In the Kitchen With SI Swimsuit: the Perfect Memorial Day Weekend BBQ

This quarantine has brought out the Julia Child in all of us. From peanut butter cookies to sourdough bread, from soup to caramelized shallot pasta, everyone seems to be cooking and baking all day. For many in New York City, this means cleaning out kitchen storage spaces (aka the oven) to make way for the newest breakfast casserole or that banana bread that seems to be on everybody's Instagram story. Many SI Swimsuit models love to cook and we’ve been getting some amazing inspiration from their creations in this recurring column.

This week in the kitchen, Brooks Nader gives SI Swimsuit the exclusive on how her family throws a crawfish boil, a great switch-up to your standard Memorial Day menu (they’re from Louisiana so they know a thing or two about crawfish boils); Chrissy Teigen whips up the hot dog of your holiday weekend BBQ dreams; and Emily DiDonato shares a cookie recipe that makes the perfect post-barbecue dessert. All of these recipes are perfect for the unofficial start of summer this weekend and will be added to your summer menu for years to come.

Brooks Nader’s Family Crawfish Boil: This recipe can feed LOTS of people (about 20). Brooks recommends 3-5 pounds of crawfish per person, so adjust the amounts to suit your numbers! There is nothing better than a crawfish boil outside, in the sunshine, with a nice cold cocktail or beer in hand. This is the recipe her family uses (it’s Zatarin’s so you know it has to be good) its calls for 40 pounds of crawfish, lots of potatoes and so much seasoning you will be smelling this deliciousness from miles away. My mouth is watering already.

Photo courtesy of Zatarin's

Chrissy Teigen’s Loaded Mac Dog: Nothing screams summer in the U.S. like a hot dog. And to make it even more American, Chrissy’s version is loaded with macaroni salad and BBQ chips. I don’t know about you but, I love hot dogs, I love macaroni salad and I love BBQ chips, so the thought of combining them all together is music to my ears -- thank you Chrissy Teigen for this masterpiece. (If you haven't tried her Spicy Miso recipe, run, don't walk to her website). This hot dog recipe will impress (or shock) your family and will be the talk of summer grill fests for years to come.

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Emily DiDonato’s Healthy Cookie: After you’ve loaded up on crawfish and hot dogs at what sure is to be the best MDW BBQ of all time, lighten up your dessert course with Emily’s healthy cookie recipe. You can follow along with the video Emily so graciously created for us above. This recipe calls for: 1 cup all natural creamy almond butter, 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 bar of dark chocolate chopped. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, mix all of these ingredients in a bowl, scoop into individual balls on a lined or greased cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. If you want to add some an extra bit of decadence, add some vanilla ice cream and make yourself an ice cream sandwich.