July 4, 2017 - Happy Independence Day

[Chris L]

For the British members of this board I know this isn't a big deal (or do you have a holiday that happens to fall on the same date?), but here in the U.S. we're having backyard picnics and shooting off fireworks, wearing red, white and blue clothes and honoring the founders of the nation, back in the day when we had really good presidents. (Okay, no more politics.)

Amy's in the kitchen concocting something delicious. Later we'll go out in the yard, have hot dogs and other treats, and follow it up with a dessert of homemade peanut butter cup ice cream that Amy put in the fridge last night.

Happy Fourth to the rest of you Americans and for those of you on the other side of the Atlantic, have a really great day!

[Vera Charles]

For the British members of this board I know this isn't a big deal (or do you have a holiday that happens to fall on the same date?), but here in the U.S. we're having backyard picnics and shooting off fireworks, wearing red, white and blue clothes and honoring the founders of the nation, back in the day when we had really good presidents.

Nope, nothing exciting happening over here, just the usual drudgery. 🙄
In fact, if it weren't for this board in both its previous and current incarnations and to a lesser extent, myInstagram feed, I would still be in blissful ignorance of the party that is the 4th of July.

[Gordonb]

For the British members of this board I know this isn't a big deal (or do you have a holiday that happens to fall on the same date?), but here in the U.S. we're having backyard picnics and shooting off fireworks, wearing red, white and blue clothes and honoring the founders of the nation, back in the day when we had really good presidents.

Nope, nothing exciting happening over here, just the usual drudgery. 🙄

Awh,  but at least it's nice weather in which to drudge. 🙄

[Gordonb]

For the British members of this board I know this isn't a big deal (or do you have a holiday that happens to fall on the same date?), but here in the U.S. we're having backyard picnics and shooting off fireworks, wearing red, white and blue clothes and honoring the founders of the nation, back in the day when we had really good presidents. (Okay, no more politics.)

Amy's in the kitchen concocting something delicious. Later we'll go out in the yard, have hot dogs and other treats, and follow it up with a dessert of homemade peanut butter cup ice cream that Amy put in the fridge last night.

Happy Fourth to the rest of you Americans and for those of you on the other side of the Atlantic, have a really great day!

@Chris L  - if you hadn't done the Independence thing your first paragraph might refer to:

back garden picnics,
setting off fireworks,
honouring with a "u"

The ice cream sounds yummy, what other treats is @AmyG preparing?

Y'all have a lovely red, white and blue day.

[Leighton]

Happy fourth!

We have two American teachers in school who always do an Independence Day assembly (they also do a thanksgiving assembly in the autumn), so we have a mini celebration!

[Chris L]

@Chris L  - if you hadn't done the Independence thing your first paragraph might refer to:

back garden picnics,
setting off fireworks,
honouring with a "u"

The ice cream sounds yummy, what other treats is @AmyG preparing?

Y'all have a lovely red, white and blue day.

So you're saying you would have forced us feisty, Western Hemisphere pioneers to spell things incorrectly like you (and Canadians) do?

Only American southerners (i.e., those from the southeast) say "y'all," though I know that includes at least one board member. I smelled Amy cooking something that smelled like potatoes or pierogies. I'll let her describe the menu in more detail. All I know about so far is the hot dogs and ice cream.

[Chris L]

@Gordonb - I peeked and Amy made potato salad. (I should have guessed. That's perfect for picnics, even in your own back gar--, er, yard.)

[Diane]

I also made potato salad to go with barbecued chicken.  For dessert we had strawberry shortcake.  Will has taught me over the years to reject any kind of a traditional cake base for this dessert, whether angel food cake, poundcake, or those mystery dessert shells sold in the supermarket.   I used this recipe from the blog Smitten Kitchen:

SHORTCAKES

2 1/4 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams or 3 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (205 ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons (35 grams) raw or turbinado sugar

 Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add butter and using your fingertips or a pastry blender, break it into small bits, the largest should be no bigger than a small pea. In a small bowl, whisk yolks with a splash of cream, then pour rest of cream in and whisk to combine. Pour into butter-flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix and mash it together into one cohesive dough.

Divide dough into 6 (for large, 3 1/2 to 3 3/4-inch wide and up to 2-inch tall) shortcakes or 8 smaller ones. I do this by pressing the dough somewhat flat into the bottom of the bowl (to form a circle) and using a knife to divide it into pie-like wedges. Place raw or turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Roll each wedge of shortcake into a ball in your hands and roll it through the raw/turbinado sugar, coating it in all but a small area that you should leave bare. (I found that the sugar underneath the shortcakes would burn, so better to leave it off.)

Place it, bare spot down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wedges of dough. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden all over. Let cool completely on tray or on a cooling rack.

They turned out really well--somewhat scone like, golden in color.

[AmyG]

That sounds great, Diane. I'll have to try it.