By Sarah Fertsch
Staff Writer
It’s almost the biggest day of the year. Thousands of tourists flood the beach, boardwalk and ocean. Families gather for barbeques, friends lounge by the pool and neighborhood kids ride bikes between water balloon fights. Everyone looks forward to the Fourth of July. There’s so much nostalgia nestled between memories of funnel cake, carousels and fireworks. However you celebrate this year, make sure that the food on your plate is memorable and delicious. Here are four Independence Day recipes that taste wonderful:
Crab Cake Sliders
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of lump crab meat, freshly-caught
- ½ cup of mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
- 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon of dill
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons of melted butter
- Salt and pepper
- Pickles
- 18 mini potato buns
- 1 cup of Ranch
- ½ cup of Cocktail sauce
Combine crab meat, egg, mayo, mustard, dill, Old Bay, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Form the cakes into balls with a 2-inch diameter onto a nonstick sheet pan. Press the balls gently and brush with melted butter. Bake crab cakes for 25 minutes until brown and crispy.
Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, cocktail sauce, and ranch. Spoon sauce onto the bottom bun.
Let the crabcakes cool after cooking, for 5 minutes. Place a crab cake on the bun over the sauce, place a pickle above it and top with the other bun.
Enjoy!
Red White and
Blue Layered Cake
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of white sugar
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 cup of blueberries
- 1 cup of strawberries, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 1 package of cream cheese
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
Use a stand mixer to combine wet ingredients (sugar, butter, and vanilla) on medium speed.
In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in batches, mixing on low speed.
Place strawberries and ½ cup of water in a saucepan and heat on the stove over medium heat until the berries are softened, forming a sauce. Do the same with the blueberries. Let each mixture cool for at least ten minutes.
Separate the cake batter evenly into three bowls. In one bowl, add strawberries and stir into the batter, turning it red. Do the same with the blueberries, turning that battered blue. Leave one bowl white.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour each batter into a nonstick circle cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Once again using the stand mixer, whip up the frosting by mixing cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest, and juice. Mix on medium speed until a frosting forms.
Let cakes cool completely. Layer the cakes with frosting between each colored cake. Your patriotic dessert is ready!
Peach Caprese Salad
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of burrata
- 2 medium peaches, pitted and cut into wedges
- 2 large heirloom tomatoes (preferably from the garden)
- 1 cup of julienned basil leaves
- ⅛ cup of flaky salt
- 2 cups of arugula
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic glaze
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
On two large plates, arrange salad in this way: add arugula as a base, tear burrata into smaller pieces, place slices of tomato, add peach wedges, and top with basil leaves. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic glaze evenly and sprinkle salt on top. So refreshing!
Frozen Lemonade
Ingredients:
- 12 ripe lemons, juiced
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of ice
- A sprinkle of salt
Blend ingredients until icy and smooth. Pour into glasses and top with a straw and mini umbrella.
