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Birthdays, Holidays, Celebrations

Summer Round-up

By July 2, 2014July 10th, 2014168 Comments

We here in the DALS house are going to be traveling a bit over the next week or so, and Iโ€™m not entirely sure how much Iโ€™ll be able to chime in while Iโ€™m away. (I reserve the right to change my mind.) So here is a little round-up to hold you over til we return. Have a great Fourth and Happy Summer!

A guide to 1600 swimminโ€™ holes (dropping the โ€˜gโ€™ is required, says my husband) across the US and Canada.

I made thisย Strawberry Shortcakeย last weekend for guests and it rocked. (If you added some blueberries in there, it would be the perfect red, white, and blue Fourth dessert.)

Is this why Iโ€™ve never liked the word โ€œfoodie?โ€

With this news, Grand Central Terminal, perhaps my most favorite building on earth, just became my favorite-ist to the hundredth power.

Everything tastes better when these string lightsย light up the patio table.

Before I travel to any major city, I pretty much always check the BA Weekender Guides at Bon Appetit โ€” where to eat, stay, visit โ€” and theyโ€™ve never failed me yet.

We are not soda people in general, but if we were, our fridge would be stocked with this all summer long.

Andy has had this onย repeat all week, and as far as I can tell, he shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

Canโ€™t you see these make-aheadย Chocolate Caramel Picnic Puddingsย being the perfect way to end your Fourth celebration? (And if you have time, check out the entireย site,ย masterminded by two supremely talented food-world vets.)

Or as long as weโ€™re on the subject of make-ahead treats: Mollyโ€™s Strawberry-Yogurt Pops. (Scroll down a few posts.)

No such thing as too young when it comes to reading aloud to your kids.

Rose Sangria!

Thanks to everyone who participated in myย Dinner: The Playbookย challenge. Random House helped me put together aย mini-slideshowย of some of our favorite pics (scroll over to see who submitted each one) but you can also just find them on instagram by searching the hashtag #dinnerplaybook. Hope you all had fun. (And thanks Max W. and Maggie O. for all your hard work on this!)

Two Oldies but Goodies for the Grill: Pork with Peaches and Tonyโ€™s Steak.

No doubt youโ€™ll be throwing some dogs on the barbie this holiday weekend. To celebrate this decidedly happy occasion, and to call attention to their โ€œWhatโ€™s in Your Hot Dogโ€ campaign, Applegate has offered to give away โ€œWeinervention Kitsโ€ (hot dogs, buns, relish, grill tools, and everything else) to two lucky DALS readers.

Just leave a comment below to be eligible.ย (It wouldnโ€™t hurt if you shared what youโ€™re grilling for the Fourth โ€” hot dogs or otherwise.)ย Contest ends Saturday, July 5 at noon ET. UPDATE: THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PLAYED!

All photos up top taken at Rye Playland in Rye, NY.ย 

168 Comments

  • Avatar Heidi says:

    Pork tacos. Would love this!

  • Avatar Sally says:

    Grilling chicken, cheddar stuffed bratwurst, and fruit kebabs!

  • Avatar Paige C says:

    Weโ€™re grilling burgers with friends as well as these veggie and halloumi skewers!

    http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/06/halloumi-vegetable-skewers-recipe.html

  • Avatar Bearsmama says:

    Some kinda fish, as we love grilling fish in the summertime!

  • Avatar Josie says:

    Greek Yogurt Chicken, hot dogs and CORN!

  • Avatar Mary Fran says:

    Yum! Canโ€™t wait to grill some hot dogs and stuffed hamburgers over the 4th!

  • Avatar Karen says:

    I love the idea of Weinervention! Weโ€™ll probably grill up some brats.

  • Sara says:

    Iโ€™m making chicken kabobs, gazpacho, and a big salad with beets, couscous, and goat cheese. Cherries for dessert to keep it easy. (And fingers crossed that someone else has another dessert theyโ€™ll be bringing!)

  • Avatar zimm says:

    having a classic cookout for the 4th!

  • Avatar Lauren says:

    Have fun traveling! Weโ€™ll probably grill up some pork tenderloin โ€“ yum!

  • Avatar Jessica says:

    Burgers and dogs!!!

  • Avatar Awads says:

    yes!!! we just bought similar globe lights for our patio from amazon (some that were slightly more $$, but got awesome reviews). practically living outside these daysโ€ฆ.and headed to a lake for the 4th where we are grilling โ€˜dogs and taking along chicken marbella (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CHICKEN-MARBELLA-SILVER-PALATE-COOKBOOK-1277030) for the rest of the weekend. cheers!

  • Avatar Suze says:

    We will either be grilling Applegate hotdogs or brats from our co-op. And weโ€™ll be having plenty of watermelon and lemonade, our kidsโ€™ favorites.

  • Avatar Kara says:

    Not grilling-camping so we will be making smores of course!

  • Avatar Anne Weber-Falk says:

    We get to have TWO celebrations! On the 4th we will grill burgers and hotdogs and chicken breast. On the 6th we will have pulled pork and grilled pork ribs. I know, itโ€™s two of nearly the same, but can you believe I have family that will not eat the ribs because of the bones. I know!

  • Avatar Maressa says:

    Always burgers and dogs on the 4th!

  • A Life From Scratch says:

    Happy vacation!!! ๐Ÿ™‚ Iโ€™m hoping to do our fav summer ribs this weekend.

  • Avatar Lisa says:

    Hot dogs and hamburgers are on our menu for sure!

  • molly in Seattle says:

    we just grilled up fresh s.carolina shrimp at kiawah this weekโ€ฆ and probably some kind of pork and grilled peaches on the 4th! hooray for summer!

  • Avatar Laura says:

    Strip steaks for the adults and hot dogs for the little ones โ€“ love everything about the Applegate products!

  • Avatar Bianca says:

    Weโ€™ll be grilling turkey burgers with feta, and hopefully some peaches to have with ice cream.

  • Avatar Serena Raheja says:

    This is a great reminder for the BA weekender guides โ€“ I also love the Eater 38 guides for most major cities. They have almost never let me down and they are also incorporated into Foursquare so you can see which of their recommended stops is nearest to you at the time.

    Super useful.

  • Avatar --anu says:

    Either hot dogs or burgers. I love how juicy grass feed ground beef burgers are ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar amanda says:

    Iโ€™ll be at my parentsโ€™ house and I hope they are making brats!!

  • Avatar Shayne says:

    Weโ€™re grilling flank steak for salad for just a small group of four adults and two toddlers. But we love Applegate hot dogs!

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