Hope everyone had a great day yesterday!  We hosted a 4th of July BBQ with friends and neighbors at our house this year. For our event, I made a couple of fun Fourth of July party food creations I thought I would share with you today.

Watermelon Shark

One of my favorite things to make in the summertime is a watermelon shark.  There are a lot of tutorials online, but I’ve got the instructions right here for you! This watermelon shark is the perfect Fourth of July party food – kids and adults always get a kick out of it!

Here are the instructions:

  1. Wash the outside of the watermelon and dry it.
  2. Cut off about 1/3 of one end of the watermelon at an angle.
  3. Stand up the watermelon, and cut out a large wedge for the mouth.  You can use a dry erase marker to outline the mouth first before cutting.
  4. Scoop out the insides of the watermelon with a large flat spoon or knife.  It doesn’t have to be completely scooped out, but I like to use my shark as a serving bowl, so I scoop a majority of the watermelon flesh out for my sharks.  You can then but up the watermelon flesh into cubes, or I like to make balls with it.
  5. Next, score a 1/2 inch line back from the top and bottom of the mouth. Trim back just the green part of the rind to your scored line.  This will end of being the teeth area.
  6. Cut out the teeth…just make lots of triangles…on both the top and bottom of the “mouth”
  7. Use a small knife to cut out eye sockets, and put a grape or blueberry in the socket.  When I’m in a rush, I just cut out the eyes and leave them that way.
  8. Cut out “gills” behind the mount, for a more authentic shark look.
  9. Using a piece of the rind from the mouth or bottom, make a triangle out of the rind for the dorsal fin.  Insert the fin into the shark body using toothpicks.
  10. Now for the fun part.  Fill your shark with the watermelon balls or cubes and serve!  You can also put Swedish fish in its mouth for a little extra fun. Or, sit your watermelon shark on a platter of blue jello.

watermelon shark, summer bbq ideas

Here’s another, more professional picture of a watermelon shark from the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

watermelon shark

 

Flag Cupcakes

Another great idea for Fourth of July party food, is this fabulous cupcake flag dessert! To hold the cupcakes, I used the bottom of a large rectangular cardboard box, and lined it with foil.  Next, place your unfrosted cupcakes in the lined box. I used yellow cupcakes with white frosting for the white stripes of the flag, and chocolate cupcakes with red frosting for the red stripes. Using a pastry bag for each color, I generously frosted the cupcakes. Be sure to frost a few cupcakes in the top left corner blue with white stars to finish off the look.

fourth of july cupcakes, flag cupcakes

Here is my go-to buttercream frosting recipe. It’s sooo delicious!!

In a large bowl, cream together 3/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup shortening, and 1 tsp vanilla. Blend in 4 cups of powdered sugar, (one cup at a time), beating well after each addition. Beat in about 2 tbsp milk (I sometimes need to add another tbsp more for just the right consistency), and continue mixing until light and fluffy. Makes about 2 1/2 cups of frosting. Add your own food coloring to get the desired color, and frost away!