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Here Are a Few Recipes to Help You Celebrate

It is so amazingly gorgeous today that, as soon as I finish this column, I will open the door to my patio and undress my grill.

Before I covered it for the winter, I cleaned out the grates, but, as often is the case, some little critters may have moved into the cabinets and hibernated. That’s pretty okay with me, but their lease is up and it’s my time to move in, clear them out, and clean it up.

I have no plans to go anywhere once the weather gets warm, and warm, to me, is 50 degrees and sunny. I may use the grill this weekend, but if it is too cold, I will thaw a big chuck steak and braise it in a Le Creuset Dutch oven with a braising liquid like the wet barbecue sauce my husband used to make. I have everything I need to make that sauce, and I make may some risotto with fresh mushrooms. For my vegetable, I will pick up a small cabbage and make my mother’s cole slaw, one of the few dishes she felt comfortable cooking. Here is the recipe for the barbecue sauce and cole slaw.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Barbecue Sauce

In my husband’s writing, but perhaps he got it from someone else

Yield: makes just over 2 cups

1 medium onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

8 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons black pepper

1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 cups ketchup

2 cups water

In a large saucepan, sauté onion and garlic until soft. Stir in all the rest of the ingredients, bring to a soft boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Cool, then pour in bottle or plastic container and refrigerate. Will keep for at least a month.

Cole Slaw

Pauline Aronson’s cole slaw

One small to medium head of cabbage, cored and sliced fine

1 small onion, sliced thin

Salt to taste

2 carrots, grated

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup water

¼ cup, sugar

Mayonnaise, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Put cabbage and onions in a bowl, mix with salt, and let it stand for about 1 hour. Pour off liquid, rinse, and squeeze dry. Add carrots. Pour vinegar and water over the mixture. Let stand about 1 hour more. Drain. Add mayonnaise and sugar and mix well, then cover it and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Before serving, add salt and pepper to taste. If you want to serve before refrigerating, you can taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.