Celebrate the 4th of July - recipes

Published Jul 2, 2015

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Angela Day

 

On the menu

Red and blue velvet cake

Crispy fried chicken

Jerk burgers with orange chilli mayo

Layer dip

Corn dogs

 

RED AND BLUE VELVET CAKE

180g butter, softened

375ml castor sugar

2 eggs

30ml cocoa powder

30ml red or blue food colouring

30ml warm water

250ml buttermilk

15ml white vinegar

500ml cake flour

7.5ml bicarbonate of soda

ICING

125g butter

250g thick cream cheese

5ml vanilla extract

500ml sifted icing sugar

strawberries and frozen blueberries to decorate

Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the cocoa powder, food colouring and warm water and mix to a paste.

Combine with the buttermilk and vinegar.

Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sifted flour and bicarbonate of soda.

Mix until well combined.

Divide the mixture between 2x20cm cake tins which have been lined and greased.

Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

Remove and cool the cakes in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.

ICING: Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese and mix until well blended.

Beat in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the icing sugar.

Use the icing to sandwich the cakes together and ice the top of the cake.

Decorate with strawberries and blueberries.

NOTE: For my celebration cake, I made one cake with red food colouring and one cake with blue food colouring and a double quantity of the icing.

Although the blue cake doesn’t look very blue from the outside, when you cut slices it is blue on the inside.

 

CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN

Serves 6-8

MARINADE

250ml buttermilk

10ml chopped garlic

15ml dried tarragon

5ml dried oregano

5ml dried thyme

5ml cayenne pepper

15ml smoked paprika

10ml salt

5ml ground black pepper

2kg chicken pieces

COATING

500ml flour

15ml paprika

5ml cayenne pepper

15ml garlic salt

10ml salt

5ml ground black pepper

Oil for deep frying

Combine the buttermilk, garlic, dried herbs, spices and seasoning and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain off the marinade.

COATING: Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Place in a plastic bag.

Add the chicken pieces a few at a time and coat with the flour mixture.

Place the chicken portions on to a tray and refrigerate for an hour or until ready to fry.

Heat the oil to 180°C, add the chicken and cook until golden. Reduce the temperature of the oil to 160°C and fry the chicken until cooked through.

Alternately, the browned chicken can be placed on an oven tray and finished being cooked at 180°C for 15-20 minutes. Serve with waffles and maple syrup if desired.

 

CORN DOGS

Serves 6-8

180ml polenta

180ml self-raising flour

5ml salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

200ml milk

375g cocktail viennas

extra flour, for dusting

oil, for frying

wooden skewers

In a large bowl, combine the polenta, flour and salt.

Combine the egg and milk and stir into the dry ingredients to make a thick batter.

Let stand for 5 minutes.

Place the cocktail viennas in a bowl, cover them with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes.

Drain well, pat dry and coat in the extra flour.

Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or large pot to hot.

Dip the cocktail sausages, a few at a time, in the batter and deep fry for 5-6 minutes until golden.

Remove and drain on paper towel.

Insert a skewer into each and serve immediately with tomato sauce.

 

LAYER DIP

Serves 8-10

30ml olive oil

½ onion, finely diced

5ml chopped garlic

1 red chilli, seeded, finely diced

400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15ml lime juice

30ml water

250g sour cream

250ml shredded lettuce

250ml grated cheddar cheese

2 ripe avocados, mashed

1 lime, juiced

1 small red onion, finely diced

125ml chopped fresh coriander

salt and pepper

3 tomatoes, seeded, chopped

60ml chopped black olives

15ml olive oil

3ml salt

1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

tortilla chips, for serving

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion, garlic and chilli.

Add the kidney beans and fry for a few minutes.

Mash with a potato masher and add the lime juice and water.

Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to a serving dish.

Top with a layer of sour cream, shredded lettuce and grated cheese.

Combine the mashed avocado, lime juice, red onion, coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Layer on top of the grated cheese.

Combine the tomatoes, olives, olive oil and salt and layer on top of the avocado.

Sprinkle with the sliced spring onions.

Serve with tortilla chips.

 

JERK BURGERS WITH ORANGE-CHILLI MAYO

Makes 4

500g beef mince

1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped

125ml chopped fresh parsley

1 chilli, seeded, finely chopped

10ml chopped garlic

5ml ground allspice

5ml cayenne pepper

A pinch of nutmeg

3ml ground cinnamon

5ml ground cumin

5ml salt

5ml black pepper

5ml sugar

olive oil for cooking

hamburger rolls, for serving

lettuce, for serving

sliced red onion, for serving

ORANGE-CHILLI MAYO

250ml good quality mayonnaise

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 red chilli, seeded, finely chopped

In a bowl, combine the mince with the spring onions, parsley, chilli, garlic, allspice cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, salt, pepper and sugar.

Mix well and shape into 4 burger patties. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Brush each patty with olive oil.

Heat a griddle pan and fry the patties to desired doneness.

Serve on a roll with lettuce, sliced red onion and the orange-chilli mayo.

ORANGE-CHILLI MAYO: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until needed.

* The Angela Day column is published in The Star, Pretoria News, Daily News and Cape Argus

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