A red, white and blue salute to Old Glory

    Flag Day, a day to celebrate the origin of our American flag, is coming up and it offers the perfect chance to acknowledge the efforts of Bernard Cigrand, the father of Flag Day.
    Cigrand, a longtime proponent of a day to celebrate the flag, taught at Stony Hill School in Waubeka and is said to have begun the annual celebration by placing a flag on his desk, teaching his students about it and assigning them essays to do on what the flag meant to them.
    Although Cigrand started his campaign in the 1880s, it wasn’t until 1916 that President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing June 14 — the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the flag — as Flag Day.
    This year, Waubeka will honor Cigrand and the holiday he helped create with a celebration on Sunday, June 13.
     But for a personal celebration, incorporate the colors of the flag in your meal.
    Try using red peppers in your pasta salad or make some patriotic potato chips using russet and purple potatoes and beets. Slice them thin and fry in a pot with 350-degree oil, then drain and salt them.
    Desserts are an even easier canvas for colorful Flag Day foods.
    Make a sheet cake, for example, and use white frosting. Decorate it with blueberries and either strawberries or raspberries to resemble the flag. Or layer a red velvet cake with white cake, then frost and top with blueberries or blackberries.
    Skewer cubes of red and blue gelatin separated with marshmallows, or make some patriotic ice pops.
    Or you can melt one cup white chocolate chips in the microwave, heating it on 50% power for 30 second intervals until smooth, then add a tablespoon of shortening to the chocolate and stir until smooth. Dip clean, whole strawberries in the chocolate, then dip the tips into blue sanding sugar. Lay the strawberries on parchment paper until the chocolate hardens.
    Following are other red, white and blue recipes from foodiecrush.com.

    foodiecrush.com

Red, White and Blue Mini-Fruit Pizzas

For cookies:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
For topping:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated or powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Fresh strawberries and blueberries

    Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat about two minutes, until well combined. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and mix until combined.
    In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly add flour to the butter mixture and mix until combined, taking care not to over-mix. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
    Roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness, cut out circles, and place on a parchment or
silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for nine to 10 minutes, until cookies are set and just starting to brown around the edges.
    Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a mixer until well blended. Spread carefully over cookies so that they don’t break and top with fruit.

Sangria in Rose, Bourbon and Blue

1/3 cup super-fine sugar
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup pitted and halved fresh sweet dark cherries
1 750-milliliter bottle fruity rosé
2/3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 sprig fresh rosemary, about 5-inches long
1 lemon, one half squeezed for juice, the other half sliced thinly

    In a small bowl with tall sides, combine sugar with 1/3 cup hot water. Using an immersion blender, food processor or blender, blend until sugar dissolves. Add 1-1/2 cups blueberries and blend again, until blueberries are completely broken up. Set a strainer over a bowl and strain, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.
    Pour blueberry liquid into a medium-large pitcher. Cut the blueberries in half and add to pitcher. Then add cherries, rosé, orange juice, bourbon, Grand Marnier, rosemary, lemon juice and lemon slices. Stir and refrigerate about two hours, until chilled.
    Fill glasses with ice and pour sangria over the ice. Garnish with additional cherries, blueberries, and lemon slices, if desired.

Grilled Blackberry, Strawberry, Basil and Brie Pizza Crisps

1/2 pound pizza dough
1/4 cup olive oil
16 leaves basil, chopped
8 to 12 ounces brie, sliced
1-1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
3/4 cup blackberries
1/2 teaspoon pepper
For balsamic honey glaze:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey

