Celebrate Memorial Day with Fresh, From-the-Garden Food

This simple crowd-pleasing menu puts the focus on in-season produce.

By: Meagan Francis

Related To:

Break out the grill and hang those red, white, and blue streamers! Memorial Day is just around the corner. My favorite thing about this holiday is that it puts the focus on easy outdoor entertaining, including simple dishes that highlight the bounty of late spring. This menu, made up of dishes created by Food Network personalities, will be easy to pull together and keep things fresh and tasty.

Kabobs

Simple, easy-to-grill kabobs allow guests to create their own from-the-garden masterpieces. This Food Network Magazine article offers several recipes, some with meat and others that let the produce shine.

Make This: Build-Your-Own Shish Kabobs

Grilled Chicken + Fingerling Potatoes

Basil-Beer marinated chicken.

Bobby Flay takes simple grilled chicken and makes it sing with a garlic-oregano vinaigrette and crispy-golden fingerling potatoes.

Make This: Grilled Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes

Fresh Tomato Salad

Tomato 'Indigo Cherry Drops'

You can't beat the taste of homegrown tomatoes, and they're high in antioxidants, too. Unlike some fruits and vegetables, cooking tomatoes tends to concentrate the antioxidants, rather than leaching them out. ‘Indigo Cherry Drops’ tomatoes have a purplish-black cast on their red skins. The plants are indeterminate, growing 36-60” tall, and bear heavy yields of small cherry tomatoes. Give them plenty of sun and expect to start harvesting in about 65 days.

Photo by: AP Whaley Seed Co/National Garden Bureau

AP Whaley Seed Co/National Garden Bureau

Put fresh, garden-ripe tomatoes front and center with Jamie Oliver's fabulously simple salad. To give the salad plenty of flavor and interest, include tomatoes of different sizes and varieties and consider including fresh mozzarella cheese.

Make This: The Mothership Tomato Salad

Cheesecake Tart

Lemon Curd Tart With Berries

Tangy and creamy, this fruit-topped tart is the just-right, not-too-sweet finish to your Thanksgiving dinner. Get the recipe: http://www.hgtv.com/entertaining/lemon-curd-tart-recipe/index.html

Don't forget dessert! Make it patriotic with this rich treat laden with red and blue berries.

Make This: Cheesecake Tart

Next Up

Toast the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo With This Mexican-Inspired Louisville Julep

A citrusy, mezcal-based twist on the classic cocktail.

Mini Apple Strudel Recipe

Nothing’s better than homemade apple strudel — unless it’s having one all to yourself. These individual strudels have a crunchy phyllo wrapper with a sweet interior of shredded apples, golden raisins and walnuts. Serve this classic German confection, aka apfelstrudel, as a sweet ending to your Oktoberfest celebration.

Homemade German Seeded Bread Recipe

Germany is known for dense, whole grain, multi-seeded bread called dreikernebrot. It’s a nutrition-packed dietary staple that can be found at every corner bakery and is a favorite of locals and tourists, alike. Now you can bring the hearty flavor home and make an authentic loaf in your kitchen using this recipe. Dreikernebrot is a tasty seeded loaf that will fortify you through the festive days of Oktoberfest and beyond.

Mini Black Forest Cake Recipe

This rich chocolate cake hails from the Black Forest region of Germany. It’s a layered confection soaked with Kirsch (cherry liqueur), and filled with whipped cream and Morello cherry preserves. Make several of this mini version to feed an Oktoberfest party crowd. Petite but with a tasty punch of rich chocolate and tart cherries, these mini mouthfuls are the perfect way to end an Oktoberfest feast.

Mini German Potato Pancakes Recipe

Oktoberfest wouldn’t be the same without golden kartoffelpuffer, otherwise known as German potato pancakes. We’ve miniaturized them for bite-sized finger food that's perfect for an Oktoberfest celebration. Serve the crispy mouthfuls with applesauce and sour cream for dipping.

Ranch Water Cocktail Recipe

If you haven't heard of Ranch Water yet, prepare yourself because it's about to be everywhere. And, once you've tried it, it's easy to see why: Ranch Water is basically a not-sweet, super pared-down margarita ... with bubbles. Intrigued? Read on for the unbelievably easy recipe, plus our tips for setting up a Ranch Water serving station (on a bookshelf!).

Authentic German Mulled Wine Recipe

Traditional glühwein, which translates to 'glow wine' will make cheeks rosy and keep Oktoberfest and fall fun in full swing. Be sure to keep the recipe handy for winter months, too. This soul-warming sip will put a fire in your belly (and a glow in your cheeks) when temperatures plummet.

Create Your Own Party-Perfect Charcuterie + Cheese Board

Whip up an inexpensive wood conditioner and sealant to turn a hardwood board into a foodsafe surface for feeding a crowd.

100+ Printable (and Free!) Halloween Templates

From printable party invitations to cute cupcake toppers, boo basket embellishments and party favors plus pumpkin-carving templates and indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, we've got everything you need to frighten up some fun this Halloween. All you need is a printer!

Easy Bavarian-Style Soft Pretzels

Soft, chewy pretzels are a frequent sight in German biergartens and the perfect salty companion to beer and (yum!) beer cheese. Up your Oktoberfest game this year and bake up a batch of these chewy munchables that are perfect for dipping. Learn how to make this fun, easy dish in just a few steps using readymade dough.