In Episode 012 we are planning a full 4th of July Menu. Susie shares an amazing menu you can serve on July 4th to all your family and friends. This menu includes all the recipes you need including make ahead options and amazing kitchen tips.
Transcript
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Intro: Welcome to Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can get on the table any night of the week. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich.
Susie Weinrich: Welcome everybody. Today we are doing a special episode of Let’s Make Dinner. We’re not talking about one dinner recipe, we’re talking about an entire menu.
4th of July is just around the corner, and so I wanted to give you guys a really good menu that you could turn to for the 4th of July that has all of your side dishes, really killer hamburgers, all of the garnishes you need plus tips on making everything ahead. Not everything, we’re not going to make everything ahead, but any of the dishes that you can make on July 3rd, or even July 2nd so that on the 4th of July you can have some drinks, have some fun with your friends, and not be in the kitchen the whole time.
4th of July Menu: So let’s get started on this menu. I’m going to go over the entire menu now, and then I’m going to talk about each individual item and give you some tips for that item, and also ways that you can make it ahead to make your 4th of July a little bit smoother.
So we’re starting with just a classic hamburger, potato salad, some type of corn. I have two different recipes to share with you. A broccoli bacon salad. A veggie pasta salad, fresh watermelon, and of course some chips. Then for dessert, we’re talking either a blueberry crumble or a no-bake chocolate pot de creme.
All right, starting with those classic burgers, you’re of course going to need whatever grilling situation you have set up. Get that already a couple of days ahead. Make sure you have charcoal, make sure you have propane, or whatever you need for your grill. For the burgers, you can absolutely make these a day ahead.
You’re going to make that burger patty mixture, form your patties, pop them onto a sheet pan, get them in the fridge and let them just sit in there overnight. They’ll be good to go as soon as you have your grill already. Of course, you want to make sure that you have all of the toppings ready for your burgers. What I recommend is just getting a big platter or again, a sheet pan, laying out all of the toppings, covering it with plastic wrap and putting it in the fridge. Here are the toppings that I recommend. Just a romaine or a green leaf, lettuce, pickles, or onions. Now slice your onions and then give them a nice little rinse under cool water. What that does, is it removes the enzyme that makes your onion flavor stick with you forever. Three hours later, you’re still tasting the onion. Once you rinse that enzyme away, you can still taste the onion, and it’s still delicious on your hamburger, but it’s not going to overpower the entire dish. Then you’ll also want to slice up some tomatoes. I actually recommend doing that the day of, because tomatoes should not be stored in the fridge. When they’re stored in the fridge, they actually break down and they lose flavor. So I recommend waiting to do your tomatoes and then right before you serve them, season them with some kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. It makes all the difference on your burger, promise. Then just make sure you have ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, and you’re good to go for your burgers.
Next, let’s talk about potato salad. Potato salad is better done the day before anyway. When potato salad has a little bit of time to sit in the fridge, the flavors kind of meld together and it’s so much better. It’s just like chili. So I have a recipe for Instant Pot Potato Salad or just a Classic Potato Salad, and I will link both of those in the show notes for you.
I said that I had two different corn options for you. You can of course do just your classic corn on the cob. You can boil it just in salted water for around eight minutes. Or you can make your corn on the cob in your instant pot. So if you are a pothead, get out that instant pot and cook it up in there. I have a great recipe, a complete how-to-make corn on the cob in your instant pot that I will link in the show notes for you.
Now if you have that fresh corn, but you maybe don’t want to serve corn on the cob, I also have a killer recipe for homemade creamed corn. You can absolutely make that a day ahead. If you’re going to serve corn in the cab. I would do that the day of. But if you’re going to do the homemade creamed corn, make it up on the second or the third and just reheat it on the stovetop on the 4th of July.
This next recipe is actually a family favorite. It’s the broccoli bacon salad. If you haven’t had this one, it’s like a raw broccoli salad that has bacon, onions, sunflower seeds, and raisins, and then it has this creamy kind of tangy mayonnaise-based dressing that you put on it and it’s delicious. You can absolutely make most of the components ahead of time for the salad. Chop up your broccoli. Measure out your raisins. Measure out your sunflower seeds, chop up the onions, get all that ready, pop that in the fridge, and then make up the dressing in a little mason jar and pop that in the refrigerator, separate from the salad. Then just like an hour before you serve, mix it all together and you’re good to go.
With your veggie pasta salad, it is like potato salad, where it’s actually better if you can make it a day ahead because it kind of marinates everything. So I would completely make the veggie pasta salad a day or two ahead and let that sit in the fridge.
Of course, there’s watermelon and chips. Those are easy. Good to go the day of. For dessert, I have two different options for you. If you’re more of a berry type of person, you can go with a blueberry crumble. What I would do with that, is serve your blueberry crumble, sprinkle a couple of fresh raspberries on top, and then add a little bit of vanilla ice cream so you have your red, white, and blue for the 4th of July.
Now, if you’re more of a chocolate person, I would recommend doing these no-bake chocolate pot de creme. It is delicious. No baking is required. Basically, everything is made in your food processor or blender, and then it goes in the fridge and it’s a chocolate custard. It’s silky chocolate mousse. It’s delicious. Again, I would recommend topping it with maybe some fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, and a little bit of whipped cream so you have your red, white, and blue for the 4th of July.
I hope all of these tips and recipes help you have an amazing 4th of July and celebrate our beautiful country. I will place links to all the printable recipes right in the show notes so you can make them for the 4th of July and plan out exactly how and when you are going to make all the recipes.
If you are loving these episodes of Let’s Make Dinner, I would love to have you subscribe or follow on your preferred podcast player.
Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner makes your dinner time a little easier.
Menu with Make Ahead Tips
The hamburger patties can be formed a day ahead and stored in the fridge on a sheet pan or platter covered with plastic wrap. Pull them out right before grilling.
If beef burgers aren’t your jam you can also check out these Turkey Burgers or Pork Burgers.
Get some of your condiments for the burgers ready the day ahead. Place romaine or green leaf lettuce on a platter or sheet pan, add some pickle chips in a bowl, onions (rinse your sliced onions under cool water so they aren’t overpowering). Make sure you have mustard, mayo and ketchup. Then an hour or two before serving slice your tomatoes and season them with kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
Potato Salad SHOULD be made the day ahead. It is just like chili in that it is better with time. Make a Classic Potato Salad or you can check out this Instant Pot Potato Salad.
There are a couple options to serve corn:
- Corn on the Cob – made the day of, boiled in salted water about 8 minutes.
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob – made the day of, cooked right in your Instant Pot.
- Homemade Creamed Corn– make a day or two ahead and reheat on the stove top or in a crockpot the day of.
Pasta Salad is also another side dish that gets better with time. Make this Veggie Pasta Salad a day or two ahead and just give it a stir right before serving.
Broccoli Bacon Salad is a family Favorite that we serve at all Holidays. Prep all the veggies a day ahead and pop in the fridge, then mix the dressing separate and put in an airtight container, like a mason jar. Mix the dressing on the veggies about an hour before serving.
Add some watermelon, chips and maybe some baked beans.
For dessert you can choose a berry or chocolate dessert, they can both be made a day ahead:
- Blueberry Crumble, serve with fresh raspberries and ice cream.
- No Bake Chocolate Pot de Crème, should be made a day ahead to set up, serve topped with fresh blueberries, raspberries and whipped cream.
Margie Veon
Really enjoy your column and all the recipes- always seem to turn out “yummy” !!