I'm not sure what you mean by BBQ'd hamburgers?

but this is great for picnic style meals

CAMBRIDGE CORN RELISH
Makes 8 servings
Source: The Chesapeake Bay Fish and Fowl Cookbook by Joan and Joe Foley

8 ears corn (about 4 cups when cut from cob)
1 onion finely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper finely chopped
2 ribs celery finely chopped
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
Black pepper
3/4 cup cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate in a covered glass dish. Mix well before serving. Use within 24 hours for best taste.

Baked Beans?

I like to slice Vidalia onions (or another sweet onion) brush with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, wrap in foil and throw on the grill till browned and somewhat limp. No time suggestion as I have no idea what kind of a grill you are using.

You can do these ahead of time and either reheat or serve on your cold relish tray.

My meal like that always is potato salad, corn on the cob, either slaw or what I call Salata...cut up cukes, onion tomatoes and green peppers dressed with salt pepper a tiny bit of sugar and olive oil and cider vinegar..watermelon and some sort of strawberry dessert....or if I am ambitious....home made ice cream.
Linda C

I recently made a potato salad with green beans (1-1/2 lb red potatoes with skins on to 1 lb green beans, 1" segments) and a simple vinaigrette dressing. Yummy, and perfect for your party.

(OT, but as a Southerner, I cringe when I hear people talk about BBQ burgers, unless they're actually adding BBQ sauce. When I moved to CA many many years ago, I remember being invited to a BBQ party and the host said there would be burgers, which I thought sounded very strange. ;-). Grilled burgers are one thing, BBQ is something different!)

Hope your Mom had a great birthday!

Sorry... GRILLED burgers. Grilled. I forgot about the "grill vs. BBQ" difference, LOL. Grilled burgers, cooked on a Weber charcoal kettle. I was using the common (to me, at least) "let's BBQ some burgers!"

Now that we have that straightened out... ;-)

Thank you for your suggestions.

Potato salad
Tuna pasta salad
Green bean/corn/black bean salad w/fresh tomatoes
Deviled eggs

Heck, I say call 'em whatever you want. It's your party, after all.

Here are a couple of sides that we like with burgers and such.

White Corn Salad

2c frozen shoepeg white corn
3/4c chopped roma tomato
1/2 c chopped cucumber
2T chopped green bell pepper
3T white wine vinegar
1-1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine vegetables in bowl, toss. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Pour over corn mixture and toss well.
Serves 4

From Cooking Light magazine, date unknown

Tequilaberry's Salad Dressing: 1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip!) 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup milk 1 pound bacon\-cooked until crisp and crumbled Salad Base: 2 pounds bagged Dole Salad Mix 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut in small pieces 11/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Mix dressing ingredients until they are the consistency of heavy cream. If needed, add extra milk or sugar to taste. Toss together the Salad ingredients and pour the dressing on. Toss until well coated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caesar Pasta Salad From Cooking Light 3 c. cooked Penne pasta 2 c. chopped Romaine lettuce 1\-1/2c. halved cherry tomatoes 1/2c. chopped fresh basil 1/2 c. chopped green onion 1/3 c Caesar dressing 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley 4 oz. crumbled Feta cheese 1 garlic clove, minced 3 c. shredded cooked chicken breast ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sour Cream Dill Potato Salad (Inspired by a recipe found in Southern Living Cookbook) 3 lb. new potatoes, unpeeled 2/3 c mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip!) 1/2 c radish, chopped or sliced 1/2 c chopped celery 1 c sour cream 2T chopped fresh dill 3T onion, grated 2T fresh chopped parsley 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1\. Boil potatoes until tender, then dice and place in large bowl with radishes and celery. 2\. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl. Fold into vegetables. 3\. Cover and chill. Garnish with fresh dill if desired. Linda

Potato salad and deviled eggs for sure, as well as cucumbers and vidalia onion slices in sour cream and cider vinegar!

As for nibblies......I'd really keep it super casual. Chips and some homemade dips, nuts and bolts, fruit and cheese.

A third vote for the deviled eggs.... whenever I bring them to a pot luck picnic, people act like they haven't had them in forever and I never bring a single one home!

What you listed in your first post sounds like a great feast!! Have fun!

Grace (oh wow, my first real food post again in ages!!)

Beer.

Another vote for potato salad and deviled eggs. I made deviled eggs for a cookout not long ago and they were history in short order. My group loves chips and dip with a burger too. Here is a wonderful homemade dip from Ina that has been a hit with my group for years now. Remember that Lipton onion soup and sour cream recipe? This is fabulous!

Pan-Fried Onion DipCopyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved

Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Soup Lunch

Ingredients

2 large yellow onions 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup good mayonnaise Directions Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix well. Taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

Note: I chop the onions as I/we find the sliced ones messy and hard to keep on a chip or off your chin while eating it. Double the recipe for sure...it won't last long.

