"cookouts" news and stories

Well, Memorial Day is on Monday, as I'm sure you're aware. That means that it's grilling season, and a lot of people will be having a cookout. As Inventor Spot points out, this can lead to a lot of awkward plate and cup balancing, not to mention spills.

However, the problem may be solved with two beverage holding gadgets. Mobile Grape has this necklace style holder that holds any kind of glass with a stem. The other product, BevNeck, is the same concept for cans, bottles, and stemless glasses.

While the BevNeck and Mobile Grape don't solve all table-less dining problems, they seem like they could be a big help. Maybe keeping a few of these around for summer cookouts would be a good idea.

We all know that Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. Vacations are ending, kids are going back to school, and even though it might still be warm there's something that has changed in the air compared to August. There's still time for one more cookout though!

AllRecipes has a great selection of foods you can make today, whether you're having a cookout or just making something to eat inside. How about a Bucket Salad, or maybe some Factory Workers Chicken? Or how about the Cholesterol King Heart Stopper 3000, a giant party sandwich? If you're feeling guilty about that you can always eat a Watermelon Fruit Bowl for dessert.

Check out that first link above for all the recipes, categorized by different themes: America's Melting Pot, This Land is Your Land, and Big Appetites, Unite.

Well, here's one day where it's obvious why it was placed in the summer. Though I think the more adventurous foodies would welcome the chance to celebrate National Eat Outside Day on January 6.

So your assignment today is to eat outside at some point. Maybe you can have breakfast out on your deck or balcony, or maybe eat lunch at an outdoor cafe, or invite the neighbors over for one of the last cookouts of the year. Or if you're going to a baseball game, the "eat outside" part will take care of itself.

To push you in the right direction, here is our Spirit of Summer category, and here are some ideas from our Grilling category. And here are some links from Yahoo for eating alfresco around the world.

A few weeks ago, some friends and I put together an impromptu cookout on a friend's back patio. We spent an hour gathering ingredients at the Italian Market and ended up with chicken, beef, shrimp, a bunch of grill-able veggies and ten ears of corn. The corn went on the grill last, husks and all. While they cooked, I ran into the kitchen and pulled together a lime flavored butter to melt down over the corn. Though we were totally stuffed by the time we got to the corn, it didn't stop us from devouring it, dripping lime butter and all.

Better Homes and Gardens has a tasty-looking slide show up right now of 10 different ways to flavor your corn on the cob, that had I seen it before that weekend cook out, would have made me question my choice of lime butter, just because there are so many other good options. I'm especially tempted by the fresh sage, rosemary and butter combination.

I find cookouts rather boring (as I've said here before, I'm not a fan of summer, cookouts, parades, or humidity - bring on the fall!), but if I were going to throw one, I'd try to find different things to make other than the usual burgers and hot dogs and corn-on-the-cob. Or at least find a way to do a different spin on those mainstays.

Over at AOL Food, there's a recipe for Inside-Out Cheeseburgers from EatingWell. The cheese -- both cheddar and Gruyere -- goes on the inside so it can ooze out. However, I think if they really want to make these cheeseburgers inside-out, they'd find some way to put the bun on the inside too!