Got plenty of those meats that make Labor Day a labor of love for those who appreciate your grilling, but what of all the stuff still in your refrigerator? Here I go, to the rescue of all hidden foods again.
For you see, so many things can be mixed together and put out, en masse, buffet style because I think – and this isn’t a universal opinion – that everyone will love something. And salad and its toppings lead the way. And what can you not throw on top of a baked potato, or mashed, even a drizzle of leftover BBQ sauce, and mixed veggies can become whatever you – reasonably – want them to be, so just give plenty of options in different bowls via a little extra cutting and dicing and combining.
But back to the situation room — your kitchen and deck — with salad.
Joe’s go-to place for groceries, Family Fresh Market in River Falls, and New Richmond, has Labor Day prices on more than a dozen things that can be chopped up and made available in small bowls on a big table next to your grill.
These next three paragraphs might reveal usages of these things you have not thought of.
For a different twist on “we have the meats” inserted into your salad, try a bit of summer sausage, or other such flavors that are many, chopped into nuggets, like smaller versions of the popular chicken ones. (OK they can be put alongside). Again, the sausage is right now on sale at Family Fresh. Drizzle a little extra tangy French dressing where these nuggets tend to clump together.
And as far as that asparagus? It’s a different take on your taking on of salad, but put it on the side for the adventuresome to try. And here’s the rub for many of these suggestions. Many of us like something, but only in small doses, especially if its quite spicy, so have one half of the bowl boast bigger pieces and the other half those of half-size. And a tip to that cook who is looking at their credit card bill after all that back-to-school shopping and needs to cut back until, say Thanksgiving (installment payments?): Mix in with very small slices, cut both vertically and yes horizontally, some of your also-ran stuff, oh ye of lesser taste, just to use it up so you don’t have to buy more until … say Thanksgiving. Then do it again?
And those pistachios? Some other nuts can serve the same purpose, and they don’t have to only be cashews, but I have to invoke the conversation with my sister-in-law over the big family meal, at The Forum. This was the nature of that “forum.” We agree almost any veggie from your crisper can be thrown into stir fry and made tasty, one of the topics of this post. Where do we both draw the line? Water chestnuts and other such nutty things. Why? The texture does not match the only slightly crisp items browned and put into a stir fry. But hey, this variation could be part of the joy. If needed, meet halfway and pick out nuts that are a little softer, a kinder and gentler nut. Watch out for those filberts though. But take some of those cocktail peanuts from the dish atop the TV and plop them on top.
And then there again at Family Fresh is the ground beef at 80 percent lean at only $2.49 a pound, six cobs of corn for $2, and the other things you will need to round out your Labor Day. And a bit of that crumbled burger could even be put on your salad. Along with the stuffing pieces — uncooked — that could pass for croutons?
— More on Labor Day and what it means, as a summer last gasp, under Uncategorized. And for more tips on grilling and more, see my pre-Father’s Day post on the home page under the heading, Where’s The Beef? And Just As Importantly, Where’s The Sauce?–
And now before summer officially closes, get the most of those summer salads, and do we see a theme here? If you can’t get them in good as a part of your grillin’ here is an option. Go to a few select places that either have kept their killer salad bars open through most of the pandemic or have reopened them, so get them while the gettin’ is good.
Ruby Tuesday leads the way. As I’ve written before, I judge a salad bar for starters by the number of greens offered, going beyond both iceberg and even romaine. Ruby Tuesday has added two more options to their lettuce and more lineup, bringing to four the sets of the tossed greens arranged in a square nearly half the size of a square yard. And their toppings range upward to two dozen, including some you might not guess, so this is the clear choice, if there is one in your city. There is one in Greendale, Wis., where I am currently visiting, and they did not have any kind of salad bar prohibition because of the pandemic. That and their special of a $2 draft beer after 3 p.m. is valid EVERY day.
And you can always go Greek. Or could have. Like the aforementioned Forum, and across the byway in these Milwaukee suburbs, Genesis. The former really packed them in for their salad bar, which took the length of counter that you normally see and added a second wing to form an L for easier serving, and also a side area shooting out. But these days, weeks and months it is shut down, even to the point of having yellow “caution” signs across the front areas. But the nearby carpet still reads “salad bar.”
This is where some grocery stores have seized the opportunity, and Family Fresh right now offers various salad kits from Taylor Farms, not just the national big boys, for two for $7 in case a glance at your fridge is uninspiring.
Moreover, such places have set apart in prominent areas the things that set them apart, such as olive bars with often a dozen or so options that go beyond Greek, hot broasted chicken and tenders and beyond stations, and even their own salad and soup bars, although the choices can be fewer.
But hey, that’s where you can, again, supplement with your own stuff that’s lurking about in the fridge!