Just cut that corn off the cob for your DM. Still taste wonderful...no worries about the dental challenges. We did it for kids when they didn't have their front teeth back when they were younger. LOL

Sounds like a great day with the family. Enjoy your time together and Happy Birthday to your DM!

David

Lots of votes for potato salad. Me too. Especially with green beans added. It's a great combination, whether with vinaigrette or mayo based dressing.

Homemade baked beans would be good too. Canned ones are OK as an everyday dish but even if embellished they aren't as good as homemade.

You said your Mom's taste is "typical American fare". I would scrupulously respect that on this occasion.

Jim

Actually, I've been in California so long now that I no longer care what you call it, but do call me with an invite!

Have a great time!

Thanks everyone!

For a different take on potato salad, try Smitten Kitchen's Pesto Potato Salad with Green Beans. It's terrific.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smitten Kitchen

I love potato salad, you can't go wrong with that.

Another take on potatoes would be simple roast potatoes.

Peel yellow potatoes. Cut into big chunks, e.g. quarter them. Into heavily salted water, bring to boil, down to simmer until about half-cooked. Not hard or soft, but fairly firm to an inserted fork. Remove potatoes to large workbowl. Optionally, add several sprigs of rosemary. Add a good amount of salt, preferably kosher. Toss potatoes in salt until outer surface is well roughed up. Spread on oiled roasting pan, with the rosemary if using. Pre-heated 400F oven for 20 min, then check every 5 min for desired brown-ness. You want outside brown and a bit crusty, inside soft and kind of fluffy. Sprinkle with chopped chives if no rosemary.

If the menu is getting too starchy with all these potatoes, maybe grill some lightly oiled veggies along with the burgers. Beans, broccoli, bell peppers, zuccini, etc.

Maybe some chicken wings?

Unwrap a big party pack of wings, score each wing's skin a couple times, cut the drummettes from the, I dunno what they're called, forearms? Steam the wings for 20 minutes. This renders out some of the fat, the scoring helps. Pat the wings dry, dry them in the refrigerator if you have time. Salt the wings and grill them until skin is browned and a bit crispy. Or, roast in oven while you're doing the potatoes, about 15-25 min. In large workbowl, have some melted butter and a bit of cayenne pepper or just a little bit of hot sauce. Dump all the wings, hot from the grill or oven, in the bowl and toss with the butter.

Ohhh, thread swerves!
I love them.

Unwrap a big party pack of wings, score each wing's skin a couple times, cut the drummettes from the, I dunno what they're called, forearms? Steam the wings for 20 minutes. This renders out some of the fat, the scoring helps. Pat the wings dry, dry them in the refrigerator if you have time. Salt the wings and grill them until skin is browned and a bit crispy. Or, roast in oven while you're doing the potatoes, about 15-25 min. In large workbowl, have some melted butter and a bit of cayenne pepper or just a little bit of hot sauce. Dump all the wings, hot from the grill or oven, in the bowl and toss with the butter.

Here is my method for grilled wings:

Unwrap a party pack of wings and clip the tips off, slice/nick the skin between the drumette and wingette (that is what they are called here, John) ((Save those tips for stock)) But don't separate, makes it easier to flip on the grill.

Brine the V shaped wing minus tip for 30 minutes and rinse and drain well. Pat dry and rack up and place in fridge for an hour or so.

Grill, absolutely plain on medium until 3/4 done. You will find the brining prevents flareups. Mostly.

Now place a healthy knob of butter into a serving bowl, throw the wings in on top and slosh a healthy amount of your fav hot sauce all over. Toss everything and let stand to hot marinate. I generally use the consumption of a bottle or can of beer as my timer here, at this point. Toss and stir frequently, don't just stand around and drink the beer. Add more hot sauce if the wings absorb it all.

While the above is going on, turn the grill to high and scrape the grills.

Throw the marinated wings onto the hot grill, ensuring they all lie flat, not on top of one another like a 70's hot tub party.

Flip and repeat the above step.

Remove to a serving platter.

Serve, receive accolades.

Here is another potato salad.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Potato Salad - Warm Pesto Potato Salad
======================================
Fingerling or Nuggets
1/4 to 1/2 cup homemade pesto sauce
1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil (more if needed)
1 glove of garlic
1 red pepper - julienned
3 or 4 green onions chopped
Parmesan cheese

Cook Potatoes until tender.

Cut potatoes into large bite size pieces.

In a bowl Mix Pesto, olive oil and minced garlic. Toss with warm
potaotes.

Mix in the green onion and red pepper strips and sprinkle with fresh
grated parmesan cheese. Toss the salad to coat with the parmesan.