I'm not sure yet. Our holiday, Canada Day is always celebrated on July 1st and I'm thinking of just grilling something or maybe picking up a couple of nice big Dungeness crabs.

Ann

Yum crabs!!!

Not sure yet - hoping to read some real inspirations here! Don't let me down, please, I'm in that 'can't-think-of-what-to-fix' rut & haven't found my way out!

We're having a picnic and fireworks at Amanda's, with a "potluck" kind of dinner, so there will be burgers and hot dogs on the grill, pasta salad from David's very Italian grandmother, baked beans from someone else, my Mother is bringing cupcakes for the kids, I'm taking brownies and sangria, Amanda is doing some kind of potatoes on the grill. I'm sure there will be more, my nephew usually brings venison sausage and several people will bring "liquid refreshments" in addition to the sangria.

Actually, Amanda likes the fruit from the sangria, it's the only reason it's a holiday staple, LOL.

Annie

We are smokin' barbecue.

As Ann said our holiday is , July 1st, Canada Day but we will be celebrating at the cottage July 3rd.

So far my thoughts are a Watermelon and Feta salad, Chicken Souvlaki, herb roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus. Our guests are bringing the dessert. Which we will enjoy on the party boat while we watch the fireworks.

Still mulling appetizers over in my mind. Spanikopita would be perfect but I don't have any in the freezer and I don't feel like making it...but I may change my mind! Maybe I'll just go with a selection of olives and cheese.

Mojitos! I have my mint simple syrup made and ready to go.

Other than that, I'm not sure. I'm toying with the idea of making some soft pretzel buns for hot dogs though...

Friday night is prime rib, lobster, and crab legs. Saturday is up in the air at this point as some are going to the lake, some to the river, and some want to hang by the pool for the day. Sunday it's burgers, dogs, and brats on the grill along with potaoe salad, pasta salad, baked beans and fresh local corn. Fresh local peaches for dessert....cobbler for sure. Crazy busy here with family and friends in from out of town the last couple of weeks. Tonight was my little break until I head to the airport around ten to pick up the begining of the next wave of company.

I'm loving it!!!

Happy 4th and Happy Canada Day to all y'all!!

David

We're celebrating at daughter #1's house with the extended family, lots of kiddies, and fireworks after. I know we are having ribs and burgers. And I know I am sick to death of even the thought of potato salad and coleslaw.

I'm thinking of a pasta salad with kalamata olives, broccoli, red onion, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes--maybe capers?--in a creamy Italian dressing. Chunks of ice cold watermelon and maybe a cheesecake or trifle for desert. And for appetizers, maybe something on grilled bread, but no idea what :P

Luckily I'm not the only one taking food, so I shouldn't have to think too hard.

chase~please share your watermelon feta salad recipe. I just got back from TJ's where I decided on the spot to make Chicken Souvlaki (or a version of it) after buying a pkg of flatbreads (pita rounds) to serve 6 people on our boat after racing Friday night. I also bought some sliced, grilled chicken breasts (a first for me) and some low fat greek cucumber sauce that I think I need to thicken it up a bit.
I am going to serve it as a make your own, along with sliced red onion, grape tomatoes, lettuce,feta since we have a very picky eater among us. I also bought a container of stuffed grape leaves for an appetizer. This will be an easy dinner for me tomorrow night. I really hope the chicken strips are good.
The watermelon salad would be perfect, since I almost always bring watermelon. I looked up a recipe, but will make yours if you share.
Thanks! And Happy Canada Day to our friends!

Save me. DH just emailed me this and asked if we have enough food coloring. Bring it on!

Here is a link that might be useful: BakedBree - Flag cake

Here you go mag..girl! Must also thank you because I hadn't though of pita bread! It's now on the list! Actually I saw a very interesting recipe for chickpea flat bread in one of the mags.....think I'll try that.

Cucumber, Watermelon and Feta Salad

1â2 English cucumber
1 seedless watermelon wedge,
4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) wide
1 tbsp (15 mL) red wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
1â4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
1â4 cup (50 mL) shredded mint leaves
1â3 cup (75 mL) crumbled feta cheese

1. There is no need to seed or peel cucumber. Slice cucumber lengthwise, then again lengthwise. Finally cut crosswise into chunks, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size. Cut watermelon into the same size chunks as cucumber. Place both in a large bowl and toss.

2. Whisk vinegar with garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Drizzle over watermelon mixture and stir. Add mint and feta and gently toss. Tumble onto a platter and serve at room temperature.

Serves 6

NOTE: I don't always add the mint but it does add a wonderful freshness.

