What the heck am I going to bring?!?!?

I never know what to bring to family cookouts. Luckily, my in-laws requested I make a macaroni salad. They know how I am so I was asked to keep it simple. I searched online to find classic macaroni salads since I always make Italian pasta salad with loads of ingredients that not everyone likes! So I found some recipes and made my own take on them. I love the idea of using dijon mustard in the dressing, that is always tastey when it comes to any summer time salad.

First, every good salad needs a good dressing, so mix this together:

2-1/2 tbsp dijon mustard

2/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup mayonaise

salt and pepper to taste

after all these ingredients are mixed well, mix in a pound of cooked macaroni

now time to add veggies

2 celery stalks chopped
2 carrots grated
1 large onion diced
1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
2 medium tomatoes diced

mix it all together now, and let it sit over night in the fridge for best results

I think it was a hit because everyone kept on telling me how much they loved it. Usually I am my own toughest critic, and yeah, it was damn good!

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Dogfish head 90 minute IPA

I've been craving 90 minute IPA for a while now, and finally found some at the packy so it was a quick shopping trip. Dogfish head 90 minute IPA is an imperial IPA with around 9% abv. I feel that dogfish head IPAs my standard for IPAs. When I sample an IPA I think how it stacks up to DFH 60 minute, and when it comes to imperial IPAs I keep in mind the 90 minute. I love IPAs. I feel that Dogfish head supplies what I am looking for in an IPA. Its a nice balance of bitter hops and a malty sweetness. I have had imperial IPAs that are just so strong that they aren't as enjoyable as they could be. I could drink 60 and 90 minute all the time. The 90 minute ran me around $10 for a 4-pack, but it was well worth it, honestly. After enjoying my Dogfish head throughout the weekend, I was reminded why I always go back to dogfish head and thought hey I really need to purchase this good stuff more often!

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Hot dogs on a hot day

My friend and I were hanging out on a hot day and wanted something simple to make but yet very satisfying. I had leftover onions and saurkraut, and I picked up some hot dogs and buns. Hot dogs are great because they are already cooked and all you need to do is heat them up quick and give them that nice grilled flavor. I don't usually do anything plain and boring and neither does my friend so the dogs were complete with onions, saurkraut, and spicy dijon mustard. mmmmm.

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Berkshire Brewing Company Hefeweizen

I always seem to miss this beer when it comes around. Finally, I saw this 22 oz bomber and had to pick it up! This beer stays true to the hefeweizen style. It was very refreshing on that hot day that I enjoyed it. Best of all, it is local! A must have if you like hefeweizen.

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5 summer seasonals to try

Here is a nice list of some summer beers I have tried in the past or for the first time this year. I find summer the most difficult to find the perfect seasonal beers. A lot of summer beers tend to be too fruity or too bland or just plain awful. Summer time is such a great time for beer so here are some suggestions to mix it up from just having only corona and lime all summer.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest- one of the best summer seasonals out there

Dogfish head festina peche- fruit beer done right

Sam adams east-west kolsch- great new beer in the summer mix pack

Otter creek Otter summer ale- better than ever this year

Gritty Mcduff's Vacationland- something new I tried this year, and enjoyed it!

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Company over....time to grill!

Well it finally stopped raining and a couple my wife and I hand out with came by to hang out. We were all hungry so I decided since the company is kinda picky that I would grill some burgers and do oven fries.

I decided to get fresh meat from the grocery store and do my handmade burgers with my added touches sure to impress guests.

I like to add steak seasoning and some worchestershire sauce to the burger meat. The burgers tend to come out extra juicy and really flavorful when I add these simple ingredients. I completed my burgers with american cheese and bbq sauce. Everyone seemed to rave about these burgers. They were damn good I have to admit. So, premium burgers served with fries, and a nice cold otter creek copper ale...its a beautiful thing!

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Local team and local brew tailgating fun

Over the weekend, I went to Foxborough,mass to watch my favorite sports team, the New England Revolution soccer team. I support local beer and my local teams so this was double action.

Ahead of time, I decided to make Italian pasta salad to go with grilled chicken marinated in Italian dressing. I don't have a specific recipe for Italian pasta salad, I throw whatever I feel like in there with a dressing, cheese, spices. This time I used penne pasta, cherry tomatoes, black olives, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, Italian 4 cheese, black pepper, italian seasoning, and a garlic cesar dressing. Mmmmmmmm it came out very good!

So I had the pasta salad ready to go with the marinating chicken. I packed a six pack of Gritty's vacationland summer ale, a new england beer brewed in Maine. I also had the leftover Sam Adams mix pack. With all this good stuff, I was excited to start tailgating, especially since this was my first real tailgating experience where I ran the show. We get to the game and park in the tailgating section. Time to start drinking the brews! I set everything up, folding chairs, cooler, grill, stereo with Ipod. We crank the tunes and get the grilling going. Gritty's vacationland was a decent summer ale by the way, nice and refreshing. So what better way to kick off the day with great beer, awesome food (grilled chicken and pasta salad came out great!) Right before the game started as we were finding our seats, I found a stand that said "New England Beer" sweet! I was hoping they would have a good beer somewhere, you gotta love New England, they have stands dedicated to local beer at their stadiums! So, I had to get Harpoon UFO white which I love during the summer. My New England Revolution winning 1 to 0, what a great day!

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