Festive Fourth of July Barbeque

Hi I am Cindy from Rough Luxe Lifestyle.
  My friend Julie is having some trying times with her elderly parents so she asked if I would do a guest post for her. 

 For those of you who don’t know me I am an interior designer on the Central Coast of California and I write the blog http://roughluxeperspective.blogspot.com/.  

When I am not working I love to garden and entertain.  
For the fourth of July my family usually gathers at our lake house in the Paso Robles Wine Country.  
We all love to cook.... 
but we like to keep our menus simple at the lake.....
  so we have lots of time for boating, kayaking and of course wine tasting!

 

Many retailers have some great sales on their outdoor entertaining items so if you need to add a little spark to your outdoor table. 
 What better time to do it!! 

Pottery Barn has these pretty glasses on sale.



 

herehttp://www.potterybarn.com/products/rope-polycarb-outdoor-drinkware-colored/?cm_src=AutoRel






  

I am not big on investing in holiday specific dinnerware, and napkins. 
 For the 4th why not order red and blue bandanas for napkins. 
You can order them by the dozen from Oriental Trading  here  http://www.orientaltrading.com/red-bandanas-a2-15_2000.fltr?prodCatId=551193 for $10.99 a dozen.

Sunflowers, red dahlias and delphinium gathered in canning jars look beautiful for the 4th....
 All can probably be sourced at your local Trader Joes right now for something like this!

Via..Soul of the Rose





On our menu for the 4th of July… 
 We start off with one of our favorite Paso Rose’s from Villa Creek....

http://www.villacreekstore.com/the-wines/the-current-releases


 




 And a simple appetizer like this Avocado White Bean Hummus from Lauren Kelly.

http://laurenkellynutrition.com/avocado-chickpea-hummus/






We all love great burgers and Ina Garten’s Niman Ranch Burgers with caramelized onions fit the bill. 
 When we are in Paso we buy our hamburger at J&R meats
 http://jrmeats.com/

 http://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=267&S=0







Whenever we have burgers I always make Sarah Foster’s “Mom’s Fridge Pickles” from her cookbook…. 
They are super easy and great to have around for the entire weekend.

Find the recipe here  http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipe/moms-fridge-pickles/








There are a lot of great potato salads but our all time favorite is Food and Wine’s Potato Salad with Bacon and Barbecue Sauce.
 Not only is it wonderful, it is really simple!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/potato-salad-with-bacon-and-barbecue-sauce







This sunset recipe for heirloom tomato salad is a winner in my book.  I love the combination of the mint and basil.

http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/kitchen-assistant/easy-fresh-tomato-recipes/marintated-tomato-salad-recipe






For dessert I am not a baker so it needs to be something simple like this wonderful Parfait from Ina Garten.  Ina uses purchased meringues so what could be simpler!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/eton-mess-recipe.html



Thank you Julie for allowing me to guest post today.
 I hope this will give your readers some simple ideas for easy entertaining. 
Wishing your parents well and a Happy 4th of July to all!