    While dough rises, place balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and set aside.
    Heat grill to high.
    Place blackberries in a bowl and add about half the basil. Lightly mash blackberries with a fork.
    Invert a baking sheet and generously dust with flour. Divide the pizza dough in half and roll each half as thin as you can, making sure not to rip the dough. Cut the dough into 12 to 16 squares or circles. Brush both sides of the pizza rounds with olive oil and place on the baking sheet.
    Carefully place half the pizza rounds on the grill and bake for no more than two minutes. Remove the pizzas using tongs and repeat with the remaining pizza rounds. Turn the heat on the grill down to medium.
    Top the grilled side of each pizza round with slices of brie, leaving a 1/2-inch boarder around the edges. Top with lightly mashed blackberries and chopped strawberries. Carefully return the pizzas to the grill and grill three to five minutes, until the brie has melted and the pizzas are crisp. Top with remaining basil and drizzle with honey balsamic glaze.
    To make an American flag pizza, place the blackberries in the left corner of a square pizza crisp and push the strawberries into the brie in rows. Grill as directed.

Strawberry S’mores

2 pints cleaned and dried strawberries.
1-1/2 cups melted milk chocolate
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
About half a bag of large marshmallows, each cut in half

    Cut the tops off the strawberries.         Place one marshmallow half on top of a strawberry and skewer with a toothpick. Dip the strawberry into the milk chocolate and tap off the excess. Immediately dip the skewer into the graham cracker crumbs.
    Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set up.  Repeat.     
    Before serving, toast the marshmallow with a kitchen torch or carefully broil. Serve immediately.

Triple Berry Gingersnap and Granola Yogurt Parfaits

3/4 cup granola
1/4 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1/3 cup raspberries
1/3 cup sliced strawberries
1/3 cup blueberries
1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar

    In a small bowl, mix granola and crushed gingersnap cookies.
    Place strawberries into the bottom of two small glasses or bowls. Layer with Greek yogurt, granola, agave nectar, blueberries and raspberries and serve.

Brownie and Fruit Kebabs

9-by-13-inch pan brownies, chilled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint blueberries, washed
1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
Large marshmallows
Hot fudge sauce, optional

    Thread brownies, fruit and marshmallows onto wooden skewers, alternating ingredients as you go. Drizzle with hot fudge sauce, if desired. Refrigerate until serving.

Red, White and Blue Popsicles

7 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
3 1-gram packet stevia
1 cup canned light coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed if frozen

    Puree strawberries in a blender or food processor with one packet stevia. Pour about two tablespoons of the mixture into each of nine popsicle molds, filling each about one-third of the way. Freeze until solid.
    Mix coconut milk, one packet stevia and vanilla. Pour about two tablespoons into each of the molds, filling another third of the way. Freeze about 10 minutes, until slushy, then insert a wooden stick in each and freeze until solid.
    Puree blueberries in a blender or food processor with remaining stevia. Pour about two tablespoons into each mold, filling to top. Freeze the pops until solid before unmolding.

Fresh Berry Trifles

1 12-ounce lemon pound cake
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 cups blueberries
1-1/2 cups finely diced strawberries

    Cut pound cake into 10 slices. Use a small star cookie cutter to cut a star from the center of each slice. Chop the remnants of each slice into small pieces. Set aside.
    Place cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat them for a minute or two,  until well combined. Add cream and continue to whip until the mixture is soft and creamy.
    Set 10 eight-ounce clear plastic cups on a tray. Sprinkle a few cubes of pound cake into each cup. Top with a small spoonful of cream and a spoonful of both blueberries and strawberries. Layer again with pound cake, cream and berries, then place a star-shaped piece of pound cake on top.

Red, White and Blue Salad

For salad:
1 pint blueberries
3 beets with stalks
4 ounces goat cheese
For dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons minced tarragon
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced

    Cut stalks off the beets, reserving the leaves. Place beets, cut side down, on a rimmed sheet pan. Fill the pan with water, just barely covering the cut ends of the beets. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast in a 400-degree oven for one hour.
    Combine dressing ingredients in a small resealable container. Shake until well combined and emulsified. Refrigerate.
    Place beets on a plate to cool. Using paper towels in both hands, rub the skin off the beets, then slice into matchsticks. Roughly chop three to four beet leaves.
    In a bowl, combine beets, chopped leaves and blueberries. Toss with dressing. Sprinkle goat cheese over salad and serve.