July 5, 2008
From Recipes
Posted by Paul Clarke, July 4, 2008 at 4:30 PM
What are you doing inside on the 4th of July?! Oh, looking up info on the perfect Independence Day cocktail? Look no further: Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles) has poured you one. Cheers!
Fourth of July celebrations were made for beer. It’s cold and refreshing, and low enough in alcohol that you can sip at it over the course of an afternoon or evening. But for a longer celebration – especially one that involves flaming grills and possibly random blasts of fireworks – it’s a good idea to slow down the alcohol consumption even further, while keeping hydrated as you go. But it’s beer, and beer is delicious—and besides, Fourth of July celebrations were made for beer! If there were only a way to strike a balance…
Enter the Cincinnati Cocktail (and no, I don’t know why it’s called that) – heretical to some beer-lovers, but before you start tapping condemnations in the comments box, do me a favor and try it first; it’s really not bad at all. Dating back more than 120 years, to a time when drinking beer as you worked all day was considered somewhat normal, the Cincinnati Cocktail is immensely easy to prepare, but it isn’t, in any true sense of the word, a cocktail: first, there’s no spirits or even wine in there; and second, what alcohol there is in the glass is diluted by a lot of fizzy water.
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From Recipes
Posted by Lucy Baker, July 4, 2008 at 12:30 PM
The brilliant red color of this Raspberry Margarita brings to mind cherry-hued Cosmopolitans, though the drinks couldn't be more different. Whereas Cosmos rely on vodka and bottled cranberry juice, Margaritas, Mojitos, & More author Jessica Strand uses fresh raspberry purée and a combination of tequila and Chambord to create a sweet, refreshing cocktail that is the perfect expression of summer.
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From Recipes
Posted by Joshua Bousel, July 4, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Going through the list of All-American grilling items for Fourth of July, I was coming up short with ground not already covered. Ribs, chicken, sausage, and, to a lesser extent, hamburgers have all had their day in the sun. So if it wasn't going to be something different, it was going to be something bigger, because that's the American way. I went to the butcher and let the patriot in me pick out the largest slab of beef, a 1 1/2" thick porterhouse, brought it home and grilled it up, then topped it off with a blue cheese butter (that's a red, white, and blue steak for those of you keeping track).
The thick porterhouse presented a grilling challenge to get it perfectly medium rare without charring the outside. To get this cut right I had to build a two zone fire, with a all the coals stacked up on one side of the charcoal grate, keeping the other side empty. This allowed me to sear the steak to perfection on each side, then move it over to cooler area of the grill to finish up without the worry of burning. A steak this beautiful did not need anything to make it better, but the blue cheese butter added a tang that complemented the beef without overpowering it, creating a pleasing layer of depth to the meal. At the end of this gluttonous feast I felt like a perfectly grilled, over sized piece beef is something we can all stand behind, making us proud to be and American, or at the very least, an extremely full American.
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From Recipes
Posted by Robin Bellinger, July 3, 2008 at 5:45 PM
In her cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking, Edna Lewis says there was always pound cake on special summer occasions to eat with whatever berries and fruit were left over from canning and preserving. This cake is dense and delicious, with a crumb that is slightly heavier and pleasantly chewier than my usual recipe (Rose Levy Beranbaum’s, which melts in your mouth). It has a pleasing soft but dark brown crust. “Oh,” I thought when I tasted it, “this is what Sara Lee pound cake is trying to be.” I mixed it by hand with butter right out of the refrigerator, as she directs, and was delighted by the results.
