Around the Kitchen Table: Celebrating the USA's 250th Birthday + 10-BOOK #GIVEAWAY!

LESLIE KARST: Yesterday the United States celebrated our 250th anniversary of independence from Great Britain, and I'm sure many of us in this country observed that occasion with parades, fireworks, picnics, and gatherings of family and friends. And I'm also guessing that many of us will continue to celebrate throughout the month of July. For notwithstanding our faults (and yes, there have been plenty over the years), the two-hundred and fifty-year American experiment of democracy has proved to be amazingly successful. 

hurray for the red, white, and blue!

So today in the Kitchen we're celebrating foods we associate with the Fourth of July, and with picnics and family gatherings in general. For me, that has to be hot dogs. I don't eat them very often (though I can't resist whenever I go to a baseball game), but really, few things beat a freshly-grilled hot dog with mustard and pickles on a hot summers day, right? (Here's a simple recipe for icebox pickles for those dogs.) 

And to go with those hot dogs? It's gotta be potato salad! Here's my current favorite variety of potato salad, inspired by a Japanese recipe. 

Now it's your turn, Kitchen-mates: 

What dishes bring to mind Independence Day for you? Or picnics, or simply summer in general? 

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MADDIE DAY: Happy 250th to us! Some New Englanders like to have salmon and fresh peas on Independence Day, and these mini salmon cakes are a perfect appetizer to bring to a party or a picnic. 

But on the 4th, my thoughts go more to a perfectly grilled hamburger. A cool Asian noodle salad full of crunchy veggies would be a great side. It doesn't use mayonnaise so it won't spoil in the sun.

We'll need dessert, though. Why not whip up an American flag cheesecake like I did here five years ago?

May our democracy, and its values of justice and liberty for all, survive and endure far into the future.

Note: My book in the giveaway, Agatha-nominated Called to Justice, is the second Quaker Midwife Mystery (written as Edith Maxwell), and it opens during the Independence Day festivities in Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1888.

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LUCY BURDETTE: It feels like such a strange and fraught time in our country, but I think it's important to celebrate this anniversary and our hopes for the future. My best suggestion would be the strawberry roll-up cake recipe I posted here two days ago. It's red and white, and with blueberries added, could easily be blue as well! Also, happy anniversary to our Canadian friends!

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON: Yes, even though things aren't perfect right now, there's no reason not to celebrate our previous 250 years!  The 4th of July menu usually involves the grill and is often hot dogs and hamburgers with sides like potato salad, Cole slaw and chips.  Or maybe for something special, barbecued ribs.  

But what to have for dessert?  My mind usually goes to something with fresh berries--blueberries, strawberries, etc.  

 And what better to celebrate our nation's birthday with than a strawberry pie!

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KIM DAVIS: Growing up our entire extended family would gather on the Fourth of July, close to 30 people. It wasn't to celebrate the holiday but to celebrate the birthdays of my grandmother, my mother, and two aunts. (1 born on July 3, 2 born on July 4, and one born on July 5!)  It was always potluck style instead of grilled hotdogs and hamburgers, and there was always cake and homemade ice cream... you know the kind that required a lot of ice, salt, and elbow grease to turn the crank! There were also huge wedges of chilled watermelon and my cousins and I had our fair share of watermelon seed spitting contests, held out of sight of the grownups.

Now as an adult, when my immediate family has a get together, Cherry Dream Pie is always the requested dessert. The recipe was passed down from my sister-in-law ages ago and while there isn't any "blue" associated with it, you could always mix blueberries into the filling or dot the top with fresh blueberries for a more traditional red, white, and blue holiday dessert. 

     

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: One of the things I love most about this big, crazy country of ours is the richness of its people and culture, and how we love to celebrate. And celebration means food, because in every culture, in every language, we show our love by feeding people. 

When I was a kid, we usually spent the 4th of July along a Montana river – my dad was a fly fisherman before it was cool – and that meant a picnic: hot dogs on the campground grill, my mother’s potato salad, watermelon, and S’mores. (I’ve always found marshmallows too sweet, but one a year beside a campfire is perfect. And I was a certified campfire building champion at Girl Scout Camp!) 

These days, Mr. Right and I celebrate by going to the Village parade – it’s short, since there’s just the one street. (Oddly, I've never written about the Village 4th, but do celebrate Montana summers in Crime Rib and Treble at the Jam Fest, two of my Food Lovers' Village mysteries.) Then we relax on our deck with “fun foods,” never the same combo twice, but always including a variety of dips and spreads. This year, we savored our Lavender Goat Cheese and Watermelon Burrata Salad. Traditional? Maybe not, but served with love and joy, fully in keeping with the spirit of what the founders called “the Great American Experiment.”

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VMBURNS: My dad didn't pull out the grill often, but when he did, it was usually for the 4th of July. Hamburgers on the grill, barbecue ribs, grilled corn on the cob, and watermelon are the foods that remind me of past Independence Day celebrations. 

