Fourth of July Feast: Hot & Cool

There were three of us, the three Texpats, for the fourth's festivities. We made enough food for twice that many, as usual. Inadvertently, the celebration became something of a Texan cookout. With no particular menu in mind, the three of us sat down, plotted & headed out to the market. We came home stocked with pork ribs, jalapeños, bacon, corn on the cob, black eyed peas, okra, cucumbers, berries, ice cream & cold Budwiser (hey, it's the American beer, right?). Here's how our menu shaped up:

• Dr. Pepper Glazed Pork Ribs
  
• Jalapeño Poppers
• Perini's Black Eyed Peas
  
• Grilled Corn on the Cob
  
• Cool Cucumber Dill Salad
  
• Three Berry Crumble
  
• Martinezes
  

An afternoon spent in lounging in sun sipping cold beers & nibbling on spicy bites  is, in my mind, an afternoon well spent. 

Poppers seem to have become the go to h'our dourve for my family, so of course they made an appearance at our fourth feast. Growing up they just appeared on the kitchen counter. They disappeared even quicker. Ray & I adopted them as our signature Texas treat. Read my dad's recipe here.

As if the poppers didn't provide enough heat, we chased them with Martinezes, Tom Perini's kick-in-the-pants cocktail. 

The Martinez, for 1

from Tom Perini's Texas Cowboy Cookbook

1 shot tequila

splash of controy

splash of pickled jalapeño brine

1 - 2 pickled jalapeño rounds

1 lime wedge

1 cold Mexican beer of choice

Combine all ingredients, reserving the beer. Sip the martinez slowly adding beer to the mix as you work your way down. Don't worry, you lips are supposed to be tingling! 

Cool Cucumber Dill Salad, for 4

2 large cucumbers, sliced in 1/3" chuncks

3 tbsp. fresh dill, minced

1/2 c. greek style yogurt

1/2 tbsp. salt

1/2 tbsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

Toss all ingredients together. Chill for 20 minutes prior to serving.