Recipes for the Fourth of July

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

For the Fourth of July, I’ve always stuck to the traditional dishes–burgers and hot dogs, ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans…. Like Thanksgiving, many families have certain menu items that are sacrosanct.

This year, I’m taking baby steps to branch out. I’m adding Sriracha Deviled Eggs to introduce some new flavors to our holiday celebration. With its hot, sweet and slightly tart flavor profile, sriracha gets along companionably with the creamy egg yolks, and adds a bright, spicy sass to this traditional summer favorite.

Sriracha Deviled Eggs
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons sriracha
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1½ teaspoons minced Thai basil
Grated carrot for garnish, optional

Boil eggs; peel and halve lengthwise while eggs are still warm. In a small bowl, add yolks and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, sriracha, rice vinegar and basil; stir until well mixed. Pipe or spoon yolk mixture into egg halves, dividing evenly. Top with a bit of grated carrot for garnish, if desired.

Makes 12 deviled eggs.

Note: To boil eggs, follow the instructions from Ben Mims but instead of letting the eggs sit in the hot water for just 8 minutes, you might want to let them go to 10 or 12 minutes for drier, crumblier yolks.

If you’re sticking to the classics for the Fourth, here are some recipes from the Special Fork database:

• Burgers with Grilled Onions is a simple recipe to guide anyone grilling burgers for the first time.
• Corn Festival Cole Slaw features a confetti of vegetables for color and flavor. Recipe by Lori Powell.
• Creamy Potato and Egg Salad is a very moist salad enriched with lots of eggs.
• Snickerdoodle Shortcake Cookies, a recipe by Andrew Hunter, is made by topping snickerdoodle cookies with whipped cream and strawberries. To make it a red, white and blue confection, substitute some blueberries for the strawberries.

Have a happy and safe Fourth!

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