Good morning, Friends! And happy day before the 4th of July! What kind of food, fun, and fireworks are you going to get into?
To be totally honest, I have a love/hate relationship with the Fourth. (Actually it’s probably closer to love/“ugh”.) Let me explain…
The part I love-
The 4th of July always seems to turn into the biggest party of the year, no matter how many times you say, “let’s keep it low key this year”. First, the whole neighborhood gathers at my mother-in-law’s. Pop-up tents, tables, and picnic blankets everywhere. Bounce houses and inflatable water slides taking over the front lawn. Kids running around barefoot and shirtless. It’s plain ol’ redneck fun. (If you listen close enough, you’ll probably hear a “hey y’all watch this” or two.) Then, we head over to my dad’s where his street gang (they probably wish I’d call them something else, but I’ve decided “street gang” it is) sets up camp chairs under the trees, bringing coolers full of adult beverages, while the kids splash in the pool.
In both scenarios, everyone brings all kinds of food. All the family favorites and 4th of July traditions. We all eat too much for lunch and say we just won’t eat dinner, then we eat dinner anyway and ask ourselves what were we thinking?! Greatest day ever, and we all go home stuffed full and exhausted. What’s not to love?
So here’s my “ugh”-
Number one - It’s Tennessee. It’s July. It’s crazy hot. We keep adding more fans, but it seems to just keep getting hotter. I’m a delicate flower, I’m wilting over here!
And number two - somewhere along the way I turned into that weird grandma lady, standing on her front porch in her nightdress, shaking her fist into the night sky screaming, “it’s 9:00 why are you still shooting fireworks, you hooligans?!” I don’t know, they’ve never really been my thing. I enjoy a good fireworks show from afar, but that’s about it. Don’t even give me a sparkler, I’ll just stand there bent over holding it as far away from my body as humanly possible. Thank goodness I was blessed with long arms.
But enough complaining! Back to the good part - the food!
Sharing food is what I do best - picnics and potlucks are my jam! And the 4th of July ranks pretty high on the list of best picnics each year.
Last week I shared a Fresh Corn Salad and Potato Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette that would make great additions to a picnic or potluck. However, if you’re still needing a last minute idea for a dish to bring, here’s what I’m planning on for this year -
Pesto Pasta Salad - one of my go-to pasta salads. One pound of pasta (I like salad shells, rotini, or mini bowties) mixed with a dressing of pesto and mayonnaise (I do 1/2 cup pesto + 1/2 cup mayo). You can add whatever veggies sound good; I usually go with halved grape tomatoes and peas. Those little mozzarella balls would also be good!
Cucumber Salad - so many variations, but something cold and crunchy on the 4th of July is a must.
Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Blueberries, and Feta Cheese - it’s got the red, white, and blue! Plus, I always appreciate a simple green salad option among the other heavier items at a potluck.
If you want a couple of fun dessert items -
A fruit “pizza” with a sugar cookie base and decorated to look like the American flag is always festive.
Store bought ice cream and bakery cookies make for easy ice cream sandwiches. Make them ahead and store them in the freezer. Roll the edges in red, white, and blue sprinkles for more 4th of July fun!
And for the star of the show (at least for this week’s newsletter!), my Bourbon Banana Pudding! Banana pudding is an iconic Southern summertime dessert and no potluck would be complete without it. My version stirs a couple of tablespoons of bourbon into the homemade pudding to give it that little something extra. It’s not what I would call “boozy”, and unless you knew it was there, you might not even say “whoa, that has bourbon in it”. But it does give an amazing flavor to the pudding that compliments the banana and vanilla wafers. If you want a more pronouced bourbon flavor (and aren’t serving to kiddos), I suggest a tablespoon of bourbon in the whipped cream topping. Of course, this recipe also works if you want to leave the bourbon out completely and make an alcohol free vanilla pudding.
As a fun aside, I’m lucky enough to be a part of a very entrepreneurial family with cousins who own Old Glory Distilling Company in Clarksville, TN. I used their bourbon in the banana pudding and always have a variety of their other spirits on hand for fun drinks now and then! Shameless plug - they give a great distillery tour, have an awesome tasting room, and just opened a wonderful restaurant and silo park on-site. It’s definitely worth a visit!
I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July! I’ll just be over here keeping it low-key and not eating too much. Yeah, right.
