Welcome to our series sharing Food Holidays: July 5th, 2022. I would like to ask you to take a look at the holidays being celebrated today and let me know which holiday you most want to celebrate. For Charlie and I it’s been a while since we’ve eaten at Granny Sherry’s. I think I will see if we can borrow the Grill and Charlie can Barbecue Steaks and I will make a Caesar Salad for diner.
There’s one thing that truly say’s Summer, which is the smell of barbecue floating through the air. In every small town all over the world, the smell of starter fluid and charcoal is a sign that wonderful things are happening in the backyard. National Barbecue Day was created to laud this age-old cooking practice, and to encourage us all to get out and try our hand at creating delicious backyard cuisine.
Learn about National Barbecue Day
The word ‘barbecue’ is used to describe the name of a gathering or meal, style of food, grilling device, or cooking method whereby barbecued foods are cooked and served. A barbecue can also refer to a type of social occasion that features this method of cooking. Barbecuing can also refer to the way the meat is cooked, as well as the cooking method used.
People enjoy getting family together on a warm day and enjoying barbecued meat with a fresh and crispy Salad and other desserts. When the Sun comes out, even if we only experience a mere glimmer of light, Country transforms and a BBQ is the first thing on everyone’s mind.
If you are planning on hosting an event, whether it is a celebratory occasion or a mere get together, an outdoor BBQ never fails, and National Barbecue Day celebrates this!
Barbecuing is typically done outside by smoking meat over charcoal or wood. Did you know you can barbecue Fish and Vegetables as well. There are a lot of different Countries that practice barbecues, with a number of regional varieties. You can spend some time reading up on the different styles of barbecue and the various traditions. Look at the different items that are popular in various areas. For example, Pulled Pork Sandwiches are a big hit in Memphis and North Carolina. In Maryland, Pit Beef prevails as the main choice.
There are a number of different techniques that can be used when barbecuing including grilling, roasting, or smoking. The technique after which a barbecue is named incorporates cooking while using smoke at very long temperatures, as well as long cooking times.
How to celebrate National Barbecue Day
Gather your family for an outdoors barbecue in your backyard. Everyone loves the taste of freshly grilled Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, or Steak! Those who don’t will enjoy grilled Vegetables. Don’t forget you can even prepare dessert on a grill.
If you like Mexican food try preparing Fajitas with grilled Bell Peppers and Onions. Or try most people’s favorite Chicken with Barbecue Sauce. You can do whatever you like, but remember that National Barbecue Day is all about family, food, so spend the day celebrating.
If you’re worried that you are going to set your hair on fire, you can contact BBQ caterers! There are several things you should be mindful of, though. You need to find a company that places a strong emphasis on quality.
From the cooking equipment and machines used to the ingredients cooked, everything needs to be the best of the best. You should also take a look at the various menu options they have available. Make sure you are happy with the dishes.. One of the best ways to determine the worth of a catering company is to read the reviews that have been left.
What do they have to say about the service they received? Would they recommend this company? This is the best way to get an honest assessment. You will instantly get a feel as to whether this is a BBQ catering company you want to hire. Of course, we would definitely encourage you to try and do your own barbecue! If you can’t, this does not mean you need to miss out. A bit of help means you can enjoy time with your friends and family members!
History of National Barbecue Day
Lets begin with a simple definition, explaining what barbecue is? A process by which food is prepared over an indirect heat, and is flavored by the smoke produced by the source of that heat. In that one simple sentence, you begin to get an idea of just how complex the process of proper barbecuing can be. Everything you do when preparing a barbecued meal changes the flavor of the end product. That’s where you get the term “Apple smoked” or “Mesquite grilled”, these meals have all been touched by the flavor of the wood-smoke they were cooked over.
The origins of barbecue seem to lay with the indigenous Haitians encountered by the Spanish when Columbus first arrived. Haitians discovered them cooking meat on sticks suspended above the fire, flavored by the smoke and heat, and brought the process back home. This was that term barbacoa entered the Spanish lexicon, which didn’t take long from there for it to become barbecue. The process has spread all over the world and is now used to prepare all sorts of things, from every type of meat imaginable to fruits and vegetables.
Five Facts about Barbecue:
- Barbecues have been a White House tradition since Thomas Jefferson. Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, hosted the first barbecue at the White House that featured Texas-style barbecued ribs.
