Well it’s that time of year…when the endless possibilities lay out in front of you stretching to the September horizon. School is out for the summer. The kids are so excited and you…well you’re happy too…right. Now is the time to plan for some great family get togethers and at MangiaTV we have two must do parties for this summer.
The first can be done in the back yard, on the beach, or in the park. The super easy method here is being able to boil water. If you can do that, you are half way to what they call down south… a low country boil. You are going to need a big ass pot. Then think about the ingredients as more of pot luck. Lots of different things can go in. Mangia musts in the hot tub of food include, crab, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, garlic. You get that big ass pot boiling either over coals, or maybe the turkey deep fryer, or portable stove. Then add seasonings (may want to use 2 bags of Shrimp Mojo) and then add longest cooking items first. (Most likely potatoes) Then keep adding your participants til the whole vat is a roiling, boiling, and cajoling. The next step is to cover a picnic table with newspaper, and carefully dump the whole party on it. Of course the revelers should be ready and waiting.
Our second must do summer get together is a full on neighborhood rib competition. The rules are pretty straight forward for these competitions. Teams submit six portions at a pre-determined time for judging. Judges rate on appearance, taste and tenderness. An easy format is to award 1-5 points for each selection with a 5 being the best. Then you average the entrants score with the highest average being the winner. A great spin on this contest is to have the kids do the judging. Adults can easily be paid off…at least in the Mangia neighborhood. Kids are amazingly less corruptible. If you have wanted to compete in a BBQ event, doing a small neighborhood event will give you the needed practice, and maybe your first win, that can propel you to a real event. Here is our Award Winning Dry Rubbed Ribs recipe – winner every time!
As always during these hot summer events, the MangiaTV crew stays properly hydrated with cool beverages. Dehydration is no laughing matter, so pop a cold one… and while you’re at the cooler…bring me one.
Watch this week’s Cooking Vamp “School’s Out For Summer” HERE.
Check out this Low Country Boil recipe on Allrecipes.com
