Weekend Cooking- My Food Week in Delaware- Part II

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In last week's Weekend Cooking post, I wrote about some of the great food and restaurants from our family vacation in Dewey Beach, Delaware. One of the most fun foodie things we do is having each family take one night and being responsible for dinner.

It all starts early on, where emails go back and forth, deciding who is bringing what supplies (coffee, condiments, paper products). Then we segue into what each family is cooking for dinner. We don't want duplicates, so everyone responds with their menu. (And one person, who shall remain nameless, critiques everyone's menu ideas.)

This year we added appetizers and adult drinks. We had some real winners, including Brigette's 7-Layer Greek Dip along with a Raspberry Peach Prosecco Punch on our first night. They were both so good they made return appearance later in the week.


Another terrific appetizer was Sausage, Bean and Spinach Dip that everyone devoured. I made two dips- Pepperoni Pizza Dip (an old stand-by) and So-Cal Steak Fajita Dip ( a new one). Twenty-nine people had no problems eating them all up. I did two beverages- Raspberry Mango Sangria that was a big hit, and Root Beer Shots, that was not so much a fan favorite. I tweaked the second batch to change the ratio of root beer to vanilla vodka from 1:1 to 2:1 and it was a little better.

Root Beer Shots-needed work

Mom made a Drunken Watermelon that was refreshing and even did a non-alcoholic version for the kids. Dad made his world famous milkshakes, using his new milkshake machine he got for Father's Day. He had a longer line than Cafe Papillon's crepe line.

Dad working the milkshake machine

Sister-in-law Sue did a Mexican night and made a new recipe- Black Bean Enchilada Casserole from America's test Kitchen that may have been everyone's number one dish. It was so tasty! She also made a Taco Bar, Mexican Bean Salad and for dessert, her family made "Fried" Ice Cream Balls that were totally amazing and easy to do.

Brigette made a new recipe for her main entree- Sicilian Meatloaf. I am not a meatloaf fan, but this was so tasty with a delicious sauce on top. The best part was that she made enough for sandwiches the next day, which was even better than day one, if that is possible. She did two yummy desserts- Brownie Trifle and a Lemon Berry Cake. It was hard to choose which to have, so most of us had both.

Lemon Berry Cake

Sister-in-law Kay made a wonderful homemade salsa to accompany her bbq chicken dinner that was fantastic. We all love her Grilled Vegetables, and were very happy to see them on the menu. Even people who don't like vegetables gobble these up.

The Young Chefs

The grandkids got in on the action too. The older ones took a night and treated us to JD & Ryan's Famous Grilled Steaks, along with Crack Potatoes made by Sarah and Adam. Mackenzie whipped up his Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese and Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches made the perfect ending. It was great to see the tradition passed down.

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made a Pinterest board with some of these recipes and if you want to see them click here.