4th of July recipes Photographer Alanna O'Neil The Outdoor Table

Hello July! A month full of lazy beach days, grass-stained feet, and sunshine…perhaps the most blissful month of the year. But, when the weather is sublime, I don't feel like cooking or spending all my time in the hot kitchen….eating my weight in watermelon with a tall glass of lemonade is lunch sometimes! For that reason, my new book, The Outdoor Table, is brimming with easy outdoor recipes for all summertime gatherings. They are straightforward yet make a beautiful presentation, just like the essence of summer. Alfresco entertaining should be enjoyable for not only your company, but you too! Summer is all about the “easy-breezy, relax and enjoy”mentality...and The Outdoor Table encapsulates this in every recipe.

To my fellow American friends that may be planning your 4th of July celebrations, I wanted to share a menu suggestion taken from the book! Of course, this is just one menu of many that I share in the book for easy, no-fuss planning. But, like most on this national holiday, I love to fire up the grill. This Maui Mahi Mahi burger is a deliciously light and tropical alternative to the traditional classic. Paired with a vibrant and crunchy slaw, it's perfect for a casual barbecue at home with friends and family. If you have the time, (I swear these are easy and incomparable to store-bought!) Winslow's Sweet Buns are so soft and pillowy that your guests will flock to them! And for dessert, it is a tradition in my family to serve something fruity, be it a cobbler or a berry shortcake. I do have both in the book! This fresh peach and strawberry crisp is the quintessential dessert of high summer on our farm. As any fruit based dessert, try and find the ripest and sweetest ones you can find - their sweetness is the kiss of summer!

Enjoy your holiday whatever you have planned or if you just go with the flow. Summer is when you can check out and take it easy however you like without explanation or guilt. With that said, have a wonderful holiday and enjoy these recipes! I hope the weather is divine!

4th of July Menu

Maui Mahi Mahi Burger

Winslow’s Sweet Buns

Tropics Slaw

Farm Stand Peach & Strawberry Crisp

Maui Mahi Mahi Burger

Ingredients

serves 6

6 4-5 oz sustainably caught Mahi Mahi fillets with the skin removed (roughly one 1.5 lb fillet per person)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

kosher salt

extra-virgin olive oil

1 small pineapple, cored and cut into 1/4” rounds

Tropics Slaw

Winslow’s Sweet Buns

Cilantro & Poblano Aioli (recipe follows)

Toppings:

Butter lettuce

Heirloom tomato slices

Hot sauce

Avocado slices

Pickled red onions

Note: If you decide to serve both the slaw and aioli with the burgers, prep those first before you grill the fish and pineapple.

Preheat the grill to medium high heat.

Place the fillets on a platter and generously drizzle each fillet with olive oil.

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and a good pinch of salt and sprinkle it evenly over each fillet. Alternatively, you can also simply sprinkle each spice directly onto each, followed with a healthy pinch of salt on both sides if you are feeling particularly lazy.

Place the cored pineapple rounds onto another plate and generously drizzle them with olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Once the grill is nice and hot, place the fillets and pineapple rounds onto the grill and cover them. Grill the Mahi Mahi for about 4-6 minutes on each side, flipping the fillets only once until they are flaky and opaque. Simultaneously grill the pineapple for 4-6 minutes on each side, flipping them once to maintain the striking grill marks. Keep an eye on these as they may take more or less time to get a nice char. Although, I’ve found that the both the fish and pineapple take roughly the same amount of time to grill.

Remove the fillets and pineapple from the grill and let them rest while you toast up the soft buns. Brush a little olive oil on both bun halves and place them on the grill for 3-4 minutes until they get a lightly toasted and golden. You can of course grill these at the same time as the fish and pineapple depending on the size of your grill.

To assemble the burger, lay one fillet on the toasted bun and spoon a generous dollop of the aioli on top. Next, place one pineapple round per burger on top, followed by a spoonful of the tropic slaw, and continue to stack up your favorite toppings, and then finish it off with second grilled bun half.

Cilantro & Poblano Aioli

Ingredients

3/4 cup (about 170 g) extra-virgin olive oil based mayonnaise

1 handful cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped poblano pepper (jalapeño works too if you like it spicer!)

1 garlic clove

juice 1/2 lime

1 heaping tablespoon lime zest

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Optional:

dash of hot sauce

In a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth about 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt, hot sauce, or lime zest. When you are ready to assemble the burgers, serve the aioli into a small bowl with a spoon for your guests to help themselves. Refrigerate the aioli until serving and any leftovers will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Winslow’s Sweet Buns

Homemade buns may seem like too much trouble to make but they are truly incomparable to store bought ones. Whenever we had a large family get-together for the 4th of July, fresh out of the oven would come the softest, pillowy golden buns you’d ever see. If you enjoy bread baking, give these a try. They hold up to a robustly stacked burger without getting soggy or flat. I like to slightly grill the cut face of each with a little olive oil before sandwiching them together.

