I hope you guys have some fun plans for the 4th. If you’re not going to someone’s party, chances are you’ve got your own bbq or picnic planned.

Still not sure what to make? I’ve got you covered for both the main meal and the dessert!

If you want something savory, these first recipes will make you the hit of any 4th of July party:

Brad’s Salsa– seriously so good you don’t even need chips

salsa

 

Tomato Corn Salad – sweet summer corn steals the show in this one.

Corn and tomato salad with basil

 

Veggie TexMex Pasta Salad– I brought this to last year’s 4th festivities! It’s got no mayo so it can sit out without worries of food poisoning.

Tex mex pasta salad

 

Pasta Salad with Broccoli, Feta, Capers and Chickpeas– a great cold pasta salad to serve alongside burgers and hotdogs.

Pasta Salad with Broccoli, Feta, Capers,and Chickpeas 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

 

Wheatberry Salad– something a little different and healthier for your 4th. Great served warm or cold.Warm Wheatberry, Brussels Sprout Salad with Feta and Crispy Tofu ~ ElephantEats.com

 

Marinated Broccoli Salad – best made the day before, so get on it!Broccoli Salad

 

Tabouli – classic summer salad taking advantage of all the fresh veggies available!

Tabouli

 

Cilantro Lime Hummus– the most refreshing hummus you’ve ever tasted, and a recipe that gets pinned ALL the time.

Cilantro Lime Hummus

 

Now, if you’re looking for something sweet, I’ve totally got you covered:

Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp– with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s summer dessert perfection!

Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

 

Toffee Blondies– Sturdy and perfectly portable for whever you need to bring them. Also, have you seen the photo below?! I wish I had one now.

Toffee Blondies ~ ElephantEats.com

 

Cookies ‘n Cream Bars – this recipe is crazy good. Tastes like Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream in a convenient little bar.

Cookies and Cream Bars

 

No-Bake Chocolate-covered Peanut Butter Crispy Bars  – a great recipe for when it’s too hot to turn on the oven. Though these are best served indoors in the A/C so the chocolate doesn’t get too melty.

Crispy Peanut Butter Bars

 

and finally for a little something to liven up your party while keeping you cool:

Frozen Lemon Mojito– SOOOO good and so refreshing! Can easily be made without the alcohol. Just add more water.

Frozen Lemon Mojito

 

Happy 4th everyone!!!

 

Pasta Salad with Broccoli, Feta, Capers and Chickpeas

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I don’t know about what the weather is like in other parts of the country (or in other countries like some of my readers), but here in New York the last few days have been disgustingly hot. I really shouldn’t even say that since I know it’s only going to get worse as July and then, worst-of-all August, approach.

But the best thing about hot days is that you have an excuse to eat ice cream…for dinner. Or at least that’s how I roll. Plus, it takes some of the guilt out of eating this full-fat deliciousness when you just make it your meal (and adding hot fudge doesn’t count). I mean, ice cream has protein and fat so it will probably keep you full for an hour or two.

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I based this off of Sunset Magazine’s recipe (via SmittenKitchen) but altered the dairy products I used based on what I had already bought. I’m still learning the ins and outs of ice cream making so I haven’t quite gotten down the ratios you need. I tried making ice cream with just whole milk and learned that you definitely need more fat in there.

My substitutions in this recipe, however, were absolutely perfect. In fact I think that if I had followed the original recipe exactly, it would have been waaaay too rich for me, since this already tasted richer than Haagan Daas.

The custard base for this is so so good. I couldn’t stop sneaking spoonfuls before I got it into the fridge to chill out. It had this rich, buttery butterscotch flavor. Oh man.

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I was slightly disappointed that after being frozen, it tasted more like a very rich vanilla. If you close your eyes and really concentrate on the flavor, you can definitely get hints of the butterscotch, but it wasn’t as pronounced as I would have liked. I think maybe I didn’t cook the sugar/butter mixture long enough because I was so worried I was going to burn it. So make sure you cook it until it it’s bubbly.

That being said, I would make this again regardless. Next time I might play around with some things I could add into it to make it extra special.

