6.04.2024

 Summer Picnic Celebration


 

Grilled Barbecue Chicken with all the sides including sweet tea!

Recipes:

(Click to view and print)

Grilled Barbecue Chicken

Sweet & Smokey BBQ Sauce

All American Potato Salad

Perfect Corn-on-the-cob with Herb Butter

Smokey BBQ Baked Beans

Blueberry Crisp 

Perfect Sweat tea

This month is a picnic spread to help you celebrate any special occasion this summer.  I'm going to share my recipe with you for some awesome barbecue chicken.  Grab the grill and some charcoal and let's get smoking. 



When you cook in the kitchen for several hours or even days to prepare a meal you appreciate all those Sunday dinners you ate at grandmas growing up.  So, with that said, I would recommend making what you can ahead of time.  The barbecue sauce can definitely be made in advance.  The potato salad and baked beans can be made the day before.  The crumb topping for the blueberry crisp and the herb butter can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. 


Prepare barbecue sauce, in an All-Clad Stock Pot - 4 qt. Add all ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.  This step can be done in advance and kept in the refrigerator.  Each year I can about 25 pint jars of this sauce recipe, we love it on chicken and ribs. Serve extra warmed sauce in a Thomas pottery Sauce Boat, for the ones that need a little extra sauce.




Smokey barbecue baked beans are a picnic staple. These homemade beans are a game changer and I hate to tell you, canned beans will no longer be as good.  You can choose to soak your beans overnight or use a quick soak method, click here for recipe. Quick Soak Beans. Cook bacon and beans in an All Clad Stock Pot for about an hour, then add tomato sauce and spices and bake in a Thomas Pottery Large Bean Pot!




I am far from mastering cooking on our gas grill so I will be sharing my grilling techniques using our Weber Kettle Grill with good old charcoal.  This is the grill I learned on and has been our standby ever since.  We enjoy the smokey flavor and the simplicity of using charcoal, plus there are usually marshmellows involved.  A whole cut-up chicken provides a nice variety of meat for your guest, but leg quarters work well for this recipe too.  If you brine the chicken a few hours it will be tender and juicy. 






For years I never measured out all the ingredients used to make potato salad and it was always a hit or miss. Now I have learned, it is good EVERY time when you follow a recipe. Once you make this potato salad the first time you can adjust the ingredients to suite your families preference.  While potatoes boil in your All-Clad StockPot, make dressing in an eight cup Pyrex Measuring Cup that easily stores in the refrigerator until you are ready to mix. We like to add 2 teaspoons yellow prepared mustard in addition to the dried mustard. Some people like dill pickles instead of sweet pickles, so tweak it to suite your taste buds. Make the day before and store in a Rubbermaid Brilliance Container.  Serve your favorite version in a Thomas Pottery Serving Bowl.



We always look forward to fresh from the field corn-on-the cob.  This is a special treat to us and if you've never tried it with herb butter you should indulge yourself.  This butter whips up quick with a Braun Hand Blender and Herb Shears. Cook corn in a large stock pot over high heat and enjoy the fresh sweet taste. Serve in Thomas Pottery Large Oval Bowl.




Blueberries are in peak season in July, so head down to the farmers market for fresh picked berries.  This topping recipe makes an ample amount so keep extra  in the freezer to use for a quick dessert with any type of fresh or frozen berries or fruit you have on hand.  Bake in a Thomas Pottery Large Low Baker or individual serving bakers. 


Serve the perfect gallon of sweat tea in Thomas Pottery Pitcher with Pottery Tumblers.  This recipe makes great tea that is not bitter or over brewed.  Due to the natural thermal qualities of pottery, your tea will be kept cool much longer than if served in glass or plastic.  Serve with ice and a wedge of lemon or sprig of mint.


I hope you have a wonderful summer and can celebrate with family and friends over a delicious picnic meal.


I'd like to thank my husband Scott for helping me prepare and taste this test meal and my sister Wanda for helping test my recipes.

Thomas Pottery On-Line Store

Oval Platter

Oval Serving Bowl - Large

Serving Bowl - Large

Leaf Serving Bowl - Large

Bean Pot - Large

Tri-Foot Sauce Boat 

Bakeware -  Baking Dishes 

Dinnerware - Square Plates - Large, Medium and Small

Pitcher and Tumblers

Cooking Tools

Braun Hand Blender

All Clad Stock Pot - 4 qt.

OXO Good Vegetable Peeler

Weber Kettle Grill

Herb Scissors

8" Cast Iron Skillet

Pyrex Glass Measuring Cup

Shopping List


Whole cut-up chicken or 6 leg quarters

bacon

6 Fresh Corn

1 bag russet potatoes

3 pints of blueberries

celery

red onion

garlic

yellow onion

flat leaf parsley

cilantro

chives

lemon juice

pickle relish

mustard powder

celery seed

1 bag navy beans

tomato sauce

taco sauce

3 eggs

1 stick butter

sugar

brown sugar

quick oats

all purpose flour

cornstarch

salt & pepper

cider vinegar


*Disclosure:

Please note that some of this site's links are affiliate links, Bobbie Thomas is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by providing links to amazon.com. At NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I will earn a small commission, if you purchase them using these links. Please know these are products I use and recommend to my customers.