Hot Dog Bar for July 4th — All The Things

Jun 30

Jun 30 Hot Dog Bar for July 4th

Today's menu is highly flexible. It can be scaled up or down depending on the size of your 4th of July crew. You can choose your favorite hot dog (meatless or otherwise), sides and toppings. Divvy up who brings what to make it a group effort and to minimize the cost for each person.

I love Independence Day! My family always had wonderful 4th of July parties that were usually centered around a grill. We ALWAYS had watermelon, grilled meats of some kind, ice cream and lots of sparklers. The side dishes were varied and we usually had way to much for for even our small army to consume. I love the feeling that I had during our 4th of July Barbecues. They always seemed to perfectly encapsulate the American Dream. Family, feasting, and fireworks. I have tried to replicate these fondly remembered celebrations, only on a much smaller scale.

Hot Dog Bar

hot dogs, your preference of brand (I used Johnsonville Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage Links and Hebrew National Bun Length Beef Franks)
hot dog buns (#target)
Chili cheese dog toppings
New York toppings
Toppings of your choice

Grill or broil the hot dogs. To grill: Heat the grill to 425 degrees and cook the hot dogs 3-4 minutes per side. Toast the buns on the grill as desired. To broil: set broiler setting on high and cook hot dogs 3-4 minutes per side. Toast the buns as desired.

Arrange the hot dogs, buns, and topping on a tray.

Chili Cheese Dog suggestions: chili, sharp shredded cheddar cheese, mustard, onion

New York Style suggestions: sauerkraut, spicy brown mustard, onions

American Standard: mustard, ketchup, relish

Arrange the topping on a tray and let your guests build their own plates.

Red, White & Blue Potato Salad

I love this salad! I am not, generally speaking, partial to potato salad but I do love a good loaded baked potato (ignore that sound, it is just the groans of my waistline). While eating one such potato for lunch, my best friend commented on how very American she felt. "What can be more patriotic than a roasted potato smothered in the fattiest of all fats! Bacon, cheese, sour cream and butter!" I realized she had made an excellent point but I had to ask myself a very serious question: COULD they be more American? The only answer was absolutely! Make the taters Red, White and Blue Dammit!!! Serve them up in "salad" form at a cookout on the 4th of July while singing the Star Spangled Banner, shooting guns and/or setting off explosives in the form of fireworks!!! I submit that it can hardly get more "American" than that.

28 oz. bag of mixed potatoes of baby red skinned, Yukon and purple potatoes, cut to the 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup scallions green and white parts, chopped
2/3 cup olive oil mayonnaise
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs dried dill
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in a medium sized pot and cover with water. Add a tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Cook over medium high heat 12-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. While the potatoes cook, whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar and dill together. Salt and pepper to taste. Once the potatoes are completely cooled, toss with the dressing, cheese, bacon and scallions. Chill until ready to serve.

Garlic Roasted Corn on the Cob

Note: So... I don't have pictures of the delicious product this recipe makes... yet. I will be adding on at a later date because the first set of pictures didn't come out. #firsttimebloggermistakes

there are three methods you can use here. The grill, the oven or the crock pot. Threw a curve ball with that last one didn't I? Yes, the humble crock pot actually inspired this recipe. I was in college when I received my first crock pot and I got plenty of use out of it that winter, but when summer appeared I was at a loss. My tiny apartment kitchen didn't have the best storage options and seeing it collect dust in on the counter made me sad. So I plugged her in and decided to slow cook some corn! Over time I adapted the recipe for the grill (easily the fastest method) and the oven. They all yield similar results though I prefer the grill. My husband prefers the original recipe and asserts that it is the best corn he has ever had (aside from the fried corn at Saw's Soul Kitchen. That stuff is like crack. Shame on you Birminghamians if you have not tried it yet!)

5 ears of corn, shucked, washed and dried
1 stick of butter, softened
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste
aluminum foil

Combine the butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper together in a small bowl to make a paste like mixture. Using your hands, cover the corn in the paste until all of the butter is used up. Wrap each ear of corn in foil.

To Grill: Heat the grill to around 425 degrees. Make sure your rack is as high above the coals as possible. Place the foil wrapped corn on the grill and cook for 10 minutes then turn. Cook an additional 8-10 minutes or until the corn is tender when pricked with a fork.

To Roast: Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the foil wrapped corn on a baking sheet and place on a rack in the center of the oven. Roast for 30 minutes or until the corn is tender when pricked with a fork.

To Slow Cook: Turn your crock pot on the medium low setting (whatever your 6-8 hour setting is). Pour about an inch of water into the bottom of the crock pot and stack the foil wrapped corn in the pot. Cover and let cook 6-8 hours. Keep warm and serve.

Watermelon Jalapeno Salad

My mother in-law and her sister let me steal this recipe from them. They made this on Easter Sunday and it was so cool and refreshing. I felt inspired to make this and use my leftovers for some killer cocktail base (more on that later). Let me tell you, it made some mean margaritas! Look for the recipes for the base and margaritas in future posts.

1 seedless watermelon, around 6-8 cups
4 jalapenos
4 limes
1 bunch of mint
salt on the side to taste (optional)

Peel and cut the watermelon into 1" cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Seed and dice the jalapenos and add to the melon. Rough chop the mint leaves and set aside. Zest and juice the limes. Stir all the ingredients together and chill.

I recommend making this the day before to allow the flavors to meld. For more heat, leave the seeds in the jalapenos. Serve cold with salt on the side for those who like salted melon.