Appetizers for a Fourth of July Picnic

[Liz R]

I am having a group over for a picnic and was looking for ideas for appetizers with patriotic colors. Any creative ideas if possible on the lighter side. TIA

[funnybone]

Not sure if you are looking for desserts, but the following link can give you ideas for desserts with a patriotic theme.
http://www.kitchenlink.com/cgi/public_frames?page=picnics

[gertdog]

Liz,

I've been eyeing this thread all day, trying to think of red white and blue foods. Red and white aren't that hard, but blue food is a tall order! Unless you want to get creative with food coloring... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

So... I wonder if you could do something with red and white food, and then serve on a blue platter, or garnish your serving plate with blueberries, or have blue flowers on the table (you could buy red and white carnations, and dye a few of the white ones blue), or something like that?

As far as red and white food...

Red makes me think of strawberries or tomatoes.

White makes me think of cheese, whipped cream, or bread.

Flour tortilla chips with tomato salsa? Crackers with cream cheese and pepper jelly?
Strawberries with a whipped cream dip, or that cream cheese-marshmallow fluff fruit dip?
Bruschetta?
Fruit skewers with strawberries, blueberries and pineapple?
Jicama with some kind of red salsa or dip?

I'll be interested to hear what you come up with! Good luck!

[Kelli Kerrigan]

I remember a thread on blue foods awhile ago...............it was not easy. You may want to do a search.
Blue Margaritas come to my mind. Even blue corn chips could be fun.
How about cherry tomatoes filled with herbed cheese and maybe those little flags stuck in them?

[This message has been edited by Kelli Kerrigan (edited 06-25-2001).]

[Jewel]

I remember a cake from Family Circle or Woman's Day magazine a few years ago...it was a sheet cake made into an American flag. Frosted with whipped cream, and the red stripes were made out of strawberries. The blue in the union corner was fresh blueberries, and the white stars were white chocolate pieces. Looked really cool!

Of course, you're looking for appetizers and I have no real idea about those! Except we used to color white chocolate with food coloring and dip strawberries...you could have red dipped, blue dipped, and white dipped! Make a nice platter! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by Jewel (edited 06-25-2001).]

[jazzcat]

Jewel, I must have seen that picture of that cake a few years back. I usually make a
pina-collada type cake for 4th of July. It has cool whip on the top. Then I decorate it with stawberries and blueberries trying to resemble the American Flag. Everyone always loves it and it always makes me feel good to hear the compliments.

[This message has been edited by jazzcat (edited 06-25-2001).]

[Vanessa]

http://homecooking.about.com/food/homecooking/library/weekly

TRy the above for red white and blue recipes

[Luv to Cook]

Sara Moulton (Cooking Live on FoodTV) is doing a show on 4th of July recipes right now (7 PM EST). I am sure it will be repeated tomorrow!

Anita

[funnybone]

Originally posted by Luv to Cook:
Sara Moulton (Cooking Live on FoodTV) is doing a show on 4th of July recipes right now (7 PM EST). I am sure it will be repeated tomorrow!

Anita

I am posting the link to the recipes:
http://www.foodtv.com/tvshows/tv-c3/0,2181,4702,00.html

[lorilei]

Here are some of the ideas that came up on the boards last year around this time:
http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/20000718-1-000195.html

[Liz R]

Thanks for all of the great ideas. I got an idea from another friend too and thought I would share it here. She suggested making tortilla rollups and putting little flags in them.
Her recipe calls for 1 pkg of cream cheese
8 ozs of sour cream 4 ounce can of chopped green chilis, 4 ounce can of chopped or sliced black olives, 1 cup grated cheddar, and 1/2 bunch chopped green onions,1 red bell pepper and garlic powder and 5 10 inch flour tortillas. Combine the filling ingredients. Spread this onto the tortillas in a thin layer then roll them up. Chill overnight. Then slice into pieces and place in the flags. I might give this a try. Thanks again for your help and have a great 4th.