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DARCI HANNAH here, and I'd like to say a big, happy 250 birthday to the United States of America! Huzza! I love this big, crazy country of ours and never fail to feel privileged to live here. Every one of our united states is special, unique, and amazingly beautiful. I still have a few to visit, but I'm getting there! I also love our people, our rich culture, and our amazing bounty of food that we produce here. As a kid, our 4th of July celebrations were big, loud, and beautiful gatherings of family and friends to honor the founding of our country. While everyone brought a dish to pass, our family would supply all the burgers, brats, hotdogs, drinks, and the all important cherry pie!

Our cherry pie tradition still holds strong to this day. It just wouldn't be a proper 4th of July without one. It's around the 4th of July when the cherries ripen on the trees. Their bold red color is reminiscent of the strips on our flag. And didn't George Washington chop down his father's cherry tree? Actually, that myth has been debunked, but we still associate the father of our country with the humble cherry! Oh, and they're absolutely delicious!

To mix things up I sometimes make individual cherry pies if we have a smaller celebration. Sometimes my dog, Ripley, likes to watch me bake. She's waiting for me to spill some delicious cherry filling! Oh, and you must top each slice (or individual pie) with vanilla ice cream! That's tradition too! Whatever your Independence Day tradition is, embrace it and celebrate! 

Wishing you all a very happy and delicious 4th of July!

If you would like a copy of my 

delicious cherry pie recipe, click here!

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ANG POMPANO: As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American experiment, I look to the future with confidence that we can come together and carry our nation forward for another 250 years and beyond. And what better place to begin than around the kitchen table?

I've always believed that those of us who love food and cooking are doing more than simply preparing meals. We're sharing traditions, creating memories, and building bridges, one plate at a time.

For our Fourth of July celebration yesterday, I brought a simple but delicious green bean and potato salad. It may not change the world, but it's a small reminder that some of life's most meaningful connections begin when we gather around the table and share a meal. 

I'll be sharing the easy recipe in my next blog post, and I hope you'll give it a try at your own table. 

After all, every shared meal is a chance to celebrate what brings us together.

Happy Birthday, USA!

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MOLLY MACRAE: Our country has weathered a lot over 250 years, hasn’t it? That’s what makes me optimistic that we’ll keep going. For me, Independence Day is a great day to remember that all our families came from somewhere else at some point in the past. That when we welcome each other, and lift each other, we’re all stronger. Of course, the 4th is also about parades, fireworks, and picnics!

When I was a kid, we’d invite friends from around the corner over and have a picnic in the backyard. Dad grilled hot dogs or hamburgers over his homemade brick barbecue. We had corn on the cob, deviled eggs, potato salad, potato chips, and watermelon for dessert. That’s pretty much been the standard ever since, too, and I have no pictures to show 72 years of 4th of July picnics. Not even the deviled eggs and I LOVE deviled eggs. Not to worry, if you search the Mystery Lovers' Kitchen recipe archive, you'll find plenty of recipes for them. And I do have a picture of delicious rosemary watermelon lemonade. Happy 4th of July! 

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CLEO COYLE: Every July 4th, my mother would make an American flag cake. It's a great American Independence Day cookout tradition, along with the great American melting pot. My Italian-American family stirred themsevles into that pot decades ago, coming to Western Pennsylvania to work in the steel mills, farm the land, and serve the community in shops, restaurants, and churches. Every July 4th, along with burgers, hot dogs, and corn on the cob, I also feasted on pasta salad, Italian cookies, and my mom's Flag Cake, made once a year to eat before we kids lit sparklers and ran around the yard like crazy, trailing beautiful light through the summer night.

Mom's cake was a yellow sheet with white icing, decorated with red stripes and a blue star field. In tribute to her cake (and so many other great American flag cakes), I created my own version: a red, white, and blue FIREWORKS CAKE. It's actually pretty simple to make, and my recipe post takes you step-by-step through the klutz-proof design, easy enough for non-bakers and grandkids to join in the kitchen fun. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. As my family would say on this holiday with much gratitude: God Bless America. Happy 250th Independence Day, USA!

Click here to see Cleo's recipe post:
"How to Bake a Fireworks Cake +
3 Tips on Frosting Any Cake"

Readers, how about you?

What dishes do you like to eat on the Fourth of July, or for picnics or summer in general? Let us know in the comments. And if you're willing to share, include the recipe, too. Comment below to be entered in this month's giveaway!

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A Sense for Murder by Leslie Karst 

A Delicious Deception by Lucy Burdette

Called to Justice by Edith Maxwell, aka Maddie Day

No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle

Framed and Frosted by Kim Davis

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns (Kindle copy)

Diet of Death by Ang Pompano

All Shell Breaks Loose by Molly MacRae

Murder at the Campfire Cookout by Darci Hannah

Treble at the Jam Fest by Leslie Budewitz

 

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Happy 250th 

Independence Day, 

USA!