Posts tagged Fourth of July
Hot Dungeness Crab Dip

Happy Fourth of July! We spend the holiday at our family beach compound at whidbey island. We eat an excessive amount of food, drink too many cocktails, and blow things up. This crab dip is on steady rotation. I cannot encourage you enough to make this dip! If you don’t have crab, you can sub in artichoke hearts and no one cares. It’s still delish.

Hot Dungeoness Crab Dip

8 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon worchestershire

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 - 2 teaspoons hot sauce (to taste!)

1 pound dungeoness crab

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, or with a hand held blender, combine all of the ingredients except the crab and cheese.

STEP 2

Carefully stir in the crab to the cream cheese mix. Spread in an oven proof dish and top with parmesan cheese. I like to use a pie tin or an 8” pan for the dip so it’s one thin layer with the crispy cheese on top.

STEP 3

Pop into the oven and bake about 15-20 minutes until bubbly and the cheese turns golden brown.

Watermelon Lemonade

It’s Fourth of July weekend! My favorite weekend of the year. Clearly it calls for a special beverage. I made this one booze free because it’s the perfect drink for a shot of vodka, if you so choose, but also then my kids will stop bugging me that I make all these fancy drinks that they can’t drink. Annoying.

Watermelon Lemonade

4 cups watermelon, cubed

2 cups lemonade

The zest of one lemon


Put everything in a blender together and blend until smooth! Serve over ice. Vodka or rum is optional.

Cocktailing | Tomatillo Bloody Mary
A classic Bloody Mary but with tomatillos instead of tomatoes!  Spicy and delicious.

When I was a kid I drank V8 like it was juice. When I grew up and discovered you could combine it with vodka and garnish with my very favorite pickled vegetables, it was like a match made in heaven. I’ve had my share of regular Bloody Marys and I have not really had a bad one yet. Some mediocre ones - some weak ones - but never a bad one. If you want my classic Bloody Mary, click here.

But then I heard of a rumor of people who don’t like tomatoes. Can you believe that’s a thing? Well, if you’re reading this, then possibly you are one of those people? I can’t imagine not loving tomatoes - especially when they are fresh. But if you mix them with vodka, how can they be bad ever?

Anyway… I’m being accommodating and it turns out these are EPIC so I’m not worried about how you don’t like tomatoes.

Roasting the jalapeño and tomatillos is an extra step, but I highly recommend it - actually require it in the recipe - because it makes the drink so much better.

I also grilled some shrimp for the top because who doesn’t love something a little extra? And these shrimp are EXTRA. Don’t forget to share if you make these! I can’t wait to see what you do.

Tomatillo Bloody Mary

makes 4 large cocktails

8 tomatillos

1 jalapeño

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

1/2 cup cilantro

1 cucumber

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon horseradish

2 teaspoons worchestershire

2 teaspoon Old Bay

8 ounces vodka

garnishes like olives, celery, or grilled shrimp

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the husk off the tomatillos and slice them in half. Spread them out on a baking sheet with the jalapeño. Drizzle oil on top and sprinkle with salt. Pop in the oven and let roast about 10 minutes until toasty.

STEP 2

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Don’t forget to pour any liquid from the roasted tomatillos into the blender too.

STEP 3

Combine equal parts vodka and tomatillo juice in a glass. Add ice and garnish!


let's celebrate memorial day