Planning to host a group for Labor Day? If you have access to a smoker, Chef David Venable recommends Smoked Mexican Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cabbage Slaw. Alternatively, you can buy a barbecued pork butt, ready to heat and eat; or make it in a slow cooker.

You can serve full-size sandwiches or smaller sliders.

“If you’re having a big party,” says David, “these Mexican Pulled Pork Sandwiches are a great way to really stretch your dollar and it’s easy to double or even triple the recipe. Smoking the large cut of meat packs in incredible flavor.”

Find more of David Venable’s recipes at QVC.com.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PULLED PORK

> MORE PULLED PORK RECIPES
 
 
RECIPE #1: PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Ingredients For The Pork Sandwiches

 
Plus Your Favorite Toppings

 
Pork Preparation

1. PREHEAT a smoker to 250°F and also prepare the wood chips. Using gloves, rub the taco seasoning and adobo liberally on the pork butt. Smoke for 4-5 hours, or until tender.

2. REMOVE the pork butt and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes. Then shred the meat into a bowl with two forks.

3. ASSEMBLE the sandwiches: Place the desired amount of pork on the bottom half of a roll and top with the cabbage slaw.
 
 
RECIPE #2: BBQ CABBAGE SLAW (COLE SLAW)

We named this “BBQ” slaw because the ingredients mesh so well with barbecued food.

Ingredients

[1] Top the pulled pork with the cabbage slaw (photo © QVC).

[2] Add your favorite barbecue sauce (photo © McCormick).

[3] Pork butt is also called Boston Butt (photo © Good Eggs).

[4] Don’t want the bun? Eat it from the bowl (photo © QVC).

1. COMBINE the cabbage, peppers, corn and cilantro in a large bowl.

2. WHISK together mayo, lime juice, vinegar, honey, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add the dressing to the cabbage mixture and toss to coat.

3. REFRIGERATE until you’re ready to assemble the sandwiches.
 

WHO INVENTED SLIDERS?

A slider is a small sandwich, typically around 3 inches in diameter, served in a bun. The term primarily refers to small burgers, but can also include any small sandwich served on a slider roll.

According to citations in Wikipedia, the name may have originated aboard U.S. Navy ships in the 1940s or 1950s. The name was inspired by the way greasy burgers slid across the galley grill while the ship pitched and rolled. A “slider with a lid” was a cheeseburger. White Castle trademarked the spelling variant “Slyder.”

Today, gourmet sliders—bison, venison, Wagyu beef, etc.—are served as an hors d’oeuvre, amuse-bouche, or in multiples as an entrée.

You meet nice people, too. Aside from the farmers themselves, the customers can be helpful, sharing “finds” and cooking tips. Last week, one gentlemen pulled out his wallet to help us when he thought we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our heirloom tomatoes!

Don’t expect bargains at a farmers market: You’re getting top quality, fresh-picked produce grown by small family farmers. We could pay less for peaches at Trader Joe’s, shipped in from who knows where. We save where we can, but we’re glad that we can afford to help keep family farms in business.

Birds & Blooms magazine consulted farmers nationwide to create a comprehensive guide to the proper etiquette and best tips for shopping at farmers markets. Here are our top ten (the full list of 33 tips can be found here):

 
TO FIND A FARMERS MARKET NEAR YOU, VISIT LOCALHARVEST.ORG.

You love it on pizza, lasagna, panini, and in a Caprese salad. But there‘s more you can do with mozzarella.

For example, Crave Brothers, Wisconsin-based producers of award-winning cheeses, say that mozzarella and fresh vegetables were made for each other.

Think beyond the eight-ounce or one-pound balls of mozzarella to other sizes:

 
Then, decide how to use them.
 
 
MORE WAYS TO USE MOZZARELLA CHEESE

 
Preparation

1. TOSS all ingredients. Since there are no greens to get soggy, you can do this ahead of time.

2. SERVE chilled or at room temperature.
 
 

The wild lemon originated in Assam, India and northern Burma. It was cultivated, and travelers brought it to China, across Persia and the Arab world to the Mediterranean.

The wild fruit was very acidic and filled with seeds. Given the scarcity of sweeteners, it was initially used as an ornamental tree in early Islamic gardens, producing fragrant blossoms.

The trade in lemon juice and lemonade was quite considerable by 1104, says Wright. Documents from the Cairo Geniza, the medieval Jewish community in Cairo from the tenth through thirteenth centuries, show that bottles of lemon juice were mixed with lots of sugar, consumed locally and exported.

So you can celebrate today, National Lemonade Day, with our classic lemonade recipe, make the Sparkling Melon Lemonade recipe below, or spike it with a clear spirit, particularly gin, tequila or vodka.

Ingredients For 3 Quarts

 
Preparation

1. MAKE a simple syrup: Combine water and sugar in a small sauce pan and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Chill completely before using.

2. PURÉE the melon in batches with some of the lemon juice and simple syrup, using a blender or food processor. Use even amounts of each ingredient each time. Combine all batches once blended in a large 3 quart pitcher, and chill at least 4 hours.

3. TO SERVE: Fill large glasses with ice and then halfway with the melon mixture. Top with sparkling water and stir.

 
THE HARD STUFF: LEMONADE WITH SPIRIT

RECIPE #2: LONDON LEMONADE GIN COCKTAIL

This elegant cocktail is a world apart from bottled hard lemonade, and takes less than three minutes to put together. It’s perfect for brunch, outdoor parties, warm days and menus that go with lemonade.
 
Ingredients Per Cocktail

 
Preparation

1. FILL a shaker with ice and add ingredients. Shake vigorously for one minute.

MORE LEMONADE COCKTAIL RECIPES

Hey there, Carrie Bradshaw: How about a White Cosmopolitan?

This recipe, from Grey Goose Vodka, uses white cranberry juice instead of red cranberry juice, plus Grey Goose L’Orange vodka.

(A bonus: spill it and it doesn’t stain like a Red Cosmo.)
RECIPE: WHITE COSMOPOLITAN

Ingredients For 1 Drink

Preparation

2. GARNISH with an orange peel.
 

A White Cosmopolitan is appropriate any time of the year. It looks like it belongs at the beach, for sure.

But imagine a holiday tray of both Red Cosmos and White Cosmos, perhaps with a tiny mint leaf or a sprig evergreen-like rosemary floating atop for garnish.

Or, go red, white and blue by adding a bit of blue food color to part of the White Cosmo recipe.