For this Fourth of July I went all out! Not sure I planned to end up with cocktails, lunch and dessert but somehow I got there!
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Jello Shot Firecracker
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Strawberry Blue Velvet Cupcakes
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Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Cauliflower
Jello Shot Firecracker
Ingredients
- 1 box of Blueberry JELL-O powder
- 1 box of Cherry JELL-O powder
- Plenty of boiling water
- 1 cup of ice cold alcohol (I used Vanilla Vodka)
- 1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2 Envelopes Knox Gelatin
- Cherries (Real ones work better then maraschino, since they have stiffer stems.)
You Will Need
- Mixing Bowl
- Clear Plastic Cups
- Measuring Cup
Directions
We’ll start with the “blue layer”.
- Empty the Jell-O pouch into the big bowl.
- Add 1 or 2 cup of boiling water, depending on box size.
- Stir vigorously until the powder is completely dissolved.
- Add 1 cup of ice cold alcohol and mix well again.
- Pour into clear cups, obvs only pour a little about 1/4th of the cup.
- Let harden at least 2 hours. To prevent bleeding these need to sit a looooooong time.
“White” Layer
- In another bowl, mix can of sweetened condensed milk with 1 cup boiling water.
- In a separate small bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin over ½ cup cold water. Let stand for a few minutes and then add ½ cup boiling water to dissolve the gelatin.
- Then add to the milk mixture and stir to combine. Cool to room temperature. (this is very important!!!). Pour the white layer over the firmed-up blue Jell-O layer.
- Refrigerate another 2 hours before adding red layer, and once the red has been in the fridge an hour take them out and gently stick in cherries with stems facing up for your wick. Again, while maraschino would be the yummiest, “real” cherries have stiffer stems.
Strawberry Blue Velvet Cupcake
Tracey’s Culinary Adventures has a great recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Wilton dark blue gel food coloring
- 1 tiny dab Wilton violet gel food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- Buttercream Icing
- Strawberries (Diced)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Whisk vigorously until well combined and smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about 2/3 to 3/4-full. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with your fingertip and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes then remove them from the pans to cool completely.
- Put a ring of Buttercream Icing around the top and spoon diced strawberry inside the ring.
Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Cauliflower
- Cook Pasta as normal, I used bowtie, seemed more 4th of July appropriate. Once its cooled and rinsed, but it in a ziploc bag with food coloring and shake. One fully dyed put back in colander and rinse again. I recommend high concentrate or gel food coloring to make sure it holds.
- I used chopped cauliflower and tomatoes for the red and white, and tossed the whole salad in a spicy balsamic vinaigrette.
Fourth of July Point Break Screening. My boyfriend is dumb.
Follow Laura’s board Fourth of July Themed Food on Pinterest.
Blue Panda Everything 