This weekend, just grilling some chicken and steaks.

However, last weekend I made something which will definitely become part of my hot-weather repertoire--it's Julia Child's version of Vitello Tonnato (veal in tuna sauce) in which she uses poached turkey breast instead of the veal. She called it Tacchino Tonnato, and notes that the tonnato sauce works well with poached pork loin as well.

The tonnato sauce sounds awful but is amazingly good. It's basically an olive oil mayonnaise flavored with tuna (!), anchovies (!?!), Dijon mustard and garlic. You poach the turkey breast and slice it into 1/8 slices (or, if you're lazy like me, go to the deli and have them slice 15 or 20 nice slices of good turkey breast), then slather the tonnato sauce over each slice and let it sit, covered, in the fridge for a couple of days to allow the meat to absorb all the goodness. Serve it cold.

Absolutely delicious. If you have a food processor, the tonnato mayonnaise sauce is extremely easy to make.

Don't have the cookbook in front of me (I'm at work--will post next week if people are interested)--sorry. (It's in her book 'The Way to Cook.') I'm listing this not to tantalize, but to recommend it if you've ever thought about making the dish, it's really good and not at all difficult if you have a FP.

Thanks for the recipe for the Watermelon salad - The recipe I found (youtube) used a melon baller for the melon - depending on how much time, I have, I may
make it prettier with the balls :). He also served it on a platter lined with Boston lettuce leaves - very pretty.
I am definitely going to make your recipe tomorrow. Funny, we decided on almost the same menu for the weekend holiday. And I have never served the chicken souvlaki before - it is hard to serve the same people every Friday night and come up with something unique that can be served at room temp on a boat - and now lowfat for DH. I feel better about the menu now that I have your WM salad. Have a fun wkend! Thanks again.

I'm bummed! We won't be able to cook this holiday weekend. We have 2 weddings to attend. Wayne's nephew is getting married on Saturday afternoon and my cousins' son is getting married on Sunday afternoon. No cook outs for us. Who picks the 4th of July weekend to get married on?!! Enjoy your fun everyone. NancyLouise

I'm keeping this weekend simple. The weather looks like good grillin' weather so we will probably do burgers, chicken and steaks.
Sunday will be the steaks with a bacon ranch potato salad, and Woodies layered salad.

On my way to the grocery store tomorrow, I'll stop at a farm market and see what I can find fresh. I think there will be the first of the raspberries, I hope so!

Nancy

Let's see, friend is bringing new Margarita recipe. Like claire de luna, I have the mint simple syrup ready for Mojitos...oh and for food probably burgers on the lake Saturday, something grilled Saturday night. Tonight????

When I was a kid 4th of July menu was always grilled, fresh Atlantic salmon, baby new potatoes and fresh green peas. Veggies would be from Dad's garden and Dad would catch or sometimes barter for the salmon. I have the peas and potatoes in my garden but hubby doesn't eat salmon so...

Sis is having a BBQ on Saturday. Her husband, our beloved Dave, died 7 years ago and this weekend his parents are coming up...hence the BBQ. Many of Dave's childhood/lifelong friends are joining us so it should be a good time.

I'm bringing the Roadhouse ribs and a white bean/green bean salad with a honey vinaigrette.

Sunday is dinner at sis's with Dad and her in laws and Monday I am having some friends over for a quiet BBQ - probably throw some nice steaks on the grill and make some of that Aji topping we all love. Fresh corn, grilled potatoes, tomato salad, and something green

Happy 4th.
Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Aji

OK, Jessica, you've inspired me. I'm making a big ole' half sheet pan of pizza made to look like a flag. White mozzarella and red pepperoni to make the stripes, I'm working on the stars.....

Or maybe canadian bacon for the red stripes, I've got to think this through, LOL.

Frosted brownies with red/white/blue sprinkles and a big pitcher full of Sangria with peaches and strawberries because Amanda likes to eat the fruit. We'll probably end up pouring the wine part down the drain because no one in the family drinks wine except Mother and she likes dry red, no fruit.

Annie

I've been invited for a holiday dinner featuring shis ka bob and rice, with cheesecake for dessert. I'm bringing cherries and blueberries, and coleslaw and MAYBE roasted eggplant dip if I can get my act together today! I ended up with a plethora of pita bread from a picnic I threw for my students. The eggplant dip is a lower fat alternative to hummus, which I also have and love!

I'm going to surprise DH and DS with a picnic on the plane. Flatbread with grilled chicken, tzatziki, feta, greens, grape tomatoes, hummus (thanks for the greek inspiration, everyone!), berry cobbler and watermelon.

