By yogamam.co.uk via flickr.

Red, White and Blue Soup sounds kind of, well, trite when it comes to a July 4 recipe. But, really, this is a colorful and healthy sweet/tart starter for any July 4 meal, says Chef Renee. There are a lot of ingredients, but the prep couldn’t be easier. All you need is a knife, a cutting board and a blender, and you’re good to go.

July 4 Recipe: Red, White and Blue Soup

Yield: 6 servings

RED

Soup base:

1 red seedless watermelon, peeled and cubed.  Save all the juice.

½ cup grenadine

Juice and zest from 2 lemons

1 cup white grape juice

1 teaspoon white sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender. Don’t fill blender more than halfway. Blend the mixture until it is fully liquefied. This will take 2-3 minutes.

Refrigerate for at least one hour and stir periodically.  The soup should taste sweet and tart.

WHITE

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

1 lime, juice only

Mix all together and refrigerate for one hour.  Put into a squeeze bottle, or you can use a spoon to make dollops onto the soup when you serve it.

BLUE.  This is the “salsa” that will garnish the soup.

½ pint blackberries, coarsely chopped

1 pint blueberries, coarsely chopped

1 medium shallot, peeled, finely diced

3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

6 mint leaves, shredded into thin strips

1 teaspoon white sugar

pinch salt

pinch pepper

1 lemon, zest and juiced.

Mix all the ingredients of ‘Blue” together and wait an hour—keep at room temperature.

When ready to serve the soup, remove it and yogurt from the refrigerator 15 minutes ahead of when you plan to serve it.

Stir soup well, and pour into 6 chilled wide soup bowl.

If you are using a squeeze bottle, make a design on top of the soup, or with a spoon place a dollop of yogurt in center of soup.

Place a spoonful of blueberry “salsa” on top of yogurt.

Garnish each bowl of soup with a sprig of mint.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: Gazpacho for an End of Summer Soup Treat
2. Recipe: Thanksgiving Squash Soup
3. Recipe: Watermelon Cocktail and Feta Popcorn for July 4th

Hamburger: Photo by by aktivioslo via Flickr.

A Great Hamburger Recipe by Chef Renee

Here’s a recipe for a hamburger that will wow your friends and family this July 4th and throughout the summer. Use grass fed beef for its deeper, richer flavor, but conventional beef works well too.

The secret? A disc of butter slid into the middle of the patty makes this a rich, succulent beef treat.

The following recipe makes eight burgers. If that’s too many for your size crowd, freeze the leftover patties (wrapped in plastic, then foil, labeled and dated).

INGREDIENTS

1 pound chuck

1 pound short ribs (after bone is removed)

1 pound skirt steak. For flavor, don’t remove the fat.

¼ cup olive oil for grass fed beef; it’s leaner than conventional beef.

METHOD

Have your butcher grind the beef to order. While the beef is chilling, prepare the following:

1 cup panko bread crumbs, unseasoned

4 teaspoons each of finely chopped fresh thyme and rosemary

2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

4 shallots, finely chopped, rinsed and dried

2 hot peppers, finely chopped (Thai, Serrano, Jalapeno)- optional

2 eggs, well mixed

Also prepare:

8 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 stick sweet butter, cut into large dice and softened a bit

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon each of ground cardamom, cumin and turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Blend the butter, garlic, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric and soy sauce together until well mixed. Divide into 8 equal discs, about one inch wide, and freeze for 30 minutes.

Mix the beef gently with breadcrumbs, thyme, rosemary, ground pepper, shallots and hot pepper. Then blend in the eggs, and olive oil.

Divide into 8 portions. Shape each piece into a ball. Insert one disc of flavored butter into the center of each hamburger.  Press and shape it until it is a plump, but somewhat flattish with none of the butter visible. Handle the burgers as little as possible, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, minimum.

TO COOK

Preheat the grill so it’s very hot. Brush the burgers with olive oil. Grill over high heat for 3-5 minutes, until the marks are clearly visible. Turn the burgers over gently  and finish cooking burgers on the cooler side of the rack. Three more minutes should get you a medium rare burger. Don’t press the burgers or flatten them.

The burgers will continue to cook once removed from the heat source. When they are close to “done,” take them off the heat and let them rest for 5-6 minutes.

Want to gild the lily? Sprinkle some flaky sea salt on the burgers—just a little.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: Watermelon Cocktail and Feta Popcorn for July 4th
2. July 4 Recipe: Red, White and Blue Soup
3. Recipe: Summer Fish Wrap

A watermelon cocktail is a refreshing summer drink. Photo: jspatchwork via flickr.

Watermelon Wave Cocktail
6 servings

INGREDIENTS

8 cups seedless red watermelon cubes

6 cups seedless yellow watermelon cubes, frozen. (Freeze the yellow watermelon cubes in an ice cube tray, at least a couple of hours. They will be used as ice cubes in the drink.)

1 cup Cointreau
½ light rum
1 ½ cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup club soda
¼ cup Grenadine
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

Garnish: 2 mint leaves per drink
Pinch flaky sea salt per glass

METHOD

1. Place red watermelon cubes in blender.  Blend until mixture is liquefied. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
2. Not including the yellow watermelon cubes, mix next six ingredients until well blended, then add red watermelon juice.
3. Pour drinks into 6 old fashioned glasses filled with yellow watermelon ice cubes. Squeeze the mint leaves gently between your fingers and drop into the drink (don’t over press—mint will become bitter).  Sprinkle drink with sea salt (5-6 grains/flakes for each drink).

Feta-shized Popcorn

INGREDIENTS
1 bag microwave popcorn, popped—unsalted plain is best. Keep warm in a covered mixing bowl.  Or 1 bag popped plain popcorn, unsalted, which you will reheat later.

¼ pound hard feta cheese—the dry and salty kind, grated
1 teaspoon smoked paprika-sweet or hot
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons good olive oil

METHOD

Warm the olive oil in a small pan (not smoking hot): add paprika and cayenne.  Stir the oil until it is red (about 1minute).  Pour onto popcorn and toss—quite a few times—until well distributed.

Add feta and toss again.

Place bowl (no plastic, please) in microwave and heat for 20-30 seconds (depending on the wattage of your microwave oven).  When cheese is melted, toss all together and serve. Taste for saltiness.  Have napkins handy.

Related posts:

1. July 4 Recipe: Red, White and Blue Soup
2. Great Hamburger Recipe: For July 4th Grilling or Any Time this Summer
3. Super Bowl Recipe: Southern Fried Popcorn Chicken