With so many fresh fruits available, it’s relatively easy to come up with a sweet treat in shades of red, white and blue for July 4th – so we’re tossing a few savory recipe ideas your way.
Red, White and Blue Pups
Ingredients
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup crumbled strong blue cheese, such as Maytag blue
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup), plus extra ribs cut into sticks for serving
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 48 cocktail hot dogs
- 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce, plus extra for drizzling, such as Frank’s
- 24 slider potato rolls
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 cup blue potato chips, crushed with your hands
Directions
- Combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise and blue cheese in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until smooth, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, and then stir in the celery.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until melted. Add the hot dogs and cook until heated through, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and cook until the hot dogs are coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Slice vertically through each potato bun, about halfway through so it resembles a top-split hot dog bun, and place 2 buffalo dogs in each. Top with 1 to 2 teaspoons of the blue cheese sauce, a drizzle of hot sauce (as spicy as you like it), some red onions and crushed blue chips.
- Serve the sliders with any extra blue cheese sauce and celery sticks on the side for dipping.
Red, White and Blueberry Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups mixed salad greens
- 1⁄4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons candied or toasted walnuts
- 4 strawberries, sliced
- 1⁄4 cup blueberries
- raspberry vinaigrette dressing
Directions
- Lay the greens on the plate.
- Pile the feta and walnuts in the middle of the greens.
- Scatter the strawberries and blueberries on top.
- Serve with the dressing on the side, and not until ready to eat (it wilts the salad).
- Enjoy!
Red, White and Blueberry Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground dried chipotle pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Blueberry Sauce:
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
- Whisk oil, salt, paprika, chipotle pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic in a glass or ceramic bowl; add chicken breasts toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Add sugar to a saucepan set over medium heat; cook, without stirring, until it begins to melt, about 1 minute. Continue cooking, without stirring, until sugar melts, gradually turns golden, and just begins to darken a bit, 1 minute or less. Remove pan from the heat. Add vinegar; stir until sugar dissolves.
- Return pan to medium-high heat; add blueberries. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue simmering until blueberries soften and sauce thickens to a syrup-like consistency, 4 to 5 minutes. If sauce seems too thin, simmer a few more minutes. If it seems too thick, add a splash of water. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat.
- Set a strainer over a bowl. Strain blueberry sauce, using a spatula to push through as much liquid as possible. Discard blueberry skins.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate. Remove chicken from marinade; shake off excess. Discard remaining marinade.
- Cook chicken breasts on the preheated grill until no longer pink in centers and juices run clear, about 4 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into centers should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken to a plate; rest for 1 to 3 minutes.
- Serve breasts on a swirl of blueberry sauce with more sauce drizzled on top.
