Memorial Day may mark the unofficial start of summer, but that's good enough for me. It's the time of year for picnicking, grilling, and sipping on cocktails or mocktails in the sunshine. So, if you're planning your summer festivities, these tried-and-true food and drink hacks are well worth a try.
2. Spiralize hot dogs on skewers so that they cook more evenly and develop an extra delicious char.
3. Pre-scoop ice cream into muffin tins for mess-free, easier serving later. Just scoop the ice cream into cupcake liners and then freeze the entire tin. When it's time to serve, pop them right out into a bowl or cone.
4. Or, use a muffin tin to serve all types of various condiments for burger/hot dog toppings and let your guests DIY.
5. For naturally sweeter lemonade, roast halved lemons in the oven before juicing them. Roasting them draws out their natural sugars and tones down their tartness so you might not need to add as much sweetener later.
6. To prevent fish like salmon from sticking to the grill, cook it on a bed of citrus like thinly sliced lemons. Your fish will have a little hint of citrus once it's cooked, but it will slide off the grill with zero mess.
7. Use a potato to make your grill grates non-stick. Just scrub the halved potato onto the grill then add your food. There will be no sticky mess thanks to the starches in the potato.
8. Clean your dirty grill with a halved onion. Slice an onion in half, make sure the grill is still nice and hot, then rub the halved onion all over the grates to get rid of stubborn food and grease.
9. Freeze jello in slabs for the most strangely satisfying, texturally-brilliant summer snack you've ever tasted.
10. Swap ordinary burgers for Surprise Burgers, a retro, dough-stuffed burger recipe guaranteed to impress anyone at your summer cookout.
11. Use cupcake liners to keep dripping ice pops from melting all over your hands and clothes.
12. For impressive grilled pizza, don't pre-make your pie with all the toppings. Add the dough directly to the grill first, letting it cook for a minute or two until it hardens. Flip the dough and then compile your pizza toppings — sauce, cheese, and toppings. Your pizza will retain its shape and nice char rather than get mushy and fall through the grates.
13. Chill a bottle of wine ASAP by wrapping it in a wet dish towel (or paper towel) and sticking it in the freezer. The entire bottle will cool down in 10 minutes or less.
14. Blend or shake up your favorite cocktails and pour them into Ziploc bags for portable, boozy Capri Suns. You can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge or on ice until you're ready to drink. Then, pop in a straw and enjoy.
15. Press an ice cube in the center of your hamburger patty on the grill to keep it moist while cooking. Say goodbye to dry burgers for good!
16. Use a bundt pan to cleanly and efficiently slice corn off the cob.