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From Recipes
Posted by Robin Bellinger, July 3, 2008 at 5:45 PM
When I made Edna Lewis's blueberry cake with blueberry sauce from her cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking I used a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, and my cake bubbled over a bit; next time I’ll set it atop a baking sheet. I will also drain my blueberries more thoroughly, as this time they were left too liquid. Nevertheless, I thought this was good (even if it was not as mind-blowing as the plain pound cake), and Andrew, who loves blueberries, thought it was extremely tasty. I would love to eat this with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
I must confess that I used regular baking powder, but to simulate the Royal Baking Powder called for in the original recipe, combine 2 parts cream of tartar with 1 part baking soda and use the called-for quantity of that mixture.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Robin Bellinger, July 3, 2008 at 5:45 PM
For a long time I was more intimidated than excited by The Taste of Country Cooking, the late Edna Lewis’s remarkable account of the foods she ate growing up in a farming community called Freetown, Virginia. Her beautiful and evocative descriptions of a life so wonderfully attuned to the earth and the seasons seemed to preclude preparing her recipes with meat and produce from the supermarket; how could they possibly compare, and wouldn’t it be sacrilege? Lewis doesn’t try to make her reader feel that way—writing in 1976 she recommended Perdue chickens to those of us who can’t find better. But a supermarket bird hardly seems enticing when you’ve been reading about the antics of the chickens of Freetown.
Last March the Wednesday Chef described Lewis’s sour-milk griddle cakes in terms so tempting I had to try them, and thus I eased into this book with baking. My flour couldn’t be too terribly inferior, I guessed, and when breakfast is this yummy, you don’t feel guilty about not having picked and preserved the berries yourself.
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From Recipes
Posted by Lucy Baker, July 3, 2008 at 4:50 PM
This week for my magazine recipe review I wanted to tackle a classic, American summer dessert perfect for the 4th of July. Initially, I had my heart set on baking the Red, White, and Blueberry Shortcakes from the July issue of Bon Appétit. What could be more festive or color-appropriate? But after careful consideration I decided against it. While the recipe seems spectacular, it also looks time-consuming and a bit labor-intensive when it comes to assembling and serving the shortcakes. The 4th is all about spending time outside with family and friends, not indoors in a hot kitchen. I wanted to make something as quick and easy as it was delicious.
Nectarine-Raspberry Crisp with Spiced-Oatmeal Crumb Topping, also from the July Bon Appétit, fit the bill. The ingredient list was short and the preparation simple—even the nectarines are left unpeeled. Fruit crisps and crumbles are incredibly homey, comforting, and honest. They also travel well, so if you’re a party guest as opposed to host this Independence Day, a crisp would make a perfect pot-luck dish.
This version turned out unbelievably juicy and syrupy, with just the right balance of sweet and tart flavors. The cardamom in the crumb topping provided an unexpected note of spicy complexity, enlivening the standard cinnamon-oatmeal combination. While it may not consist of flag-inspired hues, this crisp will definitely dazzle—especially when topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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From Recipes
Posted by Blake Royer, July 3, 2008 at 4:30 PM
Maybe chili-spiked lamb sausage—better known as Merguez, a north African specialty—isn't the most patriotic thing to grill on July 4th. Your neighbors will be out there with their all-beef patties and Oscar Meyer hot dogs, looking over the fence. But the way I see it, high levels of deliciousness trumps all—and this sandwich passes the test with gusto.
The key is using a good crusty baguette, which also gets charred on the grill, making it taste fresh out of oven all over again. A quick cucumber, onion, and tomato condiment salad adds crunch, and there are two sauces to choose from: harissa, which can be store bought or blended up easily, and cumin-spiked mayonnaise (but call it cumin aioli for more raised eyebrows). The harissa is for spicier palates, while the aioli is a bit milder but still very flavorful.
D'Artagnan makes an excellent merguez sausage which is quite mild; you might also find them at a local farmer's market.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Sarah Wolf, July 3, 2008 at 3:15 PM
©iStockPhoto.com/ZekaG
Fires on the Fourth don't have to be exploding lights in the sky—they can be just as good, if not better, when they're cooking dinner in the backyard. To that end, here are a few items to put on (or alongside) the grill this Friday. These dishes may not be not typically American, but hey, this is a country that accepts and celebrates all cultures. Especially ones with tasty, tasty food.
Previous Grillfests
Memorial Day Grillfest
Father's Day Grillfest
From Recipes
Posted by Amanda Clarke, July 3, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Replacing artificial colors and flavors with the natural charms of fresh berries and tangy cheesecake, nobody will miss the true blue in these delicious homespun versions of the familiar day-glo red-white-and-blue rocket pop. For a more in-depth how-to on this recipe, including all the gear you'll need to make it, see our entry How to Make Homemade Bomb Pops.
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