In the Kitchen With SI Swimsuit: Fourth of July Favorites

This quarantine has brought out the Julia Child in all of us. From peanut butter cookies to sourdough bread, from soup to caramelized shallot pasta, everyone seems to be cooking and baking all day. For many in New York City, this means cleaning out kitchen storage spaces (aka the oven) to make way for the newest breakfast casserole or that banana bread that seems to be on everybody's Instagram story. Many SI Swimsuit models love to cook and we’ve been getting some amazing inspiration from their creations in this recurring column.

This week in the kitchen we asked some of our models for their favorite summer BBQ recipes to give you some inspo for that weekend feast. Hunter McGrady shared an incredibly satisfying and time-saving recipe, Robin Holzken gave us a recipe of every vegetarian’s/vegan’s dreams and Kate Bock is serving up a perfectly refreshing summer cocktail. Cheers!

Kate Bock’s Healthy Margarita: Kate is the queen of healthy and delicious eats so you should expect nothing less from this beverage recommendation (check out the video above for the recipe). This margarita contains much less sugar than your traditional margarita mix, making it a healthy swap for your weekend tequila cocktail. Just add some lime juice, tequila and ice to a blender and blend, add to a glass with some ice, top with seltzer water and jalapenos and serve. Rim your glass with some spiced salt and if it's a scorcher, chill your glasses prior to serving for an extra chilly cocktail.

Hunter McGrady’s BBQ Pulled Chicken: Hunter’s favorite summer BBQ recipe allows you to enjoy the day with family and friends. Just toss everything into a crockpot and let it simmer away. All you need is some barbecue sauce, some chicken and some basic pantry spices and you’ve got yourself a hit. Serve it on some King's Hawaiian Rolls or on toasted hamburger buns, top with some extra BBQ sauce and voila. If you’re looking for some other easy crockpot summer dishes, may I suggest a crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip or Cuban Garlicky Pork.

Photo courtesy of Sugar Spun Run

Robin Holzken’s Vegetable Foil Packs: A summer favorite of Robin’s, these foil packs are the answer to your summer dinner needs. The best part about cooking in foil is the ridiculously.easy clean up because who wants to do dishes after a fun night! These foil packs can be made on the grill, in the oven, or over a campfire. Doesn’t get any more summer than that. Stock up on your favorite veggies, mix in a homemade spice mix and let the foil work its magic. Like the recipe says, throw in a full head of garlic and turn that into a roasted garlic dip or rub onto some toast once it comes out of the oven. Want some other foil packet summer meal inspo? Try a Shrimp Boil Foil Pack or an Italian Chicken Foil Pack.

Photo courtesy of Happy Food Tube

Kelsey Merritt’s Thai BBQ Ribs: When Kelsey sent in this recipe, my mouth watered immediately. Think fall-off-the-bone ribs, covered in a peanut BBQ sauce with a side of Thai ginger slaw -- if that doesn't make you want to throw this on the grill immediately, the photos will. You most likely have tried a traditional BBQ rib recipe, so why not spice it up this weekend (quite literally) with some Thai chilli sauce and red curry paste? Things are bound to get messy, so stock up on some napkins, pour yourself one of Kate Bock’s margaritas and just have yourself a meal you’ll be talking about until the next Fourth of July!

Photo courtesy of Half Baked Harvest