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How To Have The Most All-American Fourth Of July Celebration Ever

How To Have The Most All-American Fourth Of July Ever
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On Assignment For HuffPost

Some people see the Fourth of July as just a long weekend. Others see it as a time to reflect on our country's independence. Whatever it means to you, one thing is certain: America is the star of the show.

Patriotic clothing and barbecue supplies fly off the shelves, but there are plenty of other typically American ways to celebrate. In fact, all you need to do is follow our trusty, all-USA-all-the-timeline to celebrate the things that really matter. Like bacon.

Pop open a Budweiser, rev up your Harley and gear up to have the best, most American holiday weekend ever.

9:00 AM: Wake up, turn on "Good Morning America" and get working on breakfast, which should, of course, involve lots of bacon.

10:30 AM: Throw on some jean shorts.

11:00 AM: Peruse the racks at your local American Apparel. Hey, now that the company is going through a major overhaul, you can feel a little bit better about shopping there.

12:30 PM: Meet friends for lunch at a diner, order a club sandwich (with bacon on it). Wash it down with a nice, cold Budweiser and pie. So much pie.

12:35 PM: Take a selfie with friends and caption it "#Merica."

1:45 PM: Get bit by at least one mosquito.

2:00 PM: Go to a Ford dealership and take one of its pickup trucks for a test drive. Bonus points for bringing a Bruce Springsteen CD to listen to during the ride.

3:00 PM: Watch Whitney Houston's iconic rendition of the national anthem from Super Bowl XXV on YouTube. Cry accordingly.

3:05 PM: Or, see someone else's version at a baseball game (where you should naturally drink a Budweiser and eat ice cream out of a helmet cup).

5:00 PM: Attend a barbecue. Eat many hot dogs, school your friends at cornhole.

7:00 PM: Get married if you want! You know, because you can!

8:30 PM: Fill up a flask with some good old American whiskey (like this one) to go watch fireworks, a tradition that has become synonymous with Independence Day.

9:30 PM: Hop on the back of someone's Harley Davidson on the way home, mix up a Manhattan and finish up that leftover bacon. You know, for good measure.


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Before You Go

The New Pie You're Going To Love
Sara Remington
You've probably had strawberry-rhubarb desserts, but blueberry-rhubarb? We're guessing not. The same went for blogger and baker Teeny Lamothe, author of Teeny's Tour of Pie... until one day at the farmers' market when she found sad-looking strawberries and show-stopping blueberries. She took a chance and combined the blueberries with rhubarb, and the result was a hit: The rhubarb's tartness was the perfect foil for the blueberries' sweetness, which tends to get amplified when they're baked. Lamothe makes crust cookies and places them on top of the baked, cooled pie to create a flag.

Get the recipe: Bluebarb Pie
The Blast From The Past
James Ransom
Shaped like a rocket and made with patriotic colors, these throwback ice pops have been an ice-cream truck staple for years. In Jennifer Steinhauer's new book Treat Yourself, the Food52 columnist shows how easily you can make them at home, using disposable drinking cups (set in a lined baking sheet) and wooden craft sticks. No special ingredients required, either: Just cherry-juice cocktail, limeade, blue food coloring and white grape juice.

Get the recipe: Bomb Pops
A Festive Make-Ahead Custard
Colin Clark
Panna cotta is a wonderfully simple dessert, but it can be a little bland. When you add buttermilk to the mix, though, the pudding takes on a zesty, slightly tart flavor that pairs nicely with berries. This recipe from The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook has just five ingredients (plus raspberries, strawberries and/or blueberries as garnishes) and tastes even better after setting for at least 3 hours -- so you can make it in the morning and serve it later in the day.

Get the recipe: Animal Farm Buttermilk Panna Cotta
The Obligatory Flag Cake (Without The Obligatory 4 Hours In The Kitchen)
Thinkstock
Packaged ladyfingers and lemon- or vanilla-pudding mix are the clever shortcuts behind this delicious dessert. You layer these ingredients with strawberries to assemble the cake, and then top everything off with rows of whipped cream and red and blue summer berries to create stars and stripes.

Get the recipe: American Flag Cake
The Berry Cake You Can Practically Make With Your Eyes Closed
Erin Kunkel
Even if your dessert approach is more "buy it" than "bake it," there are a few cakes out there that people have been making-without-stressing-about for years. This berry cake is a perfect example: It first appeared in a Betty Crocker ad in 1945, and is as simple to make as pouring batter into a pan, laying sugared fruit over it and scattering both with a crumb topping.

Get the recipe: Berry Long Cake with Ginger Crumb
A Towering Masterpiece That Will Have Everyone Oohing
Johnny Miller
If you lay this impressive-looking trifle down on the dessert table, we promise it'll be the first thing partygoers dig into. Dessert stylist Amy Atlas combines dense butter cake; sweetened, spiked strawberries; and, tons of whipped cream for a ridiculously indulgent treat that's easier to put together than it looks (especially if you use packaged pound cake).

Get the recipe: Strawberry Trifle
A Summery Tart Filled With Red And Blue Berries
Con Poulos
This rustic tart contains four cups of ripe summer berries—any kind works, though blackberries and raspberries are especially good—and loads of sliced apples. You pile the fruit in a super-simple crust, and then fold the crust edges up before baking.

Get the recipe: Rustic Fruit Tart
The Hot-Cool Treat That's Ready In 5 Minutes
Andrew Purcell
If you've already lit your backyard grill to cook dinner, keep the flames going for this fire-kissed finale: grilled brioche. Simply slice the rolls in half lengthwise, then brush each cut side with melted butter. Grill until they're lightly toasted, and top with a dollop of mascarpone cheese that's been sweetened with a touch of sugar, vanilla and a handful of blueberries.

Get the recipe: Grilled Brioche Rolls with Toppings
The Brilliant And Patriotic Dessert-y Cocktail
Photo: Lauren Volo
Rosemary with raspberries may sound like a weird pairing, but Troy Sidle, co-owner of the New York City cocktail lounge Pouring Ribbons, discovered this unique -- and tasty -- combination when he was studying gelato (yes, you read that right) in Bologna, Italy. He makes a boozy treat that highlights the herb and the berry, along with vodka, fresh lemon juice and a scoop of limoncello gelato.

Get the recipe: Bello Rosmarino
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