The Fourth of July is a great day for a cookout. This year, try a few of these recipes, provided by local restaurants.

Cherry Bomb
Courtesy of Top of the Rock at the Buttes Resort

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Makers Mark
• 1 oz. Sour Cherry Juice
• 5 Sour Cherries, muddled
• 1 oz. melted honey

Preparation:

Muddle 5 sour cherries. Melt honey. Pour Makers Mark, and melted honey over sour cherry juice and shake with ice. Pour drink in small rocks glass and serve cold.

Sandia Salad
Courtesy of Los Sombreros Mexican Café and Cantina

Ingredients: Salad

• 3 cups fresh watermelon
• 1/3 cup slice jicama
• ¼ cup of sliced cucumber
• ¼ diced red bell pepper
• ¼ cup diced panela cheese
• 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Ingredients: Honey lime dressing

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. oregano
• ½ cup of honey
• 2 tsp. vinegar

Preparation:

Blend salad ingredients together, blend dressing ingredients together and then add dressing.

Crackling Cherry Pie (for 4 people)
Courtesy of J&G Steakhouse

Ingredients: Pie Dough

• 6 oz Butter
• 10 oz AP flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp Baking powder
• 1 oz Water
• ½ oz Cider vinegar
• 4.5 oz Cream cheese

Procedure:

Dice the butter and freeze. Sift all the dry and freeze in a zip lock bag. Mix the vinegar and the water and freeze. Freeze cream cheese. In the robot-coupe pulse the flour. Add the cream cheese and pulse. Add the butter and pulse for 10 seconds. Add the water-vinegar mixture and pulse 15 seconds. Knead the rest by hand. Do not over mix.

Ingredients: Cherry Filling

• 1.6 oz IQF sour cherries
• 3.5 oz Cherry juice
• 1.3 oz Water
• 2 oz Water
• 1.1 oz Starch
• 5.5 oz Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt

Procedure:

Strain the cherries. Mix the first water with the cherry juice and boil. Mix the second water with the starch. When boiling pull pot off the flame and add the starch. Whisk and place back on the stove on low flame. Add the sugar and the salt and boil. Fold in the cherries and let cool.

 Ingredients: Almond Sorbet

• ½ qt Toasted almonds
• 1 c Sugar
• 1/2 qt Milk
• ½ sheet Silver gelatin

 Procedure:

Boil almonds, sugar and milk. Steep for 30 minutes at room temperature. Burr mix and strain through chinois, then add in bloomed gelatin and cool. Freeze in ice cream maker.

Quickly roll dough until very thin, being careful not to allow it to get to warm, then chill. Spray molds with pam and form dough into them. Fill with cherries to top, then cover with lattice. Brush lattice with egg yolk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. On the pick up, liberally scatter with pop rocks and top with powdered sugar. Quenelle almond sorbet on one side and serve.

Watermelon Salad with Feta
Courtesy of Luci’s Healthy Marketplace 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup chopped red onion
• ½ cup lime juice (4-6 limes, depending on how big and juicy the limes are)
• A quarter of a medium sized watermelon, rind removed, black seeds removed, chopped into 1-inch cube pieces, about 8 cups
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

 Procedure:

Soak the chopped red onion in the lime juice while you are prepping the other ingredients, about 15 minutes. Gently combine all ingredients into a large serving bowl. Serve immediately. Salad will get soggy if kept overnight. Serves 6-8.

Duo BBQ Ribs
Courtesy of Bobby-Q

Ingredients:

• 2 full racks of pork spare ribs
• 2 slabs of baby back ribs
• ¾ cup BBQ Rub (see below for recipe)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Ingredients: BBQ Rub

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Procedure:

In a mixing bowl, combine the BBQ Rub with the sugar. Blend thoroughly. Season the spare ribs entirely with the Rub mix. It is best to season the ribs, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least for 12 hours. But this recipe is great just seasoning and placing right on the grill.

Season the baby back ribs with salt and pepper. In a mixing bowl, whisk the vinegar, hot pepper sauce and brown sugar together. Add the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Place the ribs in a large dish and pour the sauce over the top. Cover the ribs and place in the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 12 hours.

Remove both the spare ribs and the baby back ribs from the refrigerator, reserving the marinade. Bring the marinade to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Use the sauce to baste the baby back ribs.

Prepare the charcoals according to the directions on the grill for slow barbecuing.

Place the spare ribs on the grill and cook for about 3 hours, turning occasionally.

Place the ribs on the prepared grill and cook for 45 minutes on one side and flip over. Continue to cook for 45 minutes. Feed the fire every 30 minutes. Baste the ribs with the reserved sauce every 15 minutes. Remove the ribs from the grill and slice.