Celebrating Notes No. 1
An Effortless Fourth of July
Some of my favorite celebrations have very little to do with elaborate recipes.
The dishes people remember most are often the simplest—the ones that bring everyone together around the table, encourage a little nostalgia, and somehow disappear before anything else.
Whether you’re hosting family in your backyard, spending the weekend at the lake, or heading to a neighborhood barbecue with something to share, these are three traditions I come back to every Fourth of July. They’re easy to prepare, simple to transport, and feel just festive enough without adding another project to your holiday weekend.
Sometimes celebrating well is simply knowing when to let great ingredients do the work.
Build a Better S’mores Board
If there’s one dessert that naturally brings people together, it’s s’mores.
Instead of setting out a package of graham crackers and chocolate bars, I love creating a board that lets everyone build their own perfect combination.
For this board, I included:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Hershey’s Cookies & Cream bars
Chocolate marshmallows
Classic marshmallows
Chocolate chip cookies
Keebler Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers (these are the best!)
Pretzels
Graham crackers
A warm cast-iron s’mores skillet in the center
The beauty of a s’mores board is that there aren’t any rules.
Add your family’s favorites, seasonal candies, leftover cookies, or anything else that sounds delicious. The fuller the board feels, the more inviting it becomes.
It’s less about perfection and more about creating something everyone wants to gather around.
The Patriotic Ice Cream Sandwich
One of my favorite grocery store shortcuts is a box of Thelma’s Sugar Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches.
They’re already excellent on their own, but rolling the exposed vanilla ice cream in red, white, and blue sprinkles transforms them into something that looks homemade with almost no effort.
Five minutes of work and everyone asks where you bought them.
Allow the sandwiches to soften slightly before rolling the exposed vanilla ice cream in red, white, and blue nonpareil sprinkles. Return them to the freezer for fifteen to twenty minutes, and they’re ready to serve.
Firecracker Champagne
This may be the easiest entertaining idea of the entire holiday. My friend Cindy served these last year and they were simply genius!
Pour a glass of chilled champagne, prosecco, sparkling rosé, or even sparkling lemonade, then drop in a Firecracker Popsicle or classic Bomb Pop just before serving.
As it slowly melts, it keeps the drink perfectly chilled while adding subtle notes of cherry, lemon, and blue raspberry.
It’s festive, nostalgic, and just unexpected enough.
