Feast Fit for the 4th

With the holiday weekend already here and the weather hot as firecrackers, we need look no further than old Glory for inspiration for a great 4th of July feast. This month’s Dinner @ 6 features festive red, white & blue fare you and your family are sure to celebrate!

Red Wine Marinade for Beef



4-6 steaks
1 small bottle Worcestershire sauce
½ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 lemons
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in Ziploc bag. Allow steaks to marinade at least 2-3 hours before cooking. Grill to your liking.

This next recipe is for your bread machine and can be tailored to your family’s tastes.

Focaccia Bread Dough

Add these ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by the handbook.

1 cup warm water
2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
3 ¼ cup bread flour
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
1 ½ teaspoons bread machine yeast



Set your machine to its “dough cycle” and in an hour and a half or so you should have enough dough to make 2 loaves. Once the machine indicates dough is ready. Let it rest on cutting board for 15 minutes. Then cut dough in half, placing each half into greased 8” cake pan sprinkled with garlic salt. Press dough into circle, reaching edges of cake pan. Then place into oven that has spent about 5 minutes on “warm” setting. Let dough rise until nearly doubled (about 20 or 30 minutes).

At this point, top with whatever you like. I usually use mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced tomatoes and slices of red onion. Sprinkle with garlic salt & a little basil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

And what would 4th of July be without a good old-fashioned blueberry pie?

Blueberry Pie

4 cups fresh blueberries
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 box refrigerated pie crusts (for double crust pie)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar




Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place washed blueberries (removing all stems) in large bowl. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in separate bowl. Sprinkle mixture over blueberries and gently toss to coat. Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour blueberry mixture in. Dot with butter. Top with 2nd crust. Cut slits in top to vent. Sprinkle top crust with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bake on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, checking midway to make sure edges of crust don’t burn. If they start to get too brown, put foil over pie as it continues to bake. Serve warm topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!!