MONDAY - Sheet Pan Fajitas and Mexican Rice
Strips of sliced chicken breast, onions, and peppers tossed in a quick fajita seasoning (made with whatever spices I have in the cabinet) are spread on a sheet pan and roasted at 425 for about 20-25 minutes. Just about the same amount of time it takes to make rice and chop toppings. Coincidence? I think not.
TUESDAY - Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Italian Sausages
I’m going to make Marcella Hazan's famous simple tomato sauce and toss it with some pasta and parmesan cheese. I like to roast Italian sausages in the oven while the pasta is cooking, but you could certainly throw them on the grill instead.
WEDNESDAY - Fried Rice and Dumplings
You may be thinking, “wasn’t that on last week’s menu?” Yep, it sure was. But by Thursday we had plenty of leftovers to eat, and I didn’t want anything to go to waste, so I moved it to this week. I’m a big advocate of planning at least one thing on your weekly menu that can be moved around if needed.
THURSDAY - 4th of July Picnics and Cookouts!
We bounce around on the 4th - lunch cookout with friends at Yaya’s and dinner and swimming over at Dad’s. Details on all the things I’m bringing above.
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick-up
SATURDAY - Dinner at YaYa’s (the in-laws!)
She got a load of fresh corn and makes the best fried corn ever. So she’ll do that and a grilled pork tenderloin. I’ll bring greens. A garden tomato and cucumber salad will round it out and make for a perfect summertime meal!
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s!
Planning on a simple roast chicken and dad’s Greek style green beans (similar to my Italian Style Green Beans, but with different spices and kalamata olives thrown in!). Then we’re going to try a ricotta cake recipe from the latest Cook’s Country Magazine, but we’re going to sub the figs for plums and see what happens.
LUNCHES for this week -
I’ve been playing with tabbouleh salads (traditionally with parsley, mint, tomatoes, and bulgar wheat) by changing up the grain to quinoa or farro, adding cucumber for more crunch, and either chickpeas or grilled chicken for protein. It’s been a fun way to use the cucumbers and and parsley from the garden.
EXTRAS for this week
I’m getting bored with breakfast, so I’m going to make a batch of copycat Starbucks egg bites and maybe some muffins to have for the week.
Bourbon Banana Pudding
Makes about 8 servings.
· ½ cup White Sugar
· 3 tablespoons Flour
· ½ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 2 large Eggs
· 1 large Egg Yolk
· 2 cups Whole Milk
· ½ teaspoon Vanilla
· 2 tablespoons Bourbon
· ½ tablespoon Butter
· 2-3 large, ripe Bananas, sliced
· ½ - ¾ of one 11-ounce box of Vanilla Wafer Cookies
· Sweetened Whipped Cream, see below
Make the pudding – In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt and mix well. Whisk in the two eggs and one egg yolk. Slowly whisk in the milk until well combined.
Set the pot over medium heat and cook for 10-15 minutes (while stirring almost constantly) until mixture begins to thicken. Once the pudding starts to thicken, add the vanilla and bourbon, and cook for another 1-2 minutes. The pudding may bubble slowly – this is okay, just do not let it come to a hard boil.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter until melted and combined. Cool slightly, then pour the pudding into a container or bowl. (If it looks like your pudding may have lumps, you can strain it through a sieve into your container.)
Cover the pudding with a layer of plastic wrap, pressing it against the top of the pudding to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until cold. (I usually make the pudding one day and assemble the rest the next day.)
Assembly – In a 1 ½ quart baking dish, spread a very thin layer of pudding. Arrange a layer of wafer cookies down, then a layer of banana slices. Spread about one-third of the remaining pudding over the banana slices, then repeat with wafers, bananas, and pudding two more times. Finish by spreading sweetened whipped cream over the top (see below). Decorate with more wafer cookies, if desired.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours to let the pudding set and the wafer cookies soften.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
· ¾ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
· 2 teaspoon White Sugar
· ½ teaspoon Vanilla
Combine cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl, and whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
NOTES – This recipe also makes for a fun presentation in individual clear glasses (or plastic cups for pudding on-the-go!). For a more pronounced bourbon flavor, replace the vanilla in the whipped cream with more bourbon.
Double the recipe and layer it in a larger dish to feed a crowd!
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)