These summer delights will be perfect for a Fourth of July kick-off!
Drink: Cranberry Elderflower Fizz
Ingredients
Cranberry juice
Vodka
Elderflower liquor
Lemon wedge or mint sprig (optional)
Fill a glass halfway with ice and cranberry juice. Add a splash each of vodka and elderflower liqueur; top with seltzer and garnish with mint. Just make sure to drink responsibly!
Sidedish: Asparagus and Strawberry Salad
Ingredients
2 bunches of asparagus
2 cups of strawberries in quarter slices
½ cup of poppy seed dressing
Parmesan cheese to taste
Wash and trim the asparagus. Cook the asparagus in a small amount of water for 4-5 minutes, then drain and cool.
Arrange the asparagus and strawberries on a serving dish and add parmesan cheese. Drizzle with your favorite poppy seed dressing.
Dinner: Perfectly Grilled Steak
Ingredients
Four 1 ¼ -to-1 ½-inch-thick boneless rib-eye or New York strip steaks (about 12 ounces each) or filets mignons (8 to 10 ounces each), trimmed
2 tablespoons canola or extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Approximately 20 minutes before grilling, remove the steaks from the refrigerator and let them sit, covered, at room temperature. Heat your grill to high. Brush the steaks on both sides with oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place the steaks on the grill and cook until they're golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the steaks over and continue to grill 3 to 5 minutes for medium-rare, 5 to 7 minutes for medium or 8 to 10 minutes for medium-well. Move the steaks to a cutting board or platter, tent loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Dessert: Whoopie Pie
Ingredients
For cakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
For filling:
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir the buttermilk and vanilla together in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld. Add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce the speed to low and alternately mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth. Spoon ¼-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, about 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.
To make the filling, beat together butter, confectioner’s sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. To assemble pies, spread a rounded tablespoon of filling on the flat sides of half of the cakes and top with the remaining cakes.
Check out more recipes at Houseboat magazine’s Pinterest page!