My Red, White, and Blue Holiday Supper

There is no better way to spend an evening than with friends. So what better way to celebrate the 4th, than with a supper with friends grilling out on the patio.

I decided to go with a red, white, and blue dinner, London broil cooked on the grill, blue cheese scalloped potatoes, a salad for the main course, and raspberry sorbet with chocolate chess pie for dessert.

Dinner began with a simple tray of cheese and crackers as we waited for the steak to grill. My first “red” was my London boil. I started preparing my London broil the evening before with a rub of garlic salt and chili powder. Pat the meat dry and lightly spray with olive oil. In a ziplock bag combine garlic salt and chili powder. Close the bag and shake, add the meat, close the bag again and shake until the meat is coated. Put the meat into the refrigerator to sit until an hour before you are ready to grill. Take it out in time to bring the meat to room temperature before you begin to grill. I like my meat on the rare side so on the grill or in a cast iron skillet on the stove, cook five minutes on a side (adjust time based on size of meat and how done you wish it).

 

The first course of the meal was a simple garden salad of butter lettuce with black and red tomatoes and a purple onion. I used a simple vinaigrette to dress the salad and sprinkled oregano and basil on top.

For my “blue” and “white”  portion of the supper, I prepared scalloped potatoes with blue cheese. Peel and thinly slice Yukon gold potatoes and set to the side in a bowl of water. Make a white sauce (flour, butter, milk, salt and pepper). Once the white sauce is made add sharp white cheddar cheese and blue cheese crumbles to the white sauce stirring slowly as you add to keep the sauce from burning as the cheese melts. I recommend a low heat. Spray your casserole bowl with olive oil, drain the potatoes, and layer the slices alternating potatoes and cheese sauce until the bowl is full. Pour the remainder of the cheese sauce over the top. As your final layer, cover the top with a thick layer of Parmesan cheese to create a crust. Bake at 400 for an hour.

 

The dessert course was a chocolate chess pie (see my Heirloom Cooking post for the recipe) and another “red,” a scoop of raspberry sorbet. Perfect for a July evening on the patio.

Happy Independence Day!