Fourth of July Feast, Part 1: Dinner

Betty Crocker's advice on eggs:

"The man you marry will know the way he likes his eggs. And chances are he'll be fussy about them. So it behooves a good wife to know how to make an egg behave in six basic ways."

And this quote here is how we kicked off our fourth of July cooking extravaganza! My family always makes burgers, potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs for the holiday. Usually, I am designated to desserts, since that is my strong suit. However, my mother is attending a wedding in Rhode Island this week, so Will and I are house/catsitting for her, which meant we would be in charge of our own fourth of July feast. We invited my Uncle Jim over (standard) and I figured we would do our best effort to make his favorites. Neither Will nor I are big deviled egg fans, and I had never made them before, so I knew going in they would be my biggest challenge. But I'd be damned if I didn't make Jim his deviled eggs!

As far as the potato salad went, I ditched my moms normal recipe (sorry Mom) and opted to finally try the rip-off Whole Hog Cafe recipe that I found once online. For those of you that aren't familiar with it, Whole Hog Cafe is the most perfect BBQ place in the world and it's located in Little Rock. And even though I love the BBQ there, it's the potato salad that really speaks to me. It is unique and creamy and perfect in every way, so I've been dying to emulate it on my own. I figured this was my chance and I knew Will, Jim and I would eat whatever I came up with!

And as expected, Will was in charge of the burgers. My mom and I ditched the outdoor grill a few years back (it was a gas grill....super scary!), so Will did the whole thing indoors on the most awesome pan my mom has in her pots and pans collection. This Caphalon grill pan is perfect because it's ridged and has sides that help curb juices splashing out of it-we just love cooking with it while we're here. So Will's task was to manage the meat, and it all turned out really excellent. So I know this is a long one, but take a moment to feast your eyes and increase your appetite with these recipes!

Bacon Cheeseburgers

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

3 potato buns

Sprinkling of Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic Rub

A dash of Worcestershire sauce

Butter

3 slices of cheddar cheese

6 strips pre-cooked bacon

Lettuce

Tomato

Red Onion

Normal Condiments

Begin by mixing ground beef together in a bowl, by hand. Sprinkle in crushed peppercorn and garlic rub to your liking, then add a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Continue mixing until well combined. Shape three patties out of the mix and place on a baking pan. Heat a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Once ready, place burgers on a cook for 4-5 minutes per side (this is for thick burgers with a little pink left in the middle).

While burgers are cooking, in a pan, toast potato buns with slabs of butter on them, facedown to crisp. Prepare other condiments. Keep an eye on the burgers and when they look almost ready, add the cheese and pre-cooked bacon on top, covering with a lid. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the cheese melts. By this point, your buns should be ready to. Serve bun on a plate, with bacon cheeseburger on top, and add condiments as you like!

Cooking Notes for Potato Salad: The original recipe called for 1/3 cup chives and 1/2 cup green onions, but we did the inverse since we didn't have another need for the chives. Also, we're pretty sure we didn't use 3 1/2 lbs. of potatoes, and more importantly, we mixed six red potatoes and two russet potatoes. Last little tidbit is that we realized after we had everything mixed together, that we think Whole Hog Cafe slices their potatoes instead of cubing them, which we will have to try next time!

Whole Hog Potato Salad (adapted from Blenda Loves to Cook; serves 8)
3 1/2 lbs. red potatoes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp dry ranch dressing
1/2 cup chives
1/3 cup green onions
1 cup bacon
2 cups sour cream
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup regular mayonnaise
Splash of vinegar

Bake the potatoes according to type of potato and size. Once they have cooled, cut them into slices and place in a medium bowl. Begin to cook bacon while preparing other ingredients. In a small bowl, mix garlic powder, black pepper, dry parsley, salt, sugar, dry ranch dressing, chives, and green onions. In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, and vinegar. Take the bowl of dry goods and stir it in with the potatoes. Then pour the potato/spice mixture into the sour cream/mayo bowl and combine together really well. Lastly, after the bacon has cooled a bit, crunch it up and sprinkle it into the potato salad, mixing it in. Refrigerate as long as possible before serving, then enjoy!

Recipe: Blenda Loves to Cook: Whole Hog Potato Salad

Cooking Notes on Deviled Eggs: My mothers recipe is loosely based on the Betty Crocker recipe, from her 1960s edition. Betty calls for a recipe for six eggs, but my mom has a platter that holds up to ten eggs worth of deviled eggs, so I adjusted the recipe to match that. My mother also swears that you shouldn't add salt, but Betty had a fair amount in hers, so I met them in the middle with 1/4 tsp.

Kay's Deviled Eggs
10 hard boiled eggs*
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp light mayo
2 1/2 tbsp regular mayo
1/4 tsp salt
Paprika, to sprinkle on top

Hard boil eggs as recommend below (or for a quicker method, you can look here for an 8-minute method). Once cooled and peeled, cut the eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks into a separate bowl and place emptied egg white halves on a serving platter. In the bowl, mash the yolks, mix in the dry mustard, pepper, and mayonnaise (taste to adjust as necessary). On the platter, fill the egg white halves with the yolk mixture, then sprinkle with a hint of paprika on each half. Refrigerate for several hours covered in plastic wrap, before serving.

*Betty Crocker's Hard-Cooked Eggs
Place eggs in a bowl of warm water to prevent preemptive cracking. Fill a saucepan with enough water to come at least one inch above the eggs. Heat the saucepan water to a boil. With a spoon or ladle, transfer eggs from warm water to boiling water. Reduce heat to below simmering, then cook for 20 minutes. Immediately cool eggs in cold water to prevent further cooking. Tap egg to crackle shell, roll egg between hands to loosen, then peel the shell. If it's being stubborn, hold it under cold water to help ease the shell off.