We’re starting our July 4th lunch with something elegant: these crunchy crostini (photo #1).

They go well with beer, wine, cocktails, iced tea, sparkling water, even lemonade.

You start with a white bean spread on toasted bread (crostini); then top the slices with just about anything.

Roasted tomatoes are delicious; but if you want to cut down on preparation time, don’t roast the tomatoes. Simply halve them, then combine with the other ingredients in Step 3.

Thanks to DeLallo for the recipe, and for their variety of quality Italian ingredients.
 
 
RECIPE: CROSTINI WITH WHITE BEAN SPREAD
& MEDITERRANEAN TOPPINGS

Ingredients For The Bean SPread

 
Plus

 
For The Toppings

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the bean spread. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and purée until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon or salt if needed.

2. HEAT the oven to 400°F. Slice the bread and drizzle with olive oil on both sides. Bake for 10 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.

3. ROAST the tomatoes. Combine the tomatoes, olives, olive oil, salt and thyme in a large bowl. Spread the mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the tomatoes start to blister. Remove from oven and top toasts.

4. COMBINE the grilled artichokes and sundried tomatoes.

3. ASSEMBLE. Spread the bean spread on each toast and add the toppings as desired.
 
 
> BRUSCHETTA & CROSTINI: THE DIFFERENCE

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*Fresh herbs have a more delicate flavor than dried herbs, so don’t substitute them 1:1. Instead, use 1-1/2 times the amount of fresh herbs as dry. In this recipe, use 2 teaspoons of dried thyme instead of 1 tablespoon fresh thyme.

[1] These vegetarian crostini pair well with beer, wine, cocktails and more (both photos © DeLallo).

[2] Close-up on the roasted cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and thyme.

[3] There are different varieties of every herb, including thyme. This lemon thyme adds a slight lemon note (photo © Good Eggs).

[1] It’s a beauty, and you can assemble it in 15 minutes (both photos © The Baker Chick).

[2] Even the slices are beautiful! You can serve it with riesling, champagne or other sparkling wine.

Need a last-minute dessert solution for July 4th (or any summer day)?

You can’t do better than this red-white-and-blue-tiful layered pound cake from The Baker Chick.

All you need do is buy the pound cake and berries, plus the ingredients to mix up the cream cheese filling (below).

It can be ready in 15 minutes!

If you want to bake a pound cake, we highly recommend The Baker Chick’s recipe for Cream Cheese Pound Cake.
 
 
RECIPE: RED, WHITE & BLUE LAYERED POUND CAKE

Ingredients

 
For The Filling & Frosting

 
Preparation

The instructions may be obvious: slice the cake, cream together the filling, top the layers of filling and frosting with a layer of berries.

That’s how easy it is to make this beautiful cake.

The complete instructions are here.
 
 
FLAG TRIVIA

The U.S. flag is not the only “red, white and blue.”

There are some 120 flags worldwide with red, white and blue stripes.

These include countries like France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Russia, Serbia and Slovakia; plus cities and other political entities.

Here’s the list.

July 1st is National Creative Ice Cream Day.

It’s also National Gingersnap Day.

How about combining the two with an easy gingerbread or gingersnap ice cream?

Just combine the ingredients below. For a super-Creative Ice Cream Day, use them all:

Ginger & Gingersnap Caramel Swirl Toasted Pecan Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!
 
 
RECIPE: GINGERBREAD/GINGERSNAP ICE CREAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SOFTEN the ice cream on the counter.

2. MIX in the crumbled cookies or gingerbread and the optional ingredients, to taste (a few, a lot, or in-between).

3. RETURN to the freezer until ready to serve.
 
 
> Gingerbread Recipe
 
> Gingersnap Recipe

[1] Salted Caramel Gingersnap Ice Cream. Here’s the recipe (photo © The Beach House Kitchen).

[2] This is a from-scratch gingersnap ice cream recipe. It contains no cookies, but uses the spices in them. Here’s the recipe from Momtastic (photo © Momtastic).