Festive Recipes For Your Fourth of July Cook-Out, Or Cook-In

I'm on my way to the market to buy some watermelon and other goodies for our Fourth of July cook-in. Yup. Cook-in.

Sure, I could do a cook-out. We have two grills in our condo unit. But I and 218 other people will be vying for them all weekend. So I'm skipping the cook-out and doing a cook-in.

We'll still have the usual Fourth of July suspects -- sweet corn, potato salad, watermelon -- just no hot dogs and hamburgers. A grill pan, no matter how good, is no substitute for the real thing.

I'm also making homemade limoncello with my dad, which should make us feel better about not having char-grilled hamburgers. Limoncello always makes us feel better.

Whether you celebrate this Fourth of July indoors or outdoors, here are some recipes that will no doubt make you feel better. So will watching the fireworks lighting up the nighttime sky. Happy Fourth of July!



Chili-Lime Fruit Salad



Chipotle Barbecue Bean and Corn Salad



Elote, or Mexican Grilled Corn



Patriotic Potato Salad



The Southwest Hamburger



Grilled Steak Tacos with Watermelon-Mango-Jicama Salsa 



Summertime Strawberry Pie



Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp

Wait! There's more! 
For more inventive potato salad recipes, check out this blog post about my featured piece, "Light Potato Salad" in the June 2010 issue of "Cooking Light." It includes recipes for three different potato salads:

Farmers' Market Potato Salad: This salad was selected as one the "Greatest Hits: 2010" by Cooking Light staff.

Lemon-Arugula Potato Salad

Lemongrass and Ginger Potato Salad

Four Amazing Potato Salad Recipes for Your Fourth of July Cookout

Americans will be celebrating the Fourth of July this weekend, and that means loads of hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, watermelon, and, the perennial favorite, potato salad.


Patriotic Potato Salad

Although most people will be enjoying traditional American-style potato salad with mayo, I won't, and neither will anybody in my family. Why? Because when my brothers and I were kids, my mother wouldn't dream of letting us eat mayo-based potato salad at cookouts. After all, how could she know how long it had been baking in the sun? There was no way she was going to risk her brood getting food poisoning, so we either skipped the potato salad or had our own olive oil and vinegar based potato salad instead.


String Bean and Potato Salad with Prosciutto

Although it has been shown that mayo-based potato salad may not be as dangerous as once thought, I still prefer worry-free oil and vinegar based potato salads. If you're not sure which type of potato salad to make for this Fourth of July weekend, then I have four amazing potato salad recipes for you to try:

• Lemongrass and Ginger Potato Salad
• Arugula Pesto Potato Salad
• String Bean and Potato Salad with Prosciutto
• Patriotic Potato Salad

Arugula Pesto potato salad

Tips for making great potato salad:

• Use waxy rather than floury potatoes, such as Yukon gold, red bliss and fingerlings. They have a creamy texture yet keep their shape well when cooked. Although russet potatoes are exceptionally tender, they don't hold their shape well when boiled and tend to get mushy.
  

• Cut potatoes into equal-sized pieces so they will cook evenly.

• Don't overcook potatoes. Take them off the heat while they're still slightly firm. Drain and let cool before assembling the salad.
  

• With or without skins? It's a personal preference. If you leave the skins on, be sure to scrub them well before cooking. Peeled potatoes work especially well for absorbing sauces such as pesto.
  

• Season the potatoes while still warm to absorb the flavors more fully.

• Warm potato salads taste best the day they are made; however, cold potato salads often taste better the next day. If you're making potato salad ahead of time, hold off on adding raw onions or fresh herbs until just before serving. You'll avoid unpleasant pungency and keep your herbs looking fresh.

Lemongrass and Ginger Potato Salad

So here's wishing my fellow Americans a safe and spectacular Fourth of July weekend with lots of good friends, lots of sparklers, and lots and lots of potato salad.

You might also like these recipes for the Fourth of July:

The Southwest Hamburger





Chili Lime Fruit Salad





Elote, or Mexican Grilled Corn





Grilled Watermelon Slices with a Honey-Lime Syrup