Skipping Spring and Kicking Summer Off with a Barbecue

Spring has been long in coming here in Chicago. So long in coming that we were still wearing our winter coats and wishing we hadn't lost our gloves last week while walking to school.  There's just nothing good or right about winter coats and red fingers in May, so we decided to send mother nature a message by hosting a cookout. Perhaps the smells of grilling steak will have a positive effect on the gray skies blanketing our city.

I don't care if it's raining, hailing, or even snowing on Sunday. Our grill will be fired up and emitting the powerfully delicious smells of summer. Here's a sneak peak at the menu:

• Rib Eye Steaks with Sassy Salt Rub
• Lime and Cumin Marinated Skirt Steaks
• Grilled Fingerling Potatoes
• Mexican Style Roasted Corn
• Tomato, Cucumber and Sweet Pea Salad
• Grilled Pound Cake and Pineapple with a Dulce de Leche drizzle
• and plenty of refreshing Watermelon Agua Frescas

The Bush's Grillin' Beans team has generously offered us some grilling beans and some barbecue supplies to help us in our quest to kick off summer. I sampled all three of their latest flavors: Steakhouse Recipe, Texas Ranchero, and Southern Pit BBQ and chose the one that would best complement our menu. We'll be serving up some Steakhouse Grillin' Beans to our guests to go with their steaks. Everything will definitely taste like summer, regardless of the weather forecast!

In the next week, after our cookout, I'll be hosting a giveaway here on Chefdruck Musings of the same barbecue kit and Grillin' Beans sampler for one of my readers to win. I won't spill any more details about the barbecue kit items, but I can promise that, if you win, you too will want to host a cookout asap to show off your new props to your friends. Stay tuned for giveaway details and make sure to sign up for my RSS feed in your email inbox to not miss it.

My Bush's Grillin' Beans cookout is one of ten that will be occurring across the country in the next few weeks to kick of summer. I am being compensated by Bush's Grillin' Beans to host my barbecue and write about it on my blog. What a great excuse to have a party!