Independence Day

We had some friends over for the 4th. I thought I'd share our recipes.

We did basic burgers but with a ton of topping options. We served three different sauces: chipotle ketchup, horseradish mustard mayo, and red chile mustard. We offered a smorgasboard of cheeses: American, Swiss, white cheddar, Manchego, and jalapeno jack. And of course there were pickles, tomatoes, onions, and lettuce.

We also tried a new Southwestern potato salad, a Bobby Flay recipe that is served at his restaurant Mesa Grill. It was quite spicy - a bit too spicy for me. If we make it again, I think I'll use a bit less chipotle puree and/or less cayenne pepper.

We also made our staple summer salad, Ina Garten's guacamole salad.

For dessert, I tried a recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Lick the Bowl Good. Monica, the author of the blog, adapted the recipe from one of Martha Stewart's. We had a delicious strawberry-blueberry cobbler cake with vanilla ice cream.

Here are two pictures, one from before the cake went into the oven and the finished product.

Enjoy the recipes!