I went from having no plans this holiday weekend to a weekend packed with family - great change!  But now, I have to prepare to feed the crowd.  70 degree temps are perfect for outdoor eating in my opinion, so it’s time to fire up the grill.   Kebabs are an all time favorite of mine, but I’m looking for a new twist.  Anyone have any great grilling suggestions they want to pass along?  Mine is a family that will try just about anything, so fire away!

It’s not even noon on Monday and already everyone I run into is excited about the long holiday weekend.  I’m excited about strawberries, like the ones I picked up Saturday at the Farmer’s Market on Fulton in Grand Rapids.  These little mouthwatering gems came from Danstra Farm in Hudsonville and I was told they won’t be around for long.  Take advantage of this seasonal sweetness to create a red, white and blue dessert for the 4th.  Here’s a quick recipe I borrowed from Martha Stewart.  Share your favorite and get the berries while they last.

Mixed Berry Salad With Mint  (the white, of course, is the whipped cream or ice cream you serve with it)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered if large
1 cup raspberries (4 ounces)
1 cup blackberries (4 ounces)
1 cup blueberries (5 ounces)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and liqueur. Gently fold in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and mint. Serve immediately (or cover and refrigerate, up to 4 hours).

Take in a Sunday afternoon concert and help kids in need in West Michigan get meals all summer.  Some talented area musicians are connecting their music with a drive for donations of juice boxes to help the Kids Food Basket, a charitible organization that provides sack suppers to children living at risk of hunger in the great Grand Rapids area.  KFB distributes well over a thousand meals every weekday through summer school, parks and recreation, and other programs.  One item they add to as many meals as possible is a 100% real fruit juice box.  Donations of juice boxes will get you into sunday’s local all-star show.  The talent on stage at Aquinas College’s Kretschmer Recital Hall will include pianist Roger Mac Naughton, Jon Montgomery on sax, Steve VanRavensway on cello, Charlie Hoats on bass, Mike Hyde on guitar and Steve Anzivino on drums.  McNaughten’s collaboration earlier this year with two high school kids who told him about KFB and later created an original rap about it led to this weekend’s benefit event.  The show introduces the release of Acousitc Arts newest solo piano CD Secret Places and it starts at 3pm.  Donations of juice boxes, food or volunteer service are gratefully accepted by Kids Food Basket anytime.  www.kidsfoodbasket.org

Crisp whites, sultry roses, barbeque friendly reds…what is the best choice for a nice summer wine?  Why not taste a few before you choose.  The Crushed Grape wants to introduce you to some of their favorite warm weather vino friends this Thursday.  They’re taking a road trip from their home base on Knapp St. NE in Grand Rapids to host a wine tasting from 6 to 8pm at Thornapple Daily Grill on Ada Drive.  If you want to impress your backyard dinner guests by knowing the difference between Syrah and Shiraz (see answer below), wine experts like Grape manager Laurie Teasley are ready to share their well-earned wisdom.  And she knows that what you put in your glass is only half of the warm weather meal equation.  Teasley has recipes to go with your wine selections, many made with locally produced cheeses and all natural farm raised meats available at the Crushed Grape. And the answer to the Syrah/Shiraz question?  Here it is:  The Syrah grape originates in southern France’s Rhone Valley where it produces bold, spicy reds. When the grape was transplanted to Australia it became known as Shiraz. (No one knows why.)  Bring your wine questions and your appetite June 25th.  Reservations are requested.  www.crushedgrapegr.com

From age 11 all through college, Davenport University’s Executive Director of Academic Services Joy Gianakura Harrison washed a lot of dishes, but she didn’t seem to mind.  It seems she knew early on that working in her family’s restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie, MI was preparing her for much more.  Like her father Peter, Joy learned the value of hard work, the uselessness of complaining and the enjoyment of sharing a good story.  Now, with the guidance of her older sister Cathie (Rogg), the tale of the restaurant run by her dad is in print.  Cathie spent much of the last three years typing the stories Peter wrote out in long hand, years after he had shared them around the dinner table where she, Joy and youngest sister Anastasia (Stacey) waited nightly for him to pull out his list.  The little papers he jotted notes down on daily became the basis for the tales that are not only his own, but in many ways an account of the growth of a small Upper Peninsula city from a booth in the corner.  Peter’s father Chris and Uncle Samuel (pictured) arrived in the Sault from Megalopoli, Greece in the late 1890’s to realize their American dream.  Multiple business ventures and nine moves later, The American Café made its home on Ashumn Street, the heart of downtown.  The book “The American Café…Reflections of the Grill” covers the legacy built between1930 to 1989.  In the last of those decades Joy learned, “that the family dinner table wasn’t always in your own kitchen – it was anywhere the family was gathered together sharing a meal and the events of our day.”  Anastasia added, “Our bellies were always filled with fantastic concoctions from our Mama’s magical dinners, and our hearts and minds were filled with our Papa’s wonderful stories.  Our kitchen table was the heart of our home, vibrant with meals and conversation, and we grew up knowing we were loved.”  Peter Gianakura will sign books on Saturday, June 27 at 2pm in the Soo Theatre Project office, the same space where he greeted and fed guests for many years. Welcome to the Gianakura kitchen table and happy Father’s Day to all.

