You could grill or roast the veggies at home beforehand, then take to the cookout. As someone said above, they are good at room temperature, don’t need to be refrigerated.
I always blanch the broccoli first for that cold salad. I’ve not seen it wirh dried cranberries and sunflower seeds - red onion, bacon, cashews with the mayo/vinegar dressing is the usual.
Copied from a post I made to a cabbage recipes thread here earlier this year:
We love this Cabbage with Peas curry from Madhur Jaffrey. Goes well even with non-Indian dishes. very easy and delicious - I used to take it to potluck lunch parties at work, also potlucks with hubby’s lab, and it would disappear.
http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/spawn.php?qv=1&fn=2&tid=41348
This is also good at room temperature. if you leave out the finely diced hot green chili or just use a little, it is nicely seasoned but not at all “hot.”
Lots of good ideas here. Thank you all for your suggestions.
Grilled halved fresh peaches then splashed with balsamic vinegar optional
Grilled fresh pineapple slices leave outer skin on
Grilled cantaloupe slices scope out seeds and cut into thin slices, leave rind on
Steam string beans (can use whole trimmed frozen ones, I keep some in the freezer from Trader Joe’s), then saute some chopped garlic in enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, then toss the stringbeans with garlic, the oil, and some soy sauce. Serve hot, cold or room temperature.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/fresh-corn-tomato-salad-recipe.html
Easy way for the denture set to enjoy fresh corn. You can skip the mozzarella or sub avocado.
Another soft vegetable is Peas. Google recipes using Peas as a side dish most likely mixed with other foods, ie: macaroni & peas, peas with other soft veggies, maybe even Peas with Potatoes. If you’re really adventurous, you can make a cold Tomato gazpacho soup, or even a split pea soup! The Spinach Balls I mentioned earlier have few ingredients and are always a hit…good luck & have fun!
What about spinach dip? Soft and easy to make. Serve with bread, gluten or non gluten.
marinated carrots. You make a day ahead and serve cold. I will post the recipe if you are interested.
@musicmom1215, I’d love to see that recipe.
I just saved this to my own recipes. Looks good and healthy using ribbons of summer squash and zucchini.
http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-salad-recipe-squash-rib-119479
What about baked beans? Men love them and,…since it’s Father’s Day, why not? This recipe is very much like mine. The trick is to cook them for at least 2 hours—the longer, the better.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/the-best-baked-beans-ever/
Asparagus
@doschicos, my sister makes a similar salad but uses lemon juice instead of vinegar, garlic instead of shallot, and skips the cheese. It is fabulous!
Thanks, @yaupon. I think I’d like the freshness and brightness of the lemon juice and I love garlic. I’ll give those a try.
Probably too late for the OP but I’ll be bringing a grated raw beet and carrot salad. Toss with rice vinegar, lime juice, olive oil salt and pepper, garnish with herb of choice - basil, parsley, mint. I used mint today.
I do not care for cooked beets, but love them raw.
I forgot to mentioned that a dish of roasted garlic( yes, this is a veg) with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, serve with bread. The garlic is so soft and yummy that even denture wearers will appreciate, though maybe not their spouses.
Too late for FD, but mixed veggies + olive oil +oregano and either roast or grill or saute. YUM.
We had yellow squash, zuchinni, onion and red pepper yesterday with lasagne instead of the usual salad. Big hit.
Too late, too, but I just made http://www.alexandracooks.com/2015/06/11/new-potatoes-with-green-harissa/ for the first time. I used basil, cilantro, mint, and parsley, no cumin, and lemon juice instead of vinegar. Fresh taste, no herb predominating, good at room temperature