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.

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.

Summer burgers are the best burgers. And summer burgers loaded with grilled onions and homemade barbecue sauce is literally the BEST. I cannot wait for our grill to be replaced so I can get back to grilling on a full size grill again!

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that our grill died. It literally died. It just quit. It did have a good life and it worked hard. But then one day it just wouldn’t anymore. We’ve been using our tiny tailgate grill while we decide what we want to replace our old one with. It does the job. I did put it in the garage when family came over last week because it looks super lame! Ha!

Until then, this burger is going on the tailgate grill - which means it can be done anywhere! Let me know what you think of it.

Cowboy Burger

Serves 4

1.5 lb ground beef

onion shred things

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

1 c ketchup

1 tbs yellow mustard

1 tbs worchestershire

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs bourbon

4 slices Havarti cheese

4 Brioche buns

1/3 cup Mayo

STEP 1

Mix ketchup, mustard, worchestershire, brown sugar, and bourbon together in small sauce pan. Let simmer on low at least 5 minutes or up to 30 minutes. 

STEP 2

Form ground beef into 4 patties.

1.5 lb ground beef

STEP 3

Place burgers in a skillet (or on the grill) and surround them with onions and jalapenos.  Flip the burgers twice to cook through.  Cook onions and jalapenos until they are soft.

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

STEP 4

When burgers are nearly done, brush each side with sauce. 

STEP 5

Spread mayo on one side of the bun.  Top with burger patty, cooked onions, onion shreds, lettuce, and extra sauce. 

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I made this punch for a bridal shower I hosted for my cousin. It’s light and refreshing and just the tiniest bit boozy. It’s also great because you can make a big batch and sit back while guests serve themselves. I served it with tiny little melon balls on top. You could also slice the melon, use a cucumber slice, or just skip it all together!

Honeydew Punch

2 tablespoons sugar

1 honeydew, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

750 mL white wine

1/2 cup vodka

1/2 cup cointreau

1/2 cup mint

2 cups club soda

STEP 1

Blend together the sugar, honeydew, cucumber until smooth. Strain through cheese cloth.

STEP 2

Add vodka, wine, cointreau, and mint to the honeydew ‘juice’. Let rest overnight.

STEP 3

To serve, remove the mint leaves and add the club soda. Garnish with melon balls!

This is the ultimate mash up of everything good coming into farmer’s markets about now. Have you also seen the easiest way to make quinoa ever?? It’s microwaveable, won’t scorch, and is done in about five minutes.

I love putting almonds in this salad, but I am allergic. So when I pop them in, it’s for other people and not me. For myself, I put in sliced cashews, pecans, or walnuts. Pecans are my favorite, so they usually win out.

Farmer’s Market Quinoa Salad

Serves 4

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 tbs chopped dill

¼ cup chopped basil

2 tbs chopped parsley

2 ears corn

½ pound green beans

½ pound snap peas

1 cup almonds, sliced

2 cups blackberries

½ cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tbs. milk

salt and pepper

STEP 1

Combine 2 cups water, quinoa, chopped herbs, and one teaspoon each salt and pepper in a microwaveable glass bowl that holds at least four cups.  Cover with tight fitting plastic wrap.  Pop into the microwave and cook for four minutes.

STEP 2

Remove plastic, stir, return to microwave for another four minutes – assuming all liquid has not been absorbed.  Depending on the strength of your microwave, this may take anywhere from four to twelve minutes.  Continue microwaving until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Let rest ten minutes covered.

STEP 3

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Drop corn into water and cook 5 minutes.  Remove from water and add beans.  Cook 2-3 minutes until bright green and still crisp.  Drop the green beans into a bowl of ice water immediately.  Add the snap peas to the water and cook 2 minutes.  Remove from the water and drop them into the ice water as well.    

STEP 4

Drain beans and peas.  Cut the corn off the cob.  Toss all vegetables with quinoa, berries, and almonds. 

STEP 5

In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, vinegar, blue cheese, chives, and milk.  Top the salad with dressing and toss again. 

I never saw the allure of fat asparagus. The skinny ones seemed much more fancy, the fat ones seemed too meaty. Then I got to have dinner with Alice Waters - yes, that Alice Waters - and she was going on about how much she loves fat asparagus. So it seemed worth a shot.

You guys, we have been missing out. Fat asparagus is where it’s at! And what’s amazing is that it is as meaty and tender as you’d hope. It works brilliantly as a meat substitute in these tacos. I’ve had it in tamales as well - amazing! It ‘s totally worth trying the giant ones.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, then you know the good ones are coming in from eastern Washington right now. Scoop them up while you can! You won’t regret it.

Fat Asparagus Tacos

Serves 4

1 bunch really fat asparagus

3 avocados

1 tomato, chopped

¼ cup queso fresco, crumbled

1 can black beans or 2 cups beans, soaked

1 white onion sliced thin

1 bell pepper, sliced thin

8 tortillas

2 tbs cumin

¼ cup chili powder

salt

pepper

2 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup pepitas

1 jalapeno

2 lime, juiced

½ cup greek yogurt

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss asparagus, bell pepper, and onions with 1 tbs cumin, 2 tbs chili powder, salt & pepper, garlic, and lemon juice.  Roast in the oven until tender.

STEP 2

In a blender, combine 1 avocado, 1 jalapeno, 1 clove garlic, the juice of 1 lime, and ½ cup greek yogurt.  Blend until smooth.  If it gets stuck, add 2 tbs milk. 

