A Jucy Lucy 4th

We had a great 4th. Adam and I were both on the "committees" in charge of a church activity that morning (at 8AM, blasphemy) but it went really well! It was short and sweet, just the way I like it. We headed over to my parents for a family dinner and fireworks. On the menu? BBQ staples of course. First, potato salad.

As a disclaimer, I know a lot of people don't like potato salad. I don't eat potato salad except my own/my moms recipe... which are the same thing. It is incredibly yummy and I could make a meal out of this side dish alone!

Chopped Monterrey jack cheese, hamburger pickles, and onion.

Chopped hard boiled eggs.

Chopped, boiled potatoes.

Salt, pepper, and wait for it - dill weed.

Mix with mayo (YUM) and EPIC POTATO SALAD.

What do you pair this yummy dish with? A Jucy Lucy, that's what! My family are avid watchers of Man vs. Food on the travel channel. When we saw the episode where a restaurant shoved cheese between two hamburger patties to make one delicious, juicy, melty patty. My brother made them for his night at the beach to cook, but Adam and I missed out because we had to leave early for a wedding I had to shoot. It was all I heard about so I decided to give them a shot on July 4.

Seasoned the patties with Lipton Onion Soup mix, salt, pepper, the usual. Added the cheese (I think I should have done more - they went all out on Man vs. Food).

Topped with a 2nd patty and sealed the edges.

Grilled to perfection.

Big, fat burgers.

I had the pepper jack, but I think cheddar is the way to go. It was a bit spicy, plus it didn't melt as well as cheddar.

My sister's cheddar. YUM.

After dinner we waited a few hours for it to get dark. This proved to be a challenge with Autumn's bedtime at 7:30 and it barely getting dark before 9. I'd bought a multi-pack of fireworks to do at home which at this point in our lives (that sounds corny) was a perfect fit for us. Plus, we had no idea how Autumn would react to the fireworks. For the most part, she was a big fan!