4th of July is More than Hot Dogs
There's no reason to spoil a perfectly good opportunity for charcuterie.
The July 4th holiday week is often seen as the start of summer, and the start of hot dog season. The holiday sees more than 150 million hot dogs eaten by Americans. And every year on Coney Island, Nathan’s Famous sponsors the annual Hot Dog Eating contest. (This year, 16-time winner Joey Chestnut was banned from the competition).
I love a good hot dog, whether they are from Coney Island or Chicago. But 4th of July can be so much more. I like to serve charcuterie plates.
I’m not talking about those elaborate, over-the-top cheese plates done up for Instagram or those enormous grazing tables overflowing with all sorts of foods that shouldn’t go together. I prefer a bit more of an impromptu, scrounge around in the refrigerator kind of plate.
The plate I made for July 4th includes: (from top left) Boursin, bread and butter pickles, grilled Linguiça, Harvarti, prosciutto, salami, and seasoned mozzarella balls. This entire plate was assembled on a whim.
The Boursin was on sale earlier in the week. I like it on bread or crackers or if I’m feeling lazy as a base for a pasta. The pickles had been in the refrigerator. We had grilled the Linguiça two days earlier for dinner. The havarti was part of a sale on block cheese. We had used the mozzarella for a salad the night before. Only the prosciutto and salami were destined for a charcuterie plate.
I pulled this whole plate together in about 20 minutes by opening the refrigerator. Other things I have added to other plates: honey, Bonne Maman jam, grapes, mandarin oranges, olives, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, anything else I might find in the pantry.
Meanwhile, my brother had been shucking oysters. (The vintage silver serving plate had been a birthday gift from my wife the year before). My wife had baked a cherry tart.
We at the plate outside sipping wine and tossing bocce balls. Together, the charcuterie and oysters provided a delicious snack while we waited for the grill to warm up. We were cooking up some hot dogs. It was the 4th of July after all.