Now go put this on your dinner menu for tomorrow…i’m sure the kids won’t mind a bit ;)

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

Butterscotch Ice Cream

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Print this recipe!

Makes 1 quart

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 tsp spiced rum (optional but recommended to keep the texture soft)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar and butter until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream until smooth; remove butterscotch mixture from heat. Add vanilla and rum, if using.

In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat, combine remaining 1 1/2 cup heavy cream and the whole milk; bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat egg yolks to blend. Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into egg yolks, then pour egg yolk mixture into pan with cream. Stir constantly over low heat just until mixture is slightly thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove from heat.

Pour through a fine strainer into a clean bowl and whisk in butterscotch mixture. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day.

Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Toffee Cookies ~ ElephantEats.com

I haven’t really been cooking anything worth sharing. I’m just trying to get used to my new job and schedule…and the fact that I have to walk further to get to and from work. Sadly, it’s only about 2 or so miles round trip, but when I get home I just want to go sit on the couch. It’s a pretty nice walk though. I work in Rockefeller Center and on my way to work yesterday I walked by a window and saw Matt Lauer filming the Today Show.

Today Show filming

I thought it was pretty cool, but I texted it to Nate who said I was “such a nerd.” I hear that from him a few times a week. I think it’s probably true.

Anyway as I said, I haven’t done much cooking. The other night we had “homemade” pizza using the Pillsbury pizza crust that comes in the can. Has anyone else every used that? It’s seriously just their crescent roll dough that’s made into a big sheet that can fit a 10×15 sheet pan. It’s yummy if you want a crescent roll but it’s kind of a funky/sweet tasting pizza dough. It does get nice and crispy and hold toppings, though.

Usually if I don’t have time to make dough, I’ll either buy it fresh or frozen from the market, or even get some from the pizza parlor across from my apt. You know my beef with nyc supermarkets though…they rarely have what I need. I checked all over for any sort of dough and came up empty. I was pretty upset.

I used some premade pesto and then sauteed some fresh broccoli and garlic to put on top, with some mozzarella cheese. It was pretty tasty for a meal that got thrown together quickly.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Toffee Cookies ~ ElephantEats.com

That being said, it wasn’t much of a recipe so it’s not something worth sharing. All I have for you today are these cookies. I almost didn’t post these either because I kind of feel like most people have plenty of cookie recipes. I added a little something special to these though- brown butter*. It’s what happens to butter when you cook it past melting but before burning. It takes on a nutty, caramelized taste and turns a rich caramel color.

People in the food blogging world have been obsessed with it for quite some time but I never really got into the whole trend. I thought I’d add it to basic oatmeal cookies, though, to give them a little something special. I also threw in some toffee bits, because why not.

These cookies came out a little salty and sweet, with a great crumbly texture. The oatmeal gives them some bite and the browned butter definitely makes the whole thing taste like caramel. If you’re looking for a cookie to liven up your repertoire, give these a try!

I brought our realtor a dozen of these because I felt so bad for her for having to show me sooo many houses. I suppose that is her job, but still. She ate a couple as a pick-me-up after house number 5 or so, and I don’t blame her one bit. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was the houses or me that was so exhausting ;)

*If you’d like a good tutorial for browning butter, you can find one here on How Sweet It Is.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Toffee Cookies ~ ElephantEats.com

Brown Butter Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Very slightly adapted from the Food Network

Print this recipe!

makes about 3-4 dozen, depending on size

2 sticks butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole oats (not quick-cooking oats)
1 cup toffee bits (or chocolate covered toffee bits)

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 2 sticks butter over medium heat until browned (see directions at http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/10/exactly-how-i-brown-my-butter/), then cool.

Beat the browned butter, brown sugar and white sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt, then stir into the butter mixture. Add oats and toffee bits and chill 30 minutes.

Drop by tablespoonfuls and bake 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting ~ ElephantEats.com

Pardon my lack of posts. There have been so many changes happening in the Elephant Eats household, making me a bit busy and causing me to have insomnia. I’ve been waking up at like 3 or 4 in the morning with my mind racing about various things…hence my finishing up this blog post at 4am. Surprisingly I haven’t been as tired as I would imagine the next day. I guess adrenaline will do that to you!

