4th of July Grilling Ideas for Hosts and Guests

If you’re on this site, chances are you’re either hosting a 4th of July weekend barbecue or you’ve been invited to one. Right? Well, this summer I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Here are some ideas for both the griller and guest.

ARE YOU HOSTING?
This is the 4th after all. America’s national grilling holiday. So go big! Plan to have a variety of items to satisfy everyone’s tastebuds – burgers, veggies and seafood at a minimum. Other crowd favorites are: ribs, kabobs and don’t forget dessert. The Grilled Banana Splits are the fireworks of desserts. Big ooohs and ahhhs when you serve them. Everyone can chip in and help make them too which makes it fun for the whole family.

Other tips:
Play games. Ramp up the fun and plan a game or activity to get everyone up and working off some of that food. Top 4th of July barbecue games in my book:

• Croquet
• Horseshoes
• Volleyball (or Water Polo if you’re poolside)
• Badminton (when else do you get to play Badminton?)

Enlist the kids. Get the little ones to help schlep ingredients, condiments, plates, etc. to and from the house. They love to contribute and you’ll love the extra help.

Please be green. Remember to recycle all those cans and bottles. And consider using bamboo plates or plates you can reuse to reduce waste and your impact on the environment. It’s a day to celebrate, and care for, our great country.

ARE YOU A GUEST?
If you’re the guest, offer to make the signature beverage or cocktail. I recently went to a barbecue at our guest griller Michael’s house, and they had quite a lovely spread, featuring delicious Salt and Sugar Shrimp Kabobs, juicy Strip Steaks with Multicolored Pepper Crust, a fabulous fresh salad and America’s favorite dessert, cupcakes!

Our contribution was the fun, refreshing and beautiful Watermelon Margaritas with Stars. They are so pretty and just have 4th of July written all over them. Bring these drinks out for everyone, and suddenly the barbecue will officially turn into a party. Since this is an alcoholic drink, obviously the kids can’t have any. But we found that all they wanted was a watermelon star on a skewer and they were happy. So we made some plain watermelon stars for them which they loved.

Other creative beverage ideas:
Blueberry Limoncellos
Surprising Ice

Happy 4th of July everyone! Here’s hoping you Get Out and Grill!

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