Hurray For The Red, White And Blue!

By Christy Rost, July 2005

Family gatherings, neighborhood parades, and picnic food take center stage this month during our nation’s annual Fourth of July celebration. Everywhere we turn, our flag will be proudly displayed in tribute to the freedom we cherish and those who work and sacrifice to safeguard it for all.

Whether you’re planning a backyard barbecue, a trip to the lake, a clambake at the beach, or a picnic in the park, a festive menu adds an extra measure of fun to Fourth of July celebrations. Barbecued ribs or brisket dripping with sauce, hamburgers and hot dogs, farm-fresh grilled corn on the cob, salads of every description, sweet juicy watermelon, and a rainbow of popsicles are some of my traditional favorites.

The popsicles are actually a remembered treat from my childhood. One of my grandmothers had a freezer-full of lemonade, root beer, blue raspberry, and banana popsicles every Fourth of July, and I can still picture all of us kids standing in the grass, with sticky juice running down our arms, as we laughed at each other’s blue lips and tongues.

Now that I’m an adult – well, almost – and blue raspberry popsicles are harder to find, I prefer deep dish pies and cobblers for dessert on the Fourth. This one is baked in a beautiful red enameled cast iron dish from Lodge, the American manufacturer who’s been making cast iron skillets since 1896. If you have old, cast iron skillets that have been in your family for generations, chances are they were made by Lodge.

This month’s featured recipe for Independence Day Deep Dish Peach Pie has just the right amount of sweetness, while preserving a bit of the peach’s natural acid. With the addition of fresh blueberries and a flaky, buttery crust, this deep dish pie is a real winner. And who can resist the patriotic flag painted on the top with a tinted egg wash just before baking. Hurray for the red, white, and blue! You’ll find a link to this recipe on the easyentertain.com homepage.

Note: Christy Rost is the host of the television/lifestyle show, Just Like Home, and the author of The Family Table (2004, Capital Books, Inc.), which is available in bookstores everywhere.