Summer BBQ

Summer barbecue's are a favorite. I love to have large groups of people over for an afternoon/evening on the ranch. The views are most often the highlight, however we always have great food. Last weekend we had a group of 18 people that were all affiliated with the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival. Most of our guests were from the local Telluride Marshal's Department or reserve officers. I didn't attend the festival in favor of staying home and cooking for the crowd. Our menu consisted of:

BBQ Chicken and Sausage
Tomato and Corn Pasta Salad (recipe follows)
Green Salad with Peaches and Pecans (recipe follows)
Bush's Baked Beans - in a can......needed a short cut!
French Bread
Lemon Bars.....OK, OK I needed another short cut and used a Krusteaz mix

Tomato and Corn Pasta

1 lb. penne pasta
2 cups of Olathe Sweet Corn cut off the cob
2 leaks cleaned and chopped, white parts only
1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
1/2 cup basil torn into small pieces
1/2 grated Parmesan
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, cut corn off the cob and chop leaks. Add both to a skillet that has been sprinkled with olive oil. Cook together for 10-15 minutes or until the corn and leaks are cooked. Let the pasta cool slightly then add the corn & leak mixture, tomatoes, basil & Parmesan. Drizzle olive oil over the pasta and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

This is a great pasta salad that can be kept at room temperature for quite some time.



Green Salad with Peaches and Pecans

Portions are not listed .........

Mixed salad greens
Palisade peaches cut into bite sized pieces
Chopped chives
Spicy Pecans
Toss with vinegar and oil, salt and pepper.

Spicy Pecans


1 egg white
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
2 tablespoons  paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 1/4 cups pecan halves
3 tablespoons melted butter

Beat egg whites with salt until foamy. Add sugar, Worcestershire, paprika and cayenne. Stir in pecans and butter. Spread pecans evenly on a baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool and store in an air tight container.


#telluridebluesandbrewsfestival  #olathesweetcorn, #palisadepeaches #worchestershire #krusteaz #pennepasta

Of course, setting the table(s) are even more fun than cooking. I like to keep it rustic. In this case I used a cool tablecloth made by my very creative friend, #LynnBowers, out of old jeans. She cut out squares and sewed them together like a quilt and lined it with a cream colored cotton lace fabric. I think she should start a business making these tablecloths......what do you think?  Very cool.

Our table is huge and a custom made tablecloth is the only thing that will fit.

I used blue tin granite plates and a variety of napkins. The flowers are from my garden.