A

Oh, and Sue, thanks for the link to the Aji. Elery would love it, although I can't imagine eating it myself, LOL.

Annie

Our holiday picnic will be on Sunday at our friends' house. There will be four or five couples and whatever adult kids are in the area and don't have any more exciting plans.

We always split up the cooking and I'll be grilling turkey thighs and halved breasts and serving with a fresh apricot salsa. I got nice turkey parts from the poultry stall at one of our farmers' markets this afternoon.

The menu will also include a black bean and corn salad, green beans cooked with tomatoes and mint, a potato dish, some variety of green salad with watercress, and an angel food cake bar with different kinds of toppings. My contribution for the dessert will be Chambord melba sauce made with strawberries instead of red raspberries.

As a change of pace from our usual picnic mojitos, we're having "old school" sangria.

We ran into some friends while window-shopping this afternoon, and SWMBO invited everyone to our house for an impromptu dinner. Ended up being:
- Halibut, simmered 4 minutes in miso soup, sauce of puree'd shiitake mushrooms and cream, crispy bacon bits.
- Mushroom-quinoa risotto, made with more of that purée and some demi glace
- Brussel sprouts, broiled, with garlic aioli
- Salad with strawberries from our garden
- Halibut sashimi

I discovered that if you simmer halibut skin in miso for about 15 min, it becomes soft, almost creamy on the tongue, and tasty with a little soy sauce. It was a cook's treat tonight, but I'll make a dish of it sometime.

We have a big family get together and we all potluck with agreement as to who brings what. I'm bringing two 4-layer butter cakes with pastry cream filling, fresh strawberry filling, and chocolate buttercream frosting. For the gluten-free family members there will be a chocolate coconut-flour cake with whole fresh Bing cherries (with stems) on the top of the chocolate buttercream frosting. To be patriotic I also made apple pies with Stars and Stripes top crust.

Nancy

This evening I didn't cook, but my sons came to see me and together we went to see my parents. That is reason enough for them to come to town and spend time with me and my parents, but we planned to go to a new Thai restaurant for dinner and they serve sushi, which they were looking forward to having.

But as plans go, the new place was closed for 3 days over the July 4th holiday, so we had to go to Plan B. I said that we would drive by another Thai place to see if they also had sushi and if not, then Plan C, yet another Asian Bistro place that served Thai dishes.

Well, what luck! We were approaching the restaurant (second Thai place) and a couple of employees were there holding open the door inviting us into their Open House! Food and wine/beer, etc. all FREE! They did indeed have sushi also! We had lots of selections to choose from on their small buffet and enjoyed our meal very much. We had good service, a very hospitable staff and really nice decor. Their former place was just two doors down, but they decided it was much too big, so they had just re-opened at a smaller spot with a new name.

Of course, we each left a large tip but we were able to try many dishes from their menu! What a treat!

Starting on prepping my baked clams....hope everyone has a enjoyable holiday!

Grilled swordfish in foil packets with basil lime butter. Greek orzo salad, brownies, peach summer torte.
Hoping others will bring the basics.

Jo

I'm just getting ready to go, I dug new red potatoes from the garden especially for potato salad, I got a new recipe that has no eggs, but takes bacon and parmesan cheese. Dave is going to love it, I think.

I made a couple of loaves of cheese bread, a pizza shaped like a flag with stripes of white cheese and ham, and stars cut from pepperoni slices. A big pan of brownies frosted white and sprinkled with red and blue sprinkles, a thermos of white sangria.

It's 89F here, so I bought a slip N slide for the kids to play on, they'll dry quickly in this weather!

I could care less about fireworks, they set them off every time they open a car lot or have a baseball game any more, so I'm trying to figure out how I can just leave and weasel out of those completely....

Annie

Went to a party last night - I took fruit kabobs (huge hit) and a fresh lemon dip to dip the fruit. Also had vanilla wafers to dip into the lemon dip. No glamorous serving platter; just laid them on my red silicone cookie sheet.

There were blueberries, strawberries, green grapes & pineapple chunks. Wish I had taken a picture, they were really neat looking.

Dinner last night went very well. Everyone seemed to enjoy the souvlaki, watermelon salad and grilled asparagus.

I made a chickpea and cumin grilled flatbread. It was a big hit but not a big enough hit to ever make again IMHO.......whole new meaning to the word PITA ! LOL

We had dessert watching fireworks on the party boat. When we got home Sara asked me why the oven was on.......oh that would be the herb roasted potatoes!

Thank goodness I had turned the oven down to 150 while I prepared the rest of the meal or they would have been charcoal never mind what could have happened to the cottage! YIKES!