DIY Fourth of July

Posted by Deb Puchalla

My online pal Matt mentioned this morning he's toying with making the ubiquitous burger for July 4 because he needs something customizable.

He's having a few people over and one only eats things unadorned -- no aioli, no ketchup, no gravy.

Nada.

DIY is the answer when cooking for friends. You can cater to different tastes without driving yourself crazy.

What better moment to honor freedom of choice than this holiday?

Matt figured his plain-Paul bud could have a plain burger and everyone else could accessorize. Here's my two cents' (uh, I mean two ideas):

Try a new sort of burger, such as Cheddar-Horseradish Burgers, Barbecue Pork Burgers, Tandoori-Style Chicken Burgers, or Southwestern Turkey Burgers.

Or go a little fancier by grilling sirloins and offering the three different toppings in our July/August issue. They're not truly condiments (all right, left-brained nitpickers, are sauces and chutneys and salsas condiments?), and even if they are, your guest can have his steak naked and eat it too.

Everyone gets what they want. I personally like to skip the ketchup, even if it is a vegetable, but love to try any new salsa I can find. With the steaks this weekend, I'm going to be all over the tomato-ginger chutney.

The idea of easy toppings applies to other grilled goodies: Basic burgers, or grilled chicken, or fish is anything but when you offer something fresh and flavorful as an optional add-on.

How will you embrace and encourage independence this Independence Day?

Comments

[Charity]

We're grilling a marinated flank steak. Well, we don't currently own a grill so it might be done via broiler but if all goes well (read: I get out of work on time) I'll pick up a little Weber on my way home tomorrow!

[mary]

Looks great.. I will definitely try this out.. Thanks for the recipe ;)

[MiriamDawn]

Burgers are one of my favorites and this article gives some great ideas; However, instead of beef/turkey/pork burger, I use a combination of 1 lbs deer and 1 lbs moose burger. I add 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 beaten egg, 3 tbsp water, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. mix it all up and shape into patties then grill. They are great.

[matt]

Well I think you may already know how I plan on spending my 4th :) I may splurge and do beef burgers along with that tandori-style chicken burger since I can't seem to get it out my mind!