We’re celebrating summer barbecues at the Lifestyles Channel. Bloggers offer their collective take on food, summer and fun:

At One Book Two Book, Mary Emma Allen combines reading and cooking for kids this summer in “Build It” with Food – Let’s Get Cooking!

Katelyn from Stamping Mad likes to add a special touch to cookouts with colorful handmade invitations.

Speaking of handmade, Mary Emma Allen has been featuring Christmas in July at Quilting and Patchwork. Check out these 13 Holiday Recipes for Quilters to Enjoy.

Corey and Kerri Aldrich (married b5media bloggers – like Chris and I) offer their perspective on who really wears the pants at the grill.

Despite what my uncles think, grilling isn’t just for pork, steaks, chicken and burgers: you could try grilling halloumi – cheese! It’s what’s for dinner.

If you do plan on grilling meat, consider trying a yummy sauce – at Kettle and Cup, Marye suggests Spicy Coffee Barbecue Sauce. While I haven’t tried it yet, it’s definitely going on my list. It feels like a twist on red eye gravy.

Marye also reminds us that there’s more to barbecue than you think. Check out Baking Delight’s All About Barbecue.

Cyndi offers up nontraditional fun family fare at Busy Family Meals with a great recipe: chicken Skewers with pineapple-macadamia nut sauce. It’s a tasty tropical mix for when it’s hot, hot, hot!

Cool things off with a fun summer dessert from She Knows Parties. Linette offers not one – but fifty – fun summer dessert ideas.

The great thing about barbecues is that you don’t have to go far. Make it a staycation! Kadi at Guerrilla Parenting shares her staycation experiences in photos – with a great recipe thrown in for fun!

Chris also stays local – with a look at domestic (US) beers just meant for summer. Drink up at Brewha-ha.com!

If beer isn’t your, well, cup of tea, consider a cocktail. Colleen suggests a classic gin and tonic over at Drinks After Dark.

Entertainment is key at a barbecue. Susan goes big and bold at Play Library with a look at an inflatable movie screen.

Of course, don’t forget about the guests that you don’t want at a party – mosquitoes! Marye offers up homemade mosquito repellent at Simply Home Remedies.

Finally, clean up doesn’t have to be all about the trash. Peg, at Tree Hugging Family, encourages you to make it easy on yourself – consider throwing a reusable, recycled and “disposable” party.

Post from: EveryJoe

Some Like It Hot: Summertime Barbecue

Oh no, no, no. Not those brats. Bratwurst.

The first time I ever saw bratwurst was in May – but we didn’t cook it for Memorial Day weekend. It was a barbecue to celebrate our first year of law school. It was BYOM – bring your own meat – believe it or not (oh come on, we were poor grad students). This one guy brought something they called bratwurst – it looked kind of funny. This one guy is now my husband and we now eat all kinds of wursts – more on that later.

Brats just lend themselves to beer. It’s a perfect pairing.

There’s a whole lot of debate about whether you should grill brats – or boil them. Either way is good – but doing both is even better!

So here’s what you do:

BEER AND BRATS

1 onion
2 T butter
1 bottle beer (lager is a good choice – remember that the point of the beer is to add flavor so use something that you like)
4 bratwursts

Slice the onion and place it in a large skillet with the butter. When the onions are soft and translucent, add enough beer in the skillet to cover the onions. Add the brats and cook for about 10 minutes – enough to parboil and absorb the flavor of the beer.

Your brats are cooked (hooray) at this point. Remove the brats and the onions from the beer/butter.

You could eat them now. But throwing them on the grill crisps the outside and makes them brown so toss them onto the grill for a few moments (you could also throw the onions on for a moment if you wanted). You should see lovely hash marks on the outside as the brats grill – don’t overdo it.

Of course, if you’re in a hurry or out at the park, you could skip the parboiling by buying beer brats and simply tossing those on the grill.

Now for the fun part… eating them! They’re delicious enough to eat alone or in a bun. But try adding…

Mustard (spicy is terrific)
Ketchup (hubby wouldn’t dare but kids love it)
Sweet Relish (again, hubby considers it sacrilege but I think it’s great)
Sauerkraut (make your own or buy some from the deli section of the supermarket)

And of course, don’t forget the potato salad and the beer!

Next up: what beer goes best with brats?

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: EveryJoe

Beer and Brats: Memorial Day Weekend

Yeah, I know that it’s not officially summer yet. As I sit in my house with the heat on (I didn’t want to do it), I am acutely aware that summer hasn’t found us yet. That said, this weekend is the Memorial Day holiday weekend, which is traditionally associated with the beginning of the summer season.

Over the next few days, we plan to post some great summer recipes, beers to try and tips for starting the season off right.

To get started, pop over to the sidebar and take our poll: What kind of beer do you reach for in summer?

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: EveryJoe

Hot Times, Summer in the City