kept telling him it was supposed to. Boy was he shocked when he tasted my ham with subtle char notes. I can still see in my mind the picture Jim and his brother Mike fighting over the last pieces of burnt ends after dinner. As a result, every thanksgiving, and Easter we have to char roast a ham

Above: A Char Roasted Hamon the Grill

Every family has their traditions. Somehow, food is central to the Kenny family traditions. I have to believe that Macaroni Salad will be central to Kenny Family Memorial days for generations to come.

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Three Keys To Wowing Your Wine Group

There is not much more rewarding than getting rave reviews to an appetizer that you serve to friends. One key is the fact that people “eat with their eyes”. If a appetizer looks good, chances are people will say it tastes good. A second key is layering in flavor. Really great dishes are quite often multi dimensional where the chef as added flavors in multiple forms. The third key is the power of suggestion. If an expert tells you that this is going to taste great, chances are you will think it tastes great.

Looks Good

Think of the importance how a plate is presented at a good restaurant. The good chef will go to great pains to make sure that the first impression that people SEE is good. There has been considerable research on the subject that all points to the importance of the fact that “people eat with their eyes”. The key point for the wine group is to go an extra step to make sure the food presentation is good. Arrange the food well. Dress the plate with herbs. Pay attention to how you serve a sauce. It doesn’t take all that much effort but presentation is important.

Layer In Flavor

Great chefs will layer in flavor. They season a dish multiple times. One great chef told me that at culinary school she was taught that if you don’t get at least one complaint a night about too much salt you are not adding enough. The proteins are quite often marinated or brined. At Kraft Food Ingredients we had a line of flavors called the “The flavors of cooking”. (Grill, Roast, Sauté etc.). We had marketing tag line that said: “Nothing influences the flavor of food more than how it is cooked. Think about it. A good chef will go to great lengths to sear, grill, sauté, roast, braise etc. What they are doing is layering in flavor.

The Power Of Suggestion

If you want people to like a dish, have an expert, or someone people think knows something, whisper in their ears “Oh you are really going to love the Crostini”. In one of my blogs I talked about flavor panels. (My kids will say I don’t shut up about flavor panels) When working at Kraft I worked with one of the world’s greatest cheese experts. Larry Woodford developed the cheese sauce that was used in Kraft’s Mac and Cheese for over 30 years. I used to tell my kids that I worked with the guy that invented Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. To which they would say wow he must be rich. To which I would say no he is just fat. Kraft made all the money. However, Larry had forgotten more about cheese than I would ever know. One thing about Larry, whenever we would have a blind taste test, he was notorious for going around beforehand and whispering to folks “you are going to love sample B”. Invariably sample B would win out. We all figured if Larry who invented cheese likes something, it must be good..

And when all else fails remember the old quote from the great American philosopher Billy Crystal on Saturday Night Live: “It is better to look good than to feel good. You look marvelous darling”

These Crostini Look Pretty Good
Flayers Have Been Layered In
And, I Am Telling You They Are Great

The Three Hour Salad

The Three Hour Salad is the reason that I am writing a second book. My first book: Impromptu Friday Nights – A guide To Supper Clubs, was about how to organize a supper club and prepare a dinner party. My real goal was to provide young adults with a roadmap of how to enjoy getting together with friends to socialize over a meal. In steps my daughter Jenn. She is a master at socializing, a good cook and most importantly, the mother of three kids under 8 years old. She once told me: You know your Romaine Wedge Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette (featured in book one), while it is great, you must know that it takes 3 hours to make with 3 young children hanging onto your ankles. It might only take me 30 minutes to make homemade croutons, prepare vinaigrette, sauté bacon and slice and dice assorted tomatoes, onions, and olives. There is no way that process makes sense for Jenn.

Click for the recipe

I got it. Supper clubs sound great for young adults looking to socialize with friends, but there must be an easier way. In steps book number two: Impromptu Friday Nights – Bring a Bottle And An Appetizer – A guide To Wine Groups. You don’t need to prepare a six-course meal to get together with friends. You don’t even need a Three Hour Salad. All you need is a bottle and an appetizer. The beauty of appetizers is that they don’t have to be hard to make. You don’t even need to make them yourself as there are plenty of store-bought options that are great.

I mentioned earlier that Jenn was a master at socialization. To be truthful, she majored in socialization through high school and college. In high school she played coed soccer and ran track. Why? Because that’s what her friends were doing. She went to Auburn for college and very little got in the way of her socialization. She did a “Victory Lap” (a fifth year) to make sure she didn’t miss out on a party or football game. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The friends and experiences from her school days, have made her into the person she is today. And, that person is a lot of fun, even if it takes her three hours to make a salad.

Click here for the recipe

Crostini are my latest hero appetizer. They can combine all the food groups. There are all kinds of ways to bring culinary panache and variety to them. They look great. They can be a meal onto themselves. They can be healthy. But most importantly, they are easy to make. One crostini appetizer certainly does not take…Three hours to make. And, just like my daughter Jenn, they are a lot of fun.

Jenn with Dylan, Max and Hadley Grace after mom ran the Disney half marathon