I’m super excited about our nation’s 250th Birthday. As I make plans for an old-fashioned celebration with family and friends in our beloved mountain home, I’m reminded of July Fourths of years past.
One of my favorites was my Grandmom and Grandpop Hewston’s annual backyard picnic. On that particular Fourth when I was in the fourth or fifth grade, the weather was warm and sunny. Watermelon chilled in ice water in the basement sink, the fridge was filled with my grandmother’s potato salad and other side dishes, and her freezer was well stocked with an assortment of popsicles in my favorite flavors — banana, blue raspberry, cherry, pink lemonade, and root beer. Burgers and hot dogs sizzled on the grill. As the grandkids played, the adults conversed while reclining in red metal armchairs and webbed lawn chairs. Funny that I remember those chairs all these years later.
Fireworks displays of all sizes seem grand when you’re little. As an adult, I have been awed by a huge show over the river that flows between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, one over the Rock River in Rockford, Illinois, and an even more modest one over Lake Dillon in Summit County, Colorado. And yet, when red, white, and blue bunting is draped across our front veranda and 14 guests gather for dinner around a long festive table, I’m right where I want to be.
From coast to coast, grill masters will cook brats, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, or steaks this July Fourth. Ribs and briskets will smoke slowly to perfection and refrigerators will overflow with what I consider to be the real stars of every Fourth of July gathering — the side dishes! My mouth waters just thinking of them, which is why I love when our guests arrive with their favorites to share.
In honor of our country’s 250th Birthday, I’ve updated my recipe for Picnic Potato Salad to make it quicker to prepare and even tastier. Originally developed for my Celebrating Home cookbook, I recently tried a different approach when cooking the potatoes. I had previously cooked them whole in a large pot of water until the centers were knife tender, then peeled and sliced them into bite-size pieces. Now I peel and cut the potatoes in quarters, place them in enough water to cover, cook them until knife tender, and cut them into ½-inch cubes once they are cool. This method eliminates overcooked or undercooked potatoes and it’s far quicker because the potatoes cook in about 10 minutes. Now THAT’s something to celebrate! Happy Fourth of July!
Christy Rost is a cookbook author, host of Celebrating Home cooking videos, and longtime resident of the Park Cities and Preston Hollow. Her ‘At Home with Christy Rost’ cooking series for Eat This TV Network airs on AmazonFire, AppleTV+, Roku, Samsung TV, and YouTube. Please visit christyrost.com for details and recipes.
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