The Family Groove Lifestyle & Home

AMERICAN STANDARD
THIS INDEPENDENCE DAY LET FREEDOM RING WITH A NEW TWIST ON AN OLD CLASSIC

THE MENU

Serves 8

For Starters

The food for the Fourth should be light, fun and easy. Go for a simple crudités and kid-friendly dip that
your all guests can nibble on while basking in the backyard sunshine.

Stars and Stripes Crudités

Ingredients:
1 large basket, bowl or tray
Kale or another hearty leafy green
Baby carrots, whole with stems
Radishes, whole with tops
Zucchini
Cherry tomatoes
Red peppers
Cucumbers
Jicama

Directions:

1. Line the large basket, bowl or tray with the kale.
2. Cut jicama and peppers in long strips.
3. Cut the cucumbers and zucchini into rounds first and then fashion into stars by hand or by using a very small star-shaped cookie cutter.
4. Arrange all the vegetables around the dip.

Declaration Dip

Ingredients:
1 large red pepper
1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 scallions, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups low fat plain yogurt
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp sour cream
½ tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Cut open the pepper by making a star pattern around the stem. Be sure to make the opening big.
2. Hollow out the red pepper.
3. Squeeze out the excess water from the thawed frozen chopped spinach.
4. Pulse-blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
5. Place into the hollowed-out pepper.
6. Place star-shaped pepper top back on top, slightly to the side, for dramatic effect.
7. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours before serving.

The Main Event

Why, it's almost un-American not to grill on the Fourth of July! Let the adults go fish and keep the kids' fare fun and traditional.

Grilled Tuna New World-çoise Salad

Ingredients:
8-1inch thick fresh tuna steaks (about 4 lbs)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 lb small new potatoes, boiled and sliced
½ lb haricots verts or green beans, stems removed and blanched
8 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
½ lb niçoise olives (or any other good olives), pitted
¼ to ½ cup corn
1 bunch of mesclun greens

V is for Victory Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp sherry vinegar (or champagne or sparkling wine)
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Make sure the grill is very hot, so your fish won't stick to it.
2. Prepare the tuna by brushing it with olive oil and sprinkling each side with salt and pepper.
3. Place tuna on the grill for 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side.
4. Mix the mesclun greens with 1-2 tbsp of the vinaigrette.
5. Place the greens on a platter.
6. Arrange the tuna, potatoes, haricots verts, eggs and olives over the greens.
7. Drizzle the vinaigrette over top.

The Home of the Brave Bacon Blue Cheese Burgers

Did you think we'd leave out the quintessential barbecue basic? That would be as criminal as taxation without representation. The tip for a great one is not to go lean. Now I wouldn't recommend going fat all the time, but every now and again, it's worth it.

Ingredients:
8-1/2 lb good quality chuck or sirloin
16 oz Maytag or your favorite blue cheese
Thickly-sliced applewood-smoked bacon
8 brioche rolls

Directions:

1. Heat grill on high.
2. Place a 1½ inch cube of cheese in the middle of each burger.
3. Place the burgers on the grill; place the bacon on the grill next to the burger.
4. Grill the burgers for 4-5 minutes per side for medium rare.
5. Cook the bacon until it is crispy.
6. Place bacon on top of burger; place burger in brioche bun and serve.

Sweet Things

Thomas Jefferson's Favorite Berry Lemon Mousse Cookie Pizza

(Okay, it's not Thomas Jefferson's favorite. I have no idea what he liked to eat. I just needed to keep up with the theme—it's 8:08 at night and my brain checked out somewhere in between clearing the dishes and making tomorrow's lunch—so, please, kindly go along with it.)

For the cookie crust

Ingredients:
¾ cup butter, softened
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
2. Add egg and vanilla to the mixture, beat well.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Gradually blend into the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla mixture.
5. Press dough evenly into 12-inch pizza pan.
6. Sprinkle the dough with 1 tbsp granulated sugar.
7. Bake in 375º oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
8. Remove and let cool.

For the lemon mousse

Ingredients:
2 lemons
½ lb cream cheese at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Grate 2 tsp of the yellow zest from the lemons.
2. Squeeze out 3 tbsp of juice.
3. Beat the cream cheese, lemon zest, juice, sugar and vanilla at medium speed in an electric mixer until smooth.
4. Separately beat the heavy cream until holds soft peaks.
5. Gradually fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
6. Spread the mixture into the cooled crust, leaving 1½-2-inch edge like a pizza crust.
7. Decorate your pizza pie in rings. Start with raspberries along the outer edge, then blueberries. Alternate until you fill the whole surface.

For the Kids

The key to the Fourth is no-fuss fun. Set up a separate kiddie table complete with all the necessary trimmings so the kids can fix their meal themselves. Dress up the table with miniature flags, red, white and blue jelly beans in clear jars or bowls and any other patriotic decorations you can find at the local supermarket or pharmacy.

As American as Burgers, Dogs and Ice Cream

Ingredients:
Do we really have to list them for you? Just get the usual: burgers (no-hormones), hot dogs (beef minus nitrates is best), whole wheat buns, American cheese (it's an American holiday, after all), mustard, ketchup. You can do some beans, corn on the cob, some baked potatoes. If you have the time, look around for star-shaped pasta. You can make a great cold pasta salad with the New World-çoise vinaigrette. For dessert, you can place cartons of ice cream in red, white and/or blue plastic buckets filled with ice. Set out some holiday-themed sprinkles, cones, cups and spoons for the perfect summer treat. No stress, no fuss, just fun.

The Drink

Freedom-ade

Fun-up fresh lemonade with cut fruit (think: sangria) for an even tastier take on the summertime classic.

Ingredients:
1 clear pitcher
1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
½ -3/4 cup of superfine sugar to taste
1 cup of crushed ice
4 cups of water
Three handfuls of strawberries
Two oranges
Four kiwis
Four limes
Four starfruit

Directions:
For the kids:

1. Place the lemon juice, sugar, ice and water in a blender until smooth.
2. Pour lemonade into the pitcher.
3. Cut the fruit and add it to the pitcher.

Place all the above ingredients into a blender for a fruitilicous lemonade smoothie; save the starfruit for the garnish.

For the adults:

1. Add some vodka to your Freedom-ade and you'll be feeling patriotic in no time.

You can differentiate the adult beverages by adding an American flag to every vodka-spiked version of the drink.

The Table

Directions:

1. Set your table with a simple red table cloth. Dieters beware: the red is not only for the Independence Day theme, it's also an appetite stimulant.
2. Place a simple arrangement of sunflowers in a blue bucket.
3. Sprinkle mini flags, stars and any other small Fourth of July-related items you can find at your local party store.
4. Set out a white bucket filled with ice for wine and beer. Go for an American Chardonnay or Fumé Blanc.

The Tip

Never show up to a party empty-handed. Even the smallest and most casual of gatherings took a lot of effort on the part of the host or hostess. For Fourth of July party or any summer get-together, a seasonal fruit edible arrangement is always a crowd pleaser—even for the kids.