Fun Recipes for Your Patriotic BBQ

Each Thursday, we feature Patch Picks, highlighting editors' and readers' top picks for great local businesses, destinations, services, organizations, ways to spend a day off and more.  On the agenda this week? Fourth Of July Recipes.

Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Summer is in full swing, the smell of barbecue'd food wafts through the air, fireworks light up the sky and the evening ends with s'mores. Can it get any better? Yes. On this week's Patch's Picks, try some of these fun recipes we found for you.

Deviled Eggs

Summer and deviled eggs go together in my book. Whether you are hosting a barbecue or attending one, this is a simple and delicious dish. There are many recipes out there, but I recommend this one. To be extra fancy, use a Ziploc or piping bag to fill the eggs.

Wedge Salad

Crisp lettuce, juicy fresh tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and bacon. This is a light and easy dish to make for a large group of people. This recipe is great and simple to follow. This will be a crowd pleaser for sure!

Fruit Bowl

As I've previously mentioned , this is a super easy and fun recipe for a barbecue, plus it looks pretty and is healthy. All you have to do is cut a watermelon in half. Carve it out, then fill with some of your favorite fruits. Nothing like fresh fruit on a warm summer day. This can also be used as a dessert by throwing a little yogurt or sherbert on the side.

Sliders

I love going to barbecues that offer sliders. If you are feeding a large crowd, you can be creative, by making pulled pork or buffalo chicken . My personal favorite is a bacon-blue cheese slider. Simply cook some onions and bacon then add to a bowl of ground beef. Add some blue cheese crumbles and spices, then make your patties. Grill away and serve on King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.

Flag Cake

I have always been a huge fan of Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa [["validates_presence_of",{"message":"Please enter your email address."}],["validates_length_of",{"too_long":"Your email address must contain between 5 and 100 characters.","maximum":100,"allow_nil":true}],["validates_email_format_of",{"message":"Your email address is not properly formatted. Mind giving it another shot?"}],["validates_uniqueness_of",{"message":"The email address you entered is being used by another member. Please try a different address.","client_can_validate":true,"exists_url":"/users/exists?email="}]] [["validates_presence_of",{"message":"Please enter your password."}],["validates_length_of",{"too_short":"Your password must contain between 4 and 40 characters.","too_long":"Your password must contain between 4 and 40 characters.","allow_nil":true,"minimum":4,"maximum":40}],["validates_format_of",{"message":"Your password may contain only letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens. No emoticons, please. :p","with":["^[a-zA-Z0-9\\_\\-]*?