Fourth of July
815 recipes found

Smoky Chimichurri
You'll need a medium-hot charcoal fire to make this Argentine sauce. Either start cooking when your main grilled item comes off the fire or, if making this sauce separately, light a charcoal fire in your grill, putting all the coals on one side, and wait until it has died down to medium. Remove some or all of the pith and seeds from the jalapeños if you prefer a milder sauce. This relish is particularly good with beef.

Blueberry Rhubarb Pie
The baker and pie coach Kate McDermott has many tricks to figure out when a pie is done, but her favorite is what she calls “the heartbeat of the pie.” She listens for a sizzle that tells her that the fat in the crust is cooking the flour, and for a thumping sound that indicates that the simmering liquid is bumping up against the top crust. Also, watch for bubbling: This will tell you that the temperature is high enough that the thickeners have dissolved into the filling. All-berry pies can be too sweet and soft, so the tart crunch of rhubarb makes an ideal complement, especially in early spring. This glowing purple-magenta filling is quite spectacular.

Buttery Berry Pie

Creamy Coconut Popsicles
Cream of coconut, not to be confused with coconut milk or coconut cream, is a thick syrupy confection made by blending coconut and sugar and is most often used in piña coladas. Mixed with cream, coconut milk and shredded coconut, it gives these pops that classic tropical flair. One note: Coconut milk and cream of coconut naturally separate, so be sure to stir well before measuring.

Ann LaFiandra's Blueberry Pie

Fruit Tarts

Corn Fritters
Corn is the One True Vegetable of American summer. Vine-ripened tomatoes are thrilling, but not ours alone. And zucchini, while pleasant, does not make anyone’s toes curl. But the crunch and suck of ripe local corn on the cob is, so far, confined to the Here and Now. Once you’ve tired of piled-high platters of cobs, turn to corn fritters, which are always greeted with surprise — joy, even. And they are forgiving, because they can be made with fresh, or leftover cooked, kernels. Frying on a hot day isn’t anyone’s idea of fun, so my recipe has evolved into a hybrid of fritter and pancake, cooked in shallow oil. It goes with everything on the August table and, with maple syrup, peaches and bacon, is an ideal breakfast for dinner.

Spoonbread Potato Salad

Peggy Knickerbocker's Mussel and Potato Salad

Hoppin' John's Southern Potato Salad
Along with burgers and hot dogs, a good potato salad is a quintessential part of a cookout, and this one is a classic. It’s dressed with mayonnaise, mustard and juice from the sweet pickle jar and incorporates fresh herbs for taste and greenery.

Grilled Swordfish With Smoky Tomato-Anchovy Salsa
This is a simple summer fish dish with robust flavors. Swordfish would be the first choice, for its meatiness and ease of grilling, but any firm-fleshed white fish, such as halibut, monkfish, corvina or snapper, is a suitable option. Tuna would also work, but for that matter, so would chicken breast, for those at your gathering who don’t eat fish. Topped with an easily made salsa of cherry tomatoes, anchovy, hot pepper and smoky pimentón, the whole affair is rather salad-like, best accompanied by arugula or lettuce leaves. Serve with roasted potatoes or garlic toast for a casual picnic-style summer supper.

Green Beans With Herbs and Olives
A salad of freshly picked green beans is a true treat. Whatever the color — green, purple or pale yellow — choose smaller beans, which are naturally more tender.

Chilled Watermelon Soup
This simple, refreshing gazpacho-like chilled soup depends on the sweetness of the watermelon, tempered by the addition of olive oil, vinegar, lime juice and salt, to create the perfect balance of flavors. A little spiciness in the form of cayenne or crushed red pepper is welcome, too, as is an extra squeeze of lime juice at the table.

Celery, Watermelon and Cucumber Salad

Watermelon Quencher

Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
This humble dessert would never win a beauty contest when pitted against a towering layer cake swirled with frosting, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up in flavor and simplicity of preparation. The cake itself is light yet moist and soaks up the juice released by the strawberries and rhubarb while baking. Sliced almonds add a gentle crunch. It can be a bit tricky to unmold, so don't forget to line the pan with parchment and grease it generously with butter.

Skewered Swordfish And Zucchini (From Louisa Hargrave)

Barley, Corn And Lobster Salad

Grilled Pork Loin With Herbs, Cumin and Garlic
Pork loin is an excellent cut to grill for a crowd. The cut is larger and more marbled with fat than a lean tenderloin, which is entirely different and should not be used as a substitute in this recipe. The pork loin has a richer flavor and meatier texture. Butterflying a loin helps it cook quickly and relatively evenly over direct heat, which is the easiest way to go on the grill. If you’d rather cook this in the oven, you can broil the meat: Place the pork, opened and flat, on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil it on low for 7 to 12 minutes per side, until done to taste.

The Perfect Burger

Sweet or Salty Lemonade
Sweetened, this is a classic all-American beverage for a hot summer's day. But add salt and it becomes a savory treat, much like the limeades served in the Middle East, India or Thailand. With or without salt, this recipe delivers. The proportions of water to juice, sugar and salt are completely a matter of taste, so adjust the recipe as you like. It works equally well with limes as it does with lemons.

Oklahoma Black-Eyed Peas (From Jimmy Steinmeyer)

Quick Gazpacho
