Easy Labor Day Weekend Ideas

Couscous salad topped with grilled veggies, serve with grilled pita and you’ll have the perfect lunch,

or serve it as a side with any roast you might be putting on the grill.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing a platter filled with grilled veggies drizzled with olive oil and balsamic glaze!

A perfect side dish with any grilled meats.

Or slabs of grilled sweet onions with dollops of warm gorgonzola.

For an extremely fresh salad that you can’t stop eating, try this Zucchini Carpaccio

Salad. Paper thin slices of fresh zucchini tossed with baby arugula, shredded Parmigiano Reggiano, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil. Topped with toasted walnuts.

For a quick dessert take advantage of all the beautiful apricots that are still available.

Stuff them with sweetened mascarpone and plop a blackberry on top, drizzle with honey or agave and stick them under your broiler. Garnish with pistachio’s.

Keep it simple and savor every last bit of all the beautiful summer produce.
Buon Appetito!

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53 Comments

I tried it. Followed the instructions to the letter. It was yukky. I think this would be better if you baked the apricots for a while, until they are soft, then put the cheese and blackberries on top and broil for just a little bit.

Sorry about that Amanda, but your apricots didn’t sound to ripe, ripe fruit is the key, but that’s a good idea to roast them first if not so ripe.

I have tried to find the recipe for the grilled onions with the dollop of cheese on top. I can’t seem to find it. Could you send it to me?

Thanks!!

Georgia, There really is no recipe, I just grilled slabs of onions that were brushed with olive oil, then removed them with a spatula and placed a heaping tablespoon of gorgonzola cheese on top which melts from the warm onion, to finish it off I drizzled a rich balsamic glaze over the top.

I made the apricots this weekend for a holiday party – they were amazing!! I added a little sugar cookie cup base because I had to use canned apricots, but all in all it was delicious and I didn’t have any leftovers. :o) Thanks for sharing!

I made the apricots with the blackberries but it sure didn’t look like the pic. My marscapone practically melted off the apricots. I did not have a sweetened marscapone cheese and there is no really recipe to add anything so can someone help me out on this one please. TheyHAVE to taste as good as the pic looks but it fell short.

janet you might have kept them under the broiler too long and that’s why the cream melted. To sweeten them I just added some sugar to taste, just to sweeten it up a bit, stirred it in them stuffed them. You could just grill the apricots ahead of time, stuff them then for a quick minute stick them under the broiler.
Hope this helps,

Marie

Found you on pinterest but sadly the pictures on photobucket seem to be down. Nevertheless I saw one pic before and it looks fantastic!

Mmmmmm, all these grilled foods look amazing! I’m so sad at my new place I don’t have room for a grill…may have to try and do some grilling at a park this summer because these look too good to pass up! Can’t decide if I am more a fan of the grilled onions with blue cheese or the stuffed apricots…wow!

Just found you via Pinterest – that cous cous salad with grilled veggies is my idea of heaven. Can’t wait to peek around and see what other delicious things you’ve shared! 🙂

I sure wish I would have visited here before the holiday for that zucchini salad . . . wow! Guess it’s not too late but it will be just Mr. Rosemary and me, not the whole family.

You have no idea how my mouth is watering just looking at those gorgeous photos, Marie. And now that I have a bottle of that luscious balsamic glaze, those grilled veggies are mine!

Each recipe looks fantastic for Labor Day and all year round! I love grilled/roasted veggies as they taste so much sweeter prepared that way, and the zucchini salad is pure genius. My husband loves apricots and I know he’d really really enjoy them made this way.

Have a wonderful holiday, Marie. I’ve been having a wonderful time this week enjoying company with my grandsons 🙂

Everything looks fantastic! I love the onions with gorgonzola. You said “warm” gorgonzola. How did you warm them, in the oven or microwave?

Nobody has ever made vegetables look more enticing. I just did platters of zucchini carpaccio – so moving on to those apricots (oh my – yes) and you wowed me with the onions. I cannot believe someone can wow me with onions.

These dishes all look so delicious! One of my goals for this week is to make a balsamic reduction, and these grilled veggies look like the perfect thing to put it on. I haven’t grilled/broiled many fruit, but you’re inspiring me to make the effort to do so!

Where to begin? the gorgonzola on grilled onions is a brilliant idea. IAll those roasted veggies and couscous could turn me into a vegetarian. And the apricots topped with blackberries? Inspired, as you are. can you please move next door?

Wow, these photos and recipes just jumps out from the screen. Lovely recipes, although I must confess that I am partial to the slabs of onions with gorgonzola!