STEP 3

In a sauce pan, heat up the beans and add 1 tbs cumin and the remaining chili powder.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.

STEP 4

Scoop vegetables onto warm tortillas.  Top with beans, queso, pepitas, chopped tomatoes, and spicy avocado cream

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Taco night is everyone’s favorite night. Every once in a while I change it up and do something a little different. I like these because we are trying our best (as adults) to be low carb. Eliminating the tortillas is one tiny step towards being a little healthier. Or at least feeling a little less bloated.

The other hot tip for a dinner like this is to make two of the flank steaks. Steak number 2 doesn’t get sliced right away. Wrap it in foil then pop it in the fridge. TOMORROW night you can have a steak salad that takes a few minutes to make - or my steak sandwiches (link here) so you can take them to the baseball game, volleyball game, or whatever other sports your kids are dragging you to.

Fajita Lettuce Cups

1 pound flank steak

1 large onion, sliced (about 1 ½ cups)

1 large red bell pepper, sliced

1 large green bell pepper, sliced

4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

½ cup chili powder

¼ cup cumin

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon oregano

1 head butter lettuce

8 oz queso fresco

1 avocado

1 bunch cilantro

1 lime, cut into wedges

salsa

salt and pepper

olive oil

STEP 1

Preheat broiler to 500 degrees. 

In a small bowl combine 2 cloves garlic, ¼ cup chili powder, 2 tablespoons cumin, red chili flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper with two tablespoons olive oil.  Rub both sides of the steak place on a broiler pan or on a cooling rack set inside of a rimmed cookie sheet. 

STEP 2

Pop the steak in the oven and watch it carefully.  Cook 5 minutes on one side then flip it over.  Cook an additional 5-8 minutes depending on how thick your steak is.  Cook until internal temperature reads 135 degrees on a meat thermometer.  Cover with foil and let rest.

STEP 3

In a large skillet heat two tablespoons olive oil and add remaining chili powder, cumin, garlic and oregano.  When the pan is sizzling hot, add bell pepper and onion and cook quickly turning the entire time to coat with spices.  After about five minutes – or until the pepper and onions are soft - remove from heat. 

STEP 4

Slice steak and serve with butter lettuce cups, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, lime wedges and salsa or hot sauce.

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Daiquiris are now all frilly and sweet.

But the original is much more of a treat.

Invented in Cuba in 1898 when an American throwing a party ran out of gin.

Cuban rum was swapped into the punch and made it a win!

The drink turned up at the Army Navy Club in DC

where it became a favorite of Hemingway and Kennedy.

Overtime, the drink got blended and topped with frills

but I recommend the traditional, shaken and chilled.

Classic Daiquiri

1 ounce run

1/2 ounce simple syrup

3/4 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigweously. Strain into a glass and garnish with lime wedges.

Who doesn’t love a churro!?! We’ve made them before but they’re messy and greasy. So I stick to cookies. And churro cookies seemed like the perfect way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

So you’re going to say - aren’t these just a snickerdoodle? Well, kind of. But also these are crispier on the outside and smooshy on the inside which makes them an amped up version of a snickerdoodle - which in my opinion makes them a Churro Cookie! Also, isn’t a fun name 90% of making something fun?

Churro Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and 1 cup sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and whip on high until light and fluffy.

STEP 2

Combine together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar and add it to the butter mixture. Beat until mostly incorporated. It will be a dry mixture.

STEP 3

Slowly add the milk to the mixture and incorporate until the batter becomes smooth and blends together. If it still seems dry, add another teaspoon of milk.

STEP 4

Scoop batter into balls and roll through the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes until brown on the edges. Let cool slightly before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.

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I am dying to have a tiki bar. It doesn’t fit into my house currently - so every once in a while I’ll pull up a few elements to make it seem “tiki-bar-ish.” But what I really want is the real deal. I want the gaudy tiki statues, the grass cloth walls, custom swizzle sticks and a record player blasting Jimmy Buffett. I want shelves crowded with a collection of tiki mugs. I want a terrible bar name inscribed on napkins and matchbooks. I want it to smell like coconuts and sunscreen.

Image borrowed from Kiel James Patrick’s Instagram account @kjp

I can’t wait until the day I can shake up a fruity cocktail from behind the bamboo bar. The counter will be slightly sticky because it’s been splashed on so many times that no amount of wiping will get it entirely un-sticky. But we won’t care. We’ll continue to shake drinks full of pineapple juice and coconut cream and continue to let them drip all over as we pull out the giant pieces of pineapple that hold little drops of the cocktail on the ends. I’ll make crab rangoon and coconut shrimp to serve instead of dinner because every meal is better when you’re sitting on top of a rattan stool.

We’ll listen to Jimmy Buffett on repeat and dance while wearing leis, floating dresses, and goofy shirts. I’ll light tiki torches lining the path leading to the bar. We’ll find a vintage tiki god to guard the entrance so there’s no bad ju-ju.

I’ve started collecting the mugs already - I’m knee deep in quirky glassware. I already have the perfect name. I just need a location. A place to pop on a rattan barstool and fill the top of a glass with slices of pineapple, tiny umbrellas, and wedges of lime.

Etsy Swizzle Sticks | Custom Tiki Mugs | Jimmy Buffett Vinyl | Pyrat Rum | Aloha T-Shirt | Rattan Tray | Pitcher | Nick Kuchar Print | Vintage Tiki Ashtray | Flamingo Punch Bowl