Have a sip of blanco (white) Tequila, followed by a red sangrita, followed by a blue Margarita.

You can serve them in snifters, as shown, or in shooter glasses.

Get the recipe and have fun!

Drink the American flag! Photo courtesy
Riazul Premium Tequila.

Grill up a storm, but avoid charring the
food. Stainless steel grill basket from
SurLaTable.com.

Learn what these compounds are and why you should keep them out of your food.

And check out 12 other tips for grill safety.

Lighter fluid is one option to restart the flames, but it has the nasty habit of flavoring the food with petroleum.

We haven’t personally tried the Looflighter yet, but those grillmasters who raced to acquire one attest that the it takes the headache out of lighting grills and smokers. Starting the fire is as simple as touching the tip of the tool to wood or coals for 15 seconds.

The only catch is that you need an electrical outlet to plug in the device. But hey, if you don’t have one adjacent to your grill, that’s what extension cords are for.

The Looftlighter may be the firestarter that
grillmasters have been waiting for. !

The Looftlighter isn’t inexpensive—it’s about $80.00. But it pays for itself as a grilling (or fireplace) headache remedy. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.

We’re sorry we didn’t know about this handy device before Father’s Day, but if you still owe Dad a gift, we’d put it on the list.

We’re maaad for Delicieuse goat’s milk
ice cream. Photo by Daniela Cuevas | THE
NIBBLE.

Pints of goat’s milk ice cream are a happy solution.

Goat’s milk contains less lactose than cow’s milk, and can generally be enjoyed by the lactose intolerant. In fact, goat’s milk is more digestible for everyone. The fat globules in goat’s milk are much finer than those in cow’s milk, making it easier for enzymes to break down. There’s also less fat than in cow’s milk.

LaLoo’s Goat Milk Ice Cream has been a palate-pleaser for both goat cheese lovers and the lactose-intolerant. It is sold at fine food stores nationally (see the store locator), and you can order it online.

As much as we like LaLoo’s, we’re even crazier about Delicieuse French Ice Cream Artisanal—goat’s milk ice cream in gourmet flavors that can pass for cow’s milk (that is to say, you might not even notice any goaty flavors). It is available online. Delicieuse also makes magnificent cow’s milk ice cream and sorbet as well.

For goat cheese lovers, here’s a goat cheese ice cream recipe from Charlie Trotter—served with whole roasted figs. It is made with goat cheese plus cow’s milk and cream, but you can tweak the recipe with goat’s milk.

The density enables fruit bread to be used as sandwich bread—mascarpone, cream cheese or nutted cream cheese is an excellent partner (serve fingers or triangles at brunch, at tea or for snacks). The great chef Larry Forgione uses banana bread, chocolate bread and other flavors to make memorable ice cream sandwiches.

St. Lucia Bread Company, an artisan bakery in Dallas, ships its fruit breads nationwide in keepsake tins. They’re a welcome gift—and the red, white and blue tin (the Texas flag) makes a perfect thank-you for your July 4th hosts. There’s also a fruit bread-of-the-month club, a gift that keeps on giving.

There are seven flavors of fruit bread plus seasonal specialties, which can be had with or without nuts. Take a bite of Apple Cinnamon, Banana, Blueberry, Chocolate, Cranberry, Pear or Pumpkin Bread.

Fruit breads arrive in keepsake tins. Photo
by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.