Here’s a Labor Day Gourmet Grilling Party Menu for those of you who might like to entertain!

For so many years, the neighborhood I lived in had a Gourmet dinner group that gathered for a dinner party one weekend every single month. There were twenty of us.  This is one of those dinners that we had, and this menu was a big time favorite of all of our gatherings.

Table centerpiece for Labor Day Gourmet Grilling Party

How to make a centerpiece for a summer party:

To create this centerpiece for your Labor Day Gourmet Grilling Party, use a rubber band to wrap asparagus around formula (or coffee) cans, stick a glass inside and arrange flowers in the glass.  Wrap raffia around the asparagus to  cleverly cover the rubber band.  Aren’t they wonderful centerpieces?

Our menu:
The featured beverage…

Blueberry Margaritas
Blueberry Margaritas (edged in sugar): Yum!

The appetizers…

Lima Bean Hummus
Herbed Lima Bean Hummus: This is very, very good. You have to play with the spices a bit to get the flavor that you’re looking for, but it’s unique and summery and perfect with veggies or pita chips or crackers.

Fresh Blueberry Salsa: It sounds unusual, but it’s a very summery approach to an appetizer, and it works. Dip a chip or two in this stuff, and you might have trouble stopping.

The starter…

Chilled Zucchini Soup
Chilled Zucchini Soup with Lemon- Cumin Shrimp & Cilantro Cream: These can served in small tea cups or another small cup.  Dunk the shrimp, and then sip the soup out the cups. It’s a gorgeous soup for an extremely hot day- great choice.

The main meal:

Gorgonzola Stuffed Burgers
Gorgonzola- Stuffed Beef Burgers with Sauteed Wild Mushrooms & Caramelized Red Onion Marmalade: Oh My! Everything about these burgers is perfect- the mushrooms, the marmalade and the hint of gorgonzola. These are definitely gourmet, and no extra condiments are needed.

Grilled Corn Salad: This is always a favorite salad recipe. It has a creamy vinaigrette that completely makes the salad. Everyone will ask for seconds!
Watermelon and Avocado Salad
Watermelon & Avocado Salad: This salad is the classic mix of watermelon, feta and greens, but it also has avocado added in.  It’s tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette. It’s a very good summer salad.

The dessert…

Fresh Peach Ice Cream
Fresh Peach Ice Cream with Vanilla- Scented Peaches: This is a creamy, creamy ice cream loaded with fresh peach flavor (not frozen peach chunks), and topped with peaches that have marinated in a vanilla bean-wine simple syrup. Oh yeah!

All recipes for this Labor Day Gourmet Grilling Party Menu are fantastic, and each would be a welcome addition to a Labor Day Barbecue.  Have a terrific holiday weekend of grilling, eating, relaxing & hanging out with friends. Be sure to try out a new recipe or two.

All recipes listed can be found by clicking on the recipe titles above.

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36 Comments

  1. Rhyleysgranny says:

    Now that is one party I would like to have attended. Fabulous food

  2. southern hostess says:

    What a fabulous menu! Everything looks amazing!

  3. noble pig says:

    Beautiful…everything…and very clever centerpiece!

  4. Lynda says:

    Now that’s a gourmet group – lucky you! I love all the blueberries and will have to try the margarita.

  5. Barbara says:

    Wow – I wish our neighborhood parties were more like this!

  6. Doreen says:

    Yumm!! I too wish I lived in your neighborhood. The meal and the setting looks fantastic!

  7. Paula says:

    Wow I wish I lived in your neighborhood! Everything looks absolutely wonderful! I love your centerpieces. So original!!

  8. patsyk says:

    The gorgonzola burgers have my drooling! I recently had a bleu cheese burger and was thinking that stuffing a burger with gorgonzola would be so mouth-watering.

    Love that centerpiece idea!

  9. Jessica says:

    Wow…YUM! I want to try the burgers, hummus and corn salad. Thanks for sharing!

  10. Jenny says:

    Wow Lori, what an arrangement you’ve got here! I love all of it! Fabulous post my dear!