There are about a million reasons why The Fourth of July is a favorite holiday for so many of us. First of all, it’s a big birthday celebration for all Americans and fireworks are involved. Isn’t that just perfect? When I was little, long before great big fireworks productions were all the rage and Usher was in charge of currating (really?), my pyromaniac cousin Bob would travel all over middle Tennessee collecting the most amazing fireworks. He proudly deployed them on the 4th at the dead end of our street. I couldn’t wait for it to get dark so the show would begin. That’s one of my favorite childhood memories.
Second, The Fourth of July is a great big celebration but you don’t have to wrap presents for everyone you know, set a fancy table, or get all dressed up. You don’t have to go shopping the day after, and no thank you notes are required.
Third it’s a holiday where the rule of thumb is the more the merrier. That’s why I asked my son to invite all of his “homeless” (students stuck in town) friends to come over for a great big cookout and celebration. That will make for quite a party.
Fourth – and you know this is coming – the food. Fourth of July food is a marvelous thing. What’s not to love about grilled burgers and hotdogs with all the trimmings, baked beans, potato salad, slaw, stuffed eggs, chips and dips etc. etc. etc.? We’re having all that of course, plus I’m already planning a truly spectacular finale.
We’ve had some pretty adorable desserts in the past. One year we baked red velvet cake in ice cream cones, iced them with white icing and added a blueberry on top. We’ve made flag cakes, strawberry cakes, watermelon sculptures, and red, white, and blue cookies.
This year I’m going all out with three different sherbets, in red (strawberry), white (lemon and buttermilk), and blue (blueberry). That sounds pretty good huh? Well here’s the best part, those sherbets go on top of $100 Brownies (blog) with Chocolate Sauce (You’re Grown-Now You Can Cook, p.148). Of course you could just buy some great sherbet and chocolate sauce and make the brownies, but I’m going to put my ice cream maker to good use and create a dessert that makes everyone swoon.
The difference between ice cream and sherbet is pretty much that eggs are included in most ice cream and it’s a lot more trouble to make. The difference between sherbet and sorbet is that sherbet has dairy in it. I’m secretly not sure I’m pronouncing sherbet right, it seems like it needs another r. Could be a southern thing.
Sherbet is easy to make, you need fruit, milk, and sugar. The only frustrating part of this dessert is waiting for the ice cream freezer to refreeze! You may not want to make all three, but it’s awfully fun…and delicious. I’ll take pictures of the final product on the Fourth.
Have a great Fourth of July- enjoy the fireworks, friends, and by all means, the food. Happy Birthday USA, and happy Fourth of July to everybody!
Strawberry and Blueberry Sherbet
Ingredients
3 cups of the fruit of your choice (I used frozen because it was a better price and easy to find)
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup cream or half & half
Juice of ½ a lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
Optional: 1 Tbsp fruity liqueur like Cassis
Directions
Cook fruit and sugar over medium high heat until sugar melts and liquid boils.
Cool completely.
Pour fruit mixture in a blender, add milk, cream, and lemon juice.
Blend to combine (I like to leave a little texture instead of a completely smooth puree)
Freeze according to ice cream maker directions adding liquor if desired at the last minute.
Store in the freezer.
Lemon Buttermilk Sherbet (no cooking!)
Ingredients
1 quart buttermilk
½ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cup sugar
zest and juice of one lemon
Optional: 1 or 2 Tbsp dried lavender
Directions
Combine all ingredients whisking to incorporate sugar.
Allow mixture to chill for at least an hour in the fridge.
Freeze according to ice cream maker directions.
Store in the freezer.