- The most popular holidays for barbecuing are, in order, July 4th (71 percent), Memorial Day (57 percent), and Labor Day (55 percent)..
- The most popular foods for cooking on the grill are, Hamburgers (85 percent), Steak (80 percent), Hot Dogs (79 percent) and Chicken (73 percent).
- The side dishes most commonly prepared on the grill are, in order, Corn (41 percent), Potatoes (41 percent), and Vegetables (32 percent).
- The most popular flavors of barbecue sauce are Hickory, followed by Mesquite, Honey, and then Spicy-hot.
Caesar Salad Day
If you’ve eever had a traditional Italian meal or been to an Italian restaurant knows this Salad mix referred to as Caesar Salad which includes Romaine Lettuce and Croutons with a Parmesan Cheese, Egg, Garlic, Black Pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, and Lemon Juice. In some cases, Anchovies.
History Of National Caesar Salad Day
The first thing to know about Caesar Salad is that the Salad was not actually named for the ill-fated leader of Rome. At least not directly. The Salad is instead credited to Caesar Cardini, an Italian Immigrant who got into the restaurant business in the US and Mexico in the early 20th Century.
Like most of the great culinary inventions, Caesar Salad wasn’t necessarily the result of a deliberate design or a stroke of genius. Instead, Caesar Salad came about in a moment of desperation. At one point in 1924 there was a bit of a rush on Caesar Cardini’s restaurant in Tijuana.
As the day happened to be the 4th of July, many merry-makers were celebrating American Independence Day and Cardini was stuck without enough food to feed them all. The clever chef quickly got to work to keep the customers happy, throwing whatever he could into a bowl.
The result? This delicious combination of ingredients, delivered with a little ‘Chef’s flair’, as Cardini tossed it right at the table.
From there, these American guests loved what they ate so much that they took the idea with them back to California. Then, the dish eventually made its way to New York City in the 1940s and many people there still love Caesar Salad.
Like most food, Caesar Salad has undergone many changes throughout the history of its existence. Originally, Anchovies were not included as part of the Salad, and that can still be commonplace today. In some restaurants that are fancier, however, patrons may occasionally find bits of Anchovy in with the Salad. In addition, as a complement to the natural Anchovy flavor, comes the Worcestershire Sauce.
Cardini would likely not be pleased by the common occurrence of using Anchovies which Cardini was decidedly opposed to placing Anchovy directly in his Salad. Of course, that’s not all that has been added over time! Many different versions of the Salad exist today, including Steak Caesar Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad, and Shrimp Caesar Salad.
How to Celebrate National Caesar Salad Day
Eat a Traditional Caesar Salad
In the traditional style! That’s right, most people have been eating Caesar Salad wrong all this time!
The correct way to eat this Salad is to have it prepared with whole Romaine leaves. In fact, it is truly proper to consume the Salad by lifting those leaves by the stem and eating them with the fingers. Cardini never intended for this to be a Salad eaten with a fork!
Even if Caesar Salad isn’t eaten as a finger food, enjoying Caesar Salads is the perfect way to honor the holiday.
Try Making a Caesar Salad
In today’s world, making a Salad is pretty easy because most grocery stores offer bottle versions of Caesar Dressing that are delicious. Just toss Romaine Lettuce, Romano or Parmesan Cheese and Croutons into a bowl. Pour some bottled dressing over the mixture and, just to get fancy, squeeze a Lemon on the top for fun.
Facts About Caesar Salad
Everyone now knows that Caesar the Roman ruler had nothing to do with Caesar Salad.
- The Guinness World Record for the largest Caesar Salad was set in Tijuana, Mexico by Canirac restaurant in 2007. This Caesar Salad weighed more than 3 tons and took more than 160 participants to make it!
- As Caesar Salad popularity grew, so did the demand for Romaine Lettuce. Today there are nearly 80,000 acres of Romaine Lettuce farms and between 1990 and 2009, the per capita consumption of Romaine in the US increased by more than 600%!
- Some people are worried that the raw Eggs in Caesar Salad dressing might create a problem with Salmonella. However, the fact that the Raw Egg is combined with LemonJuice means that any germs will be killed off by the Citrus Fruit acidity.
- The original Caesar Salad made by Cardini didn’t contain Anchovies and the Salad only had one large Crouton.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