Makes 8-10 buns

Ingredients

1 1/2 (350 ml) cup warm water

2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast

1/2 cup (100 g) granulated white sugar

1/4 cup (59 ml) vegetable oil

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk

5 cups (600 g) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Optional:

sesame seeds

poppy seeds

onion flakes

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar into a mixing bowl with a dough hook attached. Stir the mixture together until the yeast is dissolved. This dough is particularly sticky and soft, so I find it’s best to use a mixer rather than kneading the dough by hand. Let the yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes until little bubbles form. If no activity is present, the yeast may be old or inactive. Repeat the process again with new yeast.

Add the vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and 2 cups of flour and knead on medium speed for a minute or two until it’s roughly combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to mix for another minute and then add in the salt.

Continue to add the remaining 3 cups of flour, one by one slowly on low speed, stopping several times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. It will be much softer than a typical bread dough, so it needs added time to come together until it is a smooth and satiny ball of dough.

Once the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and is springy to the touch, remove the hook (the dough may stick around the hook) and lightly oil another large bowl. Remove the dough and place it into the greased bowl, flipping it top side up so both sides are lightly oiled and cover it with plastic wrap.

Set the dough bowl to rise in a warm area in the house, not too hot but not drafty either, preferably on a sunny windowsill.

Allow the dough to rise for at least an hour until it’s doubled in size.

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once the dough is doubled in size and puffy, very lightly dust a work surface with flour and scrape out the dough onto the table.

Divide it into roughly 8 or 10 (depending how many you need) equal sized balls with a bench scraper or simply eyeball it.

Shape each dough ball into a round bun, gently cupping the dough taught on the surface until it forms a nice and plump bun. You can pinch the bottom together, if need be, folding it into itself and continue to shape it until it’s a smooth ball. Lightly flatten them with a gentle pat of your hand.

Place each bun onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2” between each bun and preheat the oven to 375 F degrees. Let the buns rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes until they are nice and puffy, at least doubled in size with a smooth surface. As they rise, they may touch each other which is fine, just pull them apart when they come out of the oven.

Once the buns have roughly doubled in size, make a quick egg wash by whisking the yolk and a tablespoon of water together. Lightly brush the tops of each bun with a pastry brush evenly with the egg wash. If you want to add any seeds or dried onion flakes , now is the time to sprinkle them over the egg wash on each bun.

Bake the buns for 20 minutes until golden and glossy.

Serve them warm or grilled lightly brushed with olive oil.

Tropics Slaw

This crunchy and rainbow hued slaw is a great addition to the outdoor table especially with the Maui Mahi Mahi Burgers. When I first tasted a Maui mango, I nearly gasped because of how juicy and flavorful they were compared to the mealy and bland ones I had on the mainland. Truly a fruit of the gods! If you can’t get your hands on a good mango, a ripe pineapple is equally delicious. Rather than a heavier mayo-based slaw, this is a fresh side dish that rounds out a summer picnic or barbecue with a hint of the tropics, naturally.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 lb head red cabbage (about a small one)

1 lb head green cabbage (about a small one)

2 medium carrots, grated

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 ripe mangos, either diced into 1/2” cubes or sliced into small wedges

1 generous handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

3 large limes

1 heaping tablespoon lime zest

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 cup (118 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Cut both cabbages into quarters, removing the tough core at the bottom. With the flat face of the cabbage placed on the cutting board, finely shred the cabbages as thin as possible.

Combine both shredded cabbages, carrots, red onion, mango, and cilantro in a large bowl.

For the dressing, squeeze the limes into a small bowl and add the lime zest, salt, and a few cracks of black pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil while simultaneously whisking everything together until smooth.

Pour the dressing over the slaw and gently toss it together and add more olive oil if needed.

Serve a scoop of slaw in the Maui Mahi Mahi Burger or on the side.

Farm Stand Peach & Strawberry Crisp

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the filling:

4 ripe medium sized peaches

1 lb (500 g) strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 cup (207 g) packed light golden-brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

juice of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the crumb:

2 1/2 cups (240 g) old fashioned rolled oats

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup (40 g) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (59 ml) wildflower honey or 1/4 cup (55 g) light golden-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven 350 F degrees. Gather a 9” x 9” baking dish.

To peel the peaches, bring a large stock pot with water up to a boil. Score the bottom of the peaches with an ‘X’ and fill a large bowl with ice water.

Place the peaches in the boiling water for only 30 seconds and then with a slotted spoon, immediately place them into the bowl of ice water in the sink under cold running water.

Using a small knife or your fingers, peel back the skin of the peaches starting by the ‘X’. They should come off easily.

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Slice the peaches into half-moons and then into small cubes. They should be the roughly the same size of a quartered strawberry.

In your baking dish, thoroughly combine the peaches, strawberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt until they are evenly coated. Let the filling sit for 15 minutes while you prepare the crumb topping.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, butter, flour, honey or sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.

Using your fingers (which I find is the easiest way), work the butter into the oat mixture until it forms small rough clumps and is evenly distributed throughout.

Spoon the crumb mixture evenly over the fruit filling.

Bake the crisp for 40-45 minutes until the crisp is lightly golden and the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges.

Let the crisp cool for 10 minutes and then serve with fresh vanilla bean or pistachio ice cream

(essential!)