peak summer july 4th favorites
plus: sliced egg sandwiches
Monday, June 26, 2023
Good afternoon!
The Instant Pot Failed Because It Was a Good Product [The Atlantic]
Mother Sauce [N+1 Magazine]
Apologies for skipping out last week. I was pulled under by a frenetic end of school year, middle school graduation (!), and getting two kids ready for sleepaway camp (!!). They got on a bus 24 hours ago while 100 parents waved like (loving) lunatics from the sidewalk. I have reloaded the app that tags them in photos no fewer than 100 times since, and judging by previous years, it’s all I’ll be doing for the next four weeks. Being an empty nester, however temporarily, for the first time in 13.75 years, is going to be wild. Not one person has interrupted me in a full day. I just bought dinner groceries for just two people including fresh peas because nobody going to throw a fit over them. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more thoughts on this over the next few weeks. For now, a look ahead to the next big holiday, one of my favorite cooking holidays: July 4th . A week from Tuesday, it always falls during peak berry season (so perfect for flag cakes and cheesecake bars), plus the markets are currently piled with the melon, cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes, and more to make this holiday taste better than all the others. I hope you find lots of inspiration below.
Cheers,
Deb
I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. I’m thrilled that this warmer weather means you might be able to cook some of my summery favorites from my most recent cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, such as: zucchini cornbread and tomato butter, snow peas with pecorino and walnuts, cucumber salad with garlicky dill yogurt, clam chowder with bacon croutons, zucchini and pesto lasagna, and crispy chili garlic butter shrimp, raspberry crostata, strawberry summer stack cake, and the blondie chipwiches (on deck this week, and every week of the summer).
sliced egg sandwich
New: Meet my fixation sandwich, a humble sliced egg on a butter-toasted challah roll with a sharp creamy dijon-horseradish spread, a layer of crunch or pickle, and a heap of arugula that I've craved daily for over a month. Unable to shake free of this breakfast/lunch preoccupation, I've done my next favorite thing: shared it with you so you can join me. Enjoy!
rosanne cash's all-american potato salad
A classic, perfectly seasoned, never overdressed, a little crunchy, always-disappears-first potato salad is a non-negotiable part of our July 4th spread and this is my forever go-to. Just make it; you'll be so glad you did.
three-ingredient summertime salsa
The best salsa is also the easiest.
chile-lime melon salad
This is my kind of fruit salad -- a little salty, a little sweet, a little spicy -- inspired by the cups of seasoned fruit you can buy on the street in Mexico. The moment I have a bite, I can no longer remember why I'd ever eat anything else on a hot day.
watermelon cucumber salad
Cucumber, watermelon, salted pepitas, and matchsticks of ricotta salata, plus three more suggested riffs at the end in case you also dream of having your oven off until September.
broccoli slaw
A forever summer staple that's secretly a love letter to buttermilk-and-cider-vinegar ranch dressing, but the homemade kind. It makes great "buckets" of broccoli inhalable, and converts all broccoli skeptics. I hope you love it, too.
pasta salad with roasted tomatoes
Stop swearing off pasta salad -- just the gloopy ones. This one is all texture and zip: al dente noodles, slow-roasted tomatoes, crunchy nuts, salty cheese and a garlic-oregano vinaigrette. I wish I always had some in the fridge.
grilled shrimp cocktail
My husband's favorite dish (we just ignore him if he says steak or a martini, we know the truth) cooked the very best way. Is this brunch food? Afternoon food? A cocktail party standard? Around here, always.
oven ribs, even better
Holiday weekend agenda: Ribs party! Trust me, nobody would dream of missing it. No grill required, these are perfect from the oven every time and the recipe has been updated and streamlined with cooking times that adjust to your schedule and the simplest, most balanced rub yet. Your friends are going to ask you to make this an annual feast.
slow-and-low dry rub oven chicken
What if we gave chicken the oven ribs treatment, that is thickly coated with dry rub and cooked until falling apart and then finished it with a sauce from the drippings? Indoor barbecue magic, is what.
watermelon lemonade
The most summery summer drink I know how to make, this, too, has become a July 4th staple: low on sweet, high on fresh. We make big pink pitchers of this for kids, and mix it with white tequila, white rum and/or something fizzy for everyone else.
bourbon slush punch
A slushy blend of lemonade, orange juice, strong tea, and bourbon is the absolute most refreshing way to usher in a summer weekend.
flag cake
This is not only the most delicious flag cake I've made (in my totally unbiased opinion), it's also the easiest: one-bowl cake, dreamy cream cheese frosting, plus all the fresh berries.
blue and red berry ricotta galette
Looking for an easy baked good for the July 4th holiday? This galette -- which comes together in 15, takes 30 minutes to bake and looks like a superstar, as will you when you bring it anywhere -- is all you need.
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most. I recently added several new favorites I’ve bought in the last year. For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!
