3 Memorial Day Side Dishes!

Summer is coming.

For those of you planning to do some holiday weekend hosting, I’ve rounded up three of my favorite warm weather eats for your feasting pleasure.

There’s a little something for everyone, and I promise each of these recipes will lead to all types of compliments and general swooning.

Happy grilling, friends!

Lemon Herb Potato Salad

For the Salad:

1.5 lbs. baby red potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dill, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil extra virgin

2 tablespoon lemon juice

Zest of one lemon

1 garlic clove finely minced

2 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/4 cup shallots, chopped (or green onions)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper ground

Scrub potatoes and place in a large pot. Add enough water to submerge them completely. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the water and place the potatoes in a large bowl.

While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing and keep it ready. Add all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk till combined.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes in half and add potatoes to a salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the potatoes while they are still warm. Toss well with the dill and parsley and let this salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to let the potatoes soak up the liquid.

Notes:

Peeled vs. unpeeled Potatoes: This depends on how you like your potato salad but both ways work. I prefer to leave them unpeeled.

Using larger potatoes:  If you are using larger potatoes, dice them in quarters or six pieces depending on the size of the potato you are using.

Other Ingredients: I love adding chopped celery and boiled egg to this potato salad too

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

For the Couscous:

1 cup vegetable broth (or water)

1 cup instant couscous

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Salad:

½ cup diced roma tomato, ¼-inch dice

½ cup diced english cucumber, seeds removed, ¼-inch dice

½ cup diced red bell pepper, ⅛-inch dice

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup minced red onion

½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

¼ cup feta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoon chopped mint

2 tablespoon chopped basil

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

For the Lemon Dressing:

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the couscous: Bring broth, salt, and olive oil to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add couscous and stir quickly. Turn off the heat and cover. Let couscous stand until tender, 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork and let cool.

For the Salad: Combine couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garbanzo beans, red onion, olives, cheese, parsley, mint, basil, and oregano in a medium bowl.

For the Lemon Dressing: Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until a thickened dressing forms.

Pour dressing over the couscous salad, stir to combine

Dark Chocolate Watermelon Slices

Watermelon Slices

1 cup dark chocolate 

1 tbsp. Coconut oil 

Garnish: Coconut flakes, coarse sea salt or chopped nuts

First, pat down your watermelon slices with a dry cloth or paper towel to remove excess watermelon liquid. Next, in a saucepan, melt the dark chocolate with the coconut oil over low heat. Dip the watermelon slices in the dark chocolate, place it on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, & sprinkle with sea salt, coconut flakes, or crushed nuts. Continue this process until you have created as many Dark Chocolate Watermelon Slices as desired. Refrigerate to let the chocolate harden & enjoy!