We hope the Fourth was as much fun for you as it was for us. Both family and friends were here. Six adults, one baby, and two dogs. Fireworks sent the dogs into hiding, but the rest of us had a glorious time.
We served the chicken we wrote about last week. The only thing we would change is to suggest using some wood chips to add to the smoke flavor of the chicken. As it was, the bone-in, skin-on breasts that had been marinated in citrus and honey were great. But to add the smoke of a good hardwood would have been a super addition.
We began the meal with bowls of watermelon gazpacho. One of our children asked, “Why call it gazpacho?” The answer is simple: that is the name given it when we first had it at our faculty club in Chicago several years ago. Here is how we reproduced it.
Cut about 1 lb of watermelon (seedless is the easiest) into small pieces and puree in a food process or blender. Add one jalapeno pepper (seeded), one clove of garlic (mashed), the juice of one (or two) large lime, and the about 1/3 cup of mint leaves (plus salt to taste) to the mixture and blend. Chill overnight. Serve with a spring of mint.
The wine we served was a Vino Verde. Two or three years ago we wrote about this inexpensive, delicious, and fun wine, and we cannot say enough good things about it. This is the perfect summer wine. New, dry, fruity, and with just a bit of sizzle, this is such a great wine for hot weather that we buy it by the case. We don’t think it matters a lot what the label says. This is a young and enjoyable wine for any occasion on the river, by the pool, or on the deck.
Of the family and friends we had here on the 4th and 5th, only our one-year-old is left. She will be here a week. Everyone else left well fed, including enjoying a huge blueberry pie with homemade ice cream. Leftovers, organic veggies, etc. will be our fare this week. And how we did enjoy the 4th of July. We hope you did too.