The house hunting thing is stressing me out a bit. Like how do you know when you like a house enough to want to buy it and that something better won’t come along? I’m obsessively combing the listings on a daily basis.

Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting ~ ElephantEats.com

This past weekend was super busy. It started with a little house hunting Saturday morning with a realtor. It made me realize how expensive things are for how little you get in this area. I’m hoping there will just be something that I fall in love with (that’s in our budget).

Then I rushed off to my friend Emily’s bridal shower and bachelorette! She was one of my maids of honor and I’m one of her bridesmaids. I, along with the other two bridesmaids, planned the whole shower/bachelorette weekend. We put a lot of hard work into it and I think it came out great and went off pretty much without a hitch!

Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting ~ ElephantEats.com

Plus, Emily told us she loved every second of it :) We did any Asian-themed shower because she loves sushi. I got some hanging paper lanterns in her wedding colors to decorate her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s house. They looked great! I unfortunately was too lazy to upload the photos but maybe I’ll add them soon.

The bachelorette went late into that evening and ended with a sleep over. I didn’t get much sleep and was up early to go house hunting some more on Sunday!

Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting ~ ElephantEats.com

Nate told me he doesn’t care at all about the house and that it’s totally up to me. I guess he trusts my judgement.

It was so fun to go in all the houses, and driving around the suburbs on a gorgeous spring day made me dread going back to the city.

This is all completely unrelated to this recipe. I made it when we were down in PA two weekends ago, and it was a perfect way to end to our Easter dinner! (pardon the photos, as they were taken after daylight and I didn’t have my trusty food photography lights!)

 

Spiced Layer Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

very slightly adapted from Bon Appetit (11/09)

Print this recipe!

Makes one 3-layer cake

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup orange, peach or apricot jam
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)*

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Butter and flour pans; tap out excess flour. Sift first 8 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and orange peel in large bowl until fluffy.

Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with sour cream and milk. Divide batter among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1/4 cup jam and then 2/3 cup frosting over. Top with second cake layer. Spread rest of jame and then 2/3 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.)

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
2 8-ounce packages chilled cream cheese
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup chilled sour cream

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in sugar, then orange peel and vanilla. Beat in sour cream. Cover and refrigerate until frosting is firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.

*note that I found the frosting barely covered the cake. In making this again I might 1 1/2 the recipe.

Toffee Blondies ~ ElephantEats.com

Nate’s mom came to visit us last weekend and we did quite a bit of walking. We headed over to the New York Historical Society, because they were having a John J. Audubon exhibit.

I don’t know if you guys remember, but our wedding was at one of Audubon’s houses (his first one in the U.S., actually). Amongst his many many bird drawings, it was fun to see a painting of the place where we got married (painted by Thomas Birch). It looked a little different back then, but it’s cool to think about how old it is!

I didn’t realize that his drawings were all mixed media- mostly water color with some pen and ink, charcoal and others. They were really detailed and really impressive!

Toffee Blondies ~ ElephantEats.com

I realize you guys probably are more interested in what I’ve been cooking up than our weekend plans, so I’ll get to it. I found this recipe when I was looking for baked goods I could send to Nate in California that would hold up well in the mail. I also was looking for a way to use the toffee baking bits I had leftover from Christmas cookie baking. My aunt was kind enough to buy me several bags since she knows how hard it is to find them in nyc! She got me both regular and chocolate covered Heath toffee bits.

Toffee Blondies ~ ElephantEats.com

The recipe calls for the plain ones and that’s what I used the first time I made this, but I tried the chocolate covered Heath bits this time for a change, and the bars came out equally delicious :)

I actually didn’t even make these. We had our good friends Erica and Patrick over to dinner and Erica offered to help while I was making dinner (homemade spaghetti with my pasta machine!). So I gave her the recipe and she did a great job making them! We all really enjoyed these for dessert :)

Toffee Blondies ~ ElephantEats.com

I didn’t change anything about the recipe from Just a Taste’s blog other than adding chocolate covered toffee bits rather than plain toffee, so you can find the recipe here to get it.