It’s that pink thing on my plate, a pickled turnip, otherwise known as lifit.  I see it most often at Osta’s Lebanese Cuisine on Wealthy Street SE in East Grand Rapids.  Now the problem is my grandson is addicted to it, too.  On our most recent visit, Dianne Aouad brought the three year old a plateful of it for himself, which he devoured along with half of our hommous appetizer.  Dianne’s husband John brought the Osta’s family tradition to the United States from Beirut, Lebanon where his father and mentor began in the restaurant business in 1950.  The family recipes and traditions brought here include food that is both nutritious and delicious.  My favorites include the labnee appetizer, a dip made with Lebanese kiefer cheese blended with garlic (of course) and topped with extra virgin olive oil and mint, and the fatoush salad.  Don’t bother asking Aouad for the dressing recipe.  The spices he uses are imported from home and he won’t share how he combines them.  What he will share is his sincere wish to give you the best dining experience he knows how to provide.  My grandson believes they are family.  You will, too.  Sahtein…to your good health.

Savory pulled pork, traditional Cuban salad and refreshing mojitos.  That’s just part of the feast planned at Marc Bohland’s place this Friday, which is Havana Night.  Marc loves to feed crowds and got his first taste of serving the masses at home where he made meals for his dozen siblings and parents.  Now he combines his love of cuisine and Cuba to not only party, but raise money for needed medical supplies for children battling cancer and other diseases in Havana. Nearly ten years ago, Marc and Robert Cacicedo’s started First-Hand Aid, a non-profit, volunteer driven effort to bring expertise and aid to the people of Cuba. You can help their mission continue and celebrate the spirit and palate of the Cuban people at Marc’s home 356 Maryland NE in Grand Rapids on June 12.  Strap on your salsa shoes and be ready to move to the music of Michigan’s “Orquesta Ritmo”.  Tickets are available at Schuler Books and Music, on line, www.firsthandaid.com and at the door.  Here’s a couple of refreshing recipes from Marc for cool Cuban salads for hot summer nights:

Traditional Cuban Salad:

Sliced avocados
Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Cucumbers

Lay all three sliced out on a bed on finely chopped cabbage and cobe with vinegar mixed with a little sugar and oil.

Tropical Fruit Salad

Sliced Mangos
Sliced Papayas
Sliced Pineapple

Diced fresh mint   - mix all ingredients together and it gives you a cooling flavor because of the mint.

<–almost baseball-sized hail from near Dallas, TX late Wednesday afternoon.  They are getting nailed across parts of Missouri, Arkansas and NE Texas.  I see Plano, TX had a gust to 78 mph and there were a couple of measured 70-75 mph gusts.  We’re recorded a dozen tornadoes and significant flooding.  Two awesome bowing segments now…one in northern Arkansas and another in NE Texas.  A new watch is possible into central Indiana.  I think the big storms stay south of us…a few scattered showers are likely tomorrow here in southern Lower Michigan.  The afternoon GFS was more bullish on rain…giving Grand Rapids a 74% chance of rain and Sturgis a 100% chance of rain tomorrow.  The morning NAM had GRR with an 88% chance and gave Sturgis well over an inch of rain.   That looked high to me.   I think the southern storms will suck up the inflow moisture and we’ll just see some lighter scattered showers here.  I’ll write more later after the news.

To finish off my previous post… “Getting Taunted By Penguin Fans” in Pittsburgh…..

While I didn’t get to get sprayed with champagne by the Wings THIS year in Pittsburgh, , I didn’t get doused in beer, by Pens fans, either.

During game six of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final I purposely wore my “RED”  WOOD-TV 8 shirt to cover the Wings clinching in Pittsburgh.  During the second intermission I made my way with much of the rest of the crowd, to the restroom.  It wasn’t until I was well inside the VERY crowded facility, standing shoulder to shoulder with dozens of Penguin fans, that I realized I was the only person in the restroom not wearing a white shirt.  Suddenly one of the fans asked me, “why in the hell are you wearing Red, man?”  Without giving it any thought , I simply blurted out, “I’m from Michigan, I’m a Wings fan.”  I then immediately thought…. that probably wasn’t very smart.

Needless to say I was hit with a chorus of  BOOOOOOs that would make Marian Hossa proud.  Not only that, but I was showered with flickers and small splashes of beer.  The boos then turned into chants of  “Red Wings suck!  Red Wings suck!”  I found it all to be in good fun, until some “f-bombs” starting being fired in my direction, at which time I changed lines and made my way to one of the few enclosed stalls. That too seemed like a good idea at first, until someone decided to donate what was left of his beer to the cause…  dumping it over the door,  on my shoulder and down my back…. enough to put my shirt over the legal limit.  When I came out of the door a couple of different Pen fans apologized for the “drunk” in the crowd.  But as I made my way, shoulder to shoulder, through the crowd and back to the concourse, the chants resumed… a mixture of “Let’s go Pens” and “Red Wings Suck”.  

When I finally reached the exit, the first thing I saw on the concourse was a trio of Detroit fans, all in Red Wing uniforms, clapping as if to say, way to take one for the team man.  Suddenly the beer soaking seemed well worth it… especially when the Wings began spraying champagne, a period and a Cup hoisting later.