Forget the typical burgers and potato salad for 4th of July and serve up this delicious fare for your guests!
All recipes courtesy of Elisha Joyce.

MENU:
Blue Mixed Greens Salad
Salty Papas and Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Red White and Blue Whipped Parfait
(Also, if kids will be eating with you, grill up some corn on the cob as a side for the kids to enjoy as an alternative to the salad.)

All recipes made 4 servings:

Blue Mixed Greens Salad
4 handfulls of mixed greens
1 Bosc pear, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
A drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
NOTE: Add a little bit of EVOO and balsamic at a time because dressing this salad requires less than you might think! You can always add more, but if you add too much you can't go back.

Toss salad until all ingredients are evenly coated with EVOO and balsamic. Serve salad on plate and top with a serving of sliced marinated flank steak.

Marinade for Flank Steak
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
Garlic powder
Coarse black pepper

Dust one side of flank steak with a light coating of garlic powder; follow with a light coating of black pepper. Pour the lemon juice and soy sauce over the meat. Flip the meat from side to side in the marinade until both sides are fully coated with marinade. Cover will tin foil and refrigerate.

Remove steak from fridge about 20-30 minutes before you are ready to grill. Grill steak on direct, medium high setting for 15 minutes, turning once. Remove steak from grill and cover tightly with tin foil; allow steak to sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting into thin strips.

"Salty Papas" (aka Salty Potatoes)
1 pound of fingerling potatoes
Kosher salt

Put potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cook potatoes on high heat at a rapid boil until soft when pierced with a fork. Once tender, drain off all water and return to stove.

Potatoes should be in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. (Depending on the size of your pot, you may have to complete this step in two batches.) Sprinkle all the potatoes with kosher salt (approx 1 TBSP per pound), cover and cook at medium high heat for 1 minute. While potatoes are still covered, begin to shake pan from side to side so that potatoes become fully coated in salt and do not stick to pan. Return to heat for 30 seconds and shake again. Do this several times until potatoes no longer look moist and there is a white powdery look to the skins. Remove from heat and place in a single layer on a platter until ready to serve. Serve with Cilantro Dipping Sauce.

Cilantro Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup packed cilantro
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
a pinch of kosher salt

Add all ingredients into a food processor until paste-like. Serve beside Salty Papas.

Red White and Blue Whipped Parfait 
2 cups Blueberries
2 cups Strawberries, sliced into slivers
Homemade Whipped Cream

Create a bed of whipped cream in a small dessert bowl. Place blueberries and strawberries side by side, then top with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy.

Homemade Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Place cream and sugar in a bowl and whip on high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form. (This should take 3-4 minutes.) Enjoy.