This post is sponsored by Hebrew National.

The fourth of July is coming up and I'm back with another Hebrew National post to help you plan for an Independence Day party! Obviously there's probably no other food that screams "America" more than a chili cheese dog, but I also came up with a few other combinations for your next celebration.

• BBQ sauce + Coleslaw
• Thinly-sliced radishes + dill relish
• Baked beans + chili
• Some combination of all six!
• Note: The combination of franks and these toppings may not be Kosher.

And here are some easy and straightforward party-throwing tips:

• Make it festive! Depending on whether you plan to entertain inside or outside, pick up some little flag toothpicks or streamers or even balloons. If you like to keep it simple (kind of my life mantra lately), just stick to red and white napkins, or maybe even a fun tablecloth to tie everything together.
• Have all your toppings and condiments set out and ready before your guests arrive, so when they show up all you have to do is throw the hot dogs on the grill and enjoy a beverage with them.
• Speaking of beverages, keep a nice variety--I like to have sodas or fun, flavored waters handy in case someone doesn't want to drink alcohol. You could even make a few interesting simple syrups so people can make their own Italian sodas. As far as adult beverages go, you really can't go wrong with beer and wine on a hot day.
• Make the food fun--I decided to include radishes because I love them and had never thought to put them on a hot dog. See who can come up with the most creative combination.
• Have gluten-free buns or big pieces of lettuce for anyone who doesn't eat bread--I always appreciate that so much whenever I go to someone's house for dinner. (Just make sure you keep them separate from the regular bread--in these pictures I plated everything together because I'm not so sensitive to gluten that I can't eat anything that's been cross-contaminated, but some people are.)
• Don't forget the music! I made a little playlist to get you started. These are all songs I'd love to listen to during a cookout--they all remind me of summers or college afternoons in some way:

1. This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads
2. The General by Dispatch
3. I'm Yours by Jason Mraz
4. Dust on the Bottle by David Lee Murphy
5. I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons
6. Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
7. Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show

What makes a Hebrew National kosher hot dog premium? It's all about what makes the cut (and what doesn't). We're choosy about what goes into our franks--we use only premium cuts of 100% kosher beef from the front half of the cow and then choose the best from that. No artificial flavors, colors, fillers, or by-products. When your hot dog is Kosher, that's a hot dog you can trust! For more summer fun with Hebrew National, visit facebook.com/hebrewnational.

Happy Friday and hello from Washington, DC! Rob and I got here on Wednesday evening and have been spending some time with my brother-in-law and his sweet girlfriend before we catch up with a few friends who also live in the area!

I'm finishing up edits on our latest episode of Hello, Butter and have a couple of meetings before I step away from the computer for the weekend, and while I'm still here I wanted to share some links with you. Enjoy!

Let's start with this--what a day!

To Watch/See:

• 100 Years of Beauty: An engaged couple ages quickly with the help of hair and makeup, and their reactions are absolutely moving.
• Peter Dinklage singing about Game of Thrones--what more do you need?
• This video made me smile. I feel the exact same way whenever Ender destroys something I love.
• Harry Potter's Matthew Lewis Makes His Clothes Disappear For Attitude Magazine--why not?
• A chef plates junk food like high-end cuisine and the result is really beautiful.

To Read:

• An important read (I'm still so confused about how these people are as popular as they are): Quiverfull of Shit: a Guide to the Duggar's Scary Brand of Christianity
• The Confederate Flag is America's Swastika--why is this even a debate? Let's take that thing down.
• 20 Things You Didn't Know About the Paleo Diet, or, what I got from it: Calm Down, Paleo Police.
• So excited about this book!

Wish List:

• This bathing suit.
• This romper!

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What are you up to this weekend? I hope you have a great one!

This post is sponsored by Hebrew National.

My brother and I do a lot of cooking whenever one of us visits the other--it's sort of our thing. Usually we come up with really involved, complicated dishes that require a ton of planning and cleanup, but last weekend, in a very appropriate nod to the beginning of summer, we threw some Hebrew National hot dogs on the grill and enjoyed a hot Sunday evening in the courtyard of our apartment building.

My family has always really enjoyed throwing dinner parties that are casual but creative and highly interactive--and I usually do that by picking one dish and letting everyone customize it themselves. I set out bowls with lots of toppings, prepare the main ingredients, and let everyone do their own thing--this works really well with burgers, and I've even thrown a dessert-only s'mores party in the same way. S'mores feel really summery to me, and so do hot dogs, which made me realize that a hot dog party in the same, do-it-yourself fashion would be a perfect way to celebrate the beginning of summer.

I made drinks and Sean and Rob manned the grill--I decided that since it was just the three of us, I'd keep it simple with just ketchup, mustard, pickles, and a bit of lettuce instead of a bun for me. But if you were entertaining a large party, you could set out a huge variety of toppings: tomatoes, onions, relish, spicy ketchup, Dijon mustard, jalapeños, coleslaw, cheese--the list goes on and on. You could even do themes like an Asian-inspired hot dog with kimchi and edamame (which sounds amazing, right? I'm going to go make that right now).

Even with just a few things to choose from, I thought it was cute how different our three hot dogs were: Sean added some hot sauce, Rob likes it plain with just a little bit of ketchup, and mine pretty much had everything but the bread. When you're hanging out with the people you love the most, sometimes it's better to just keep it simple.

What would you put on yours?

What makes a Hebrew National kosher hot dog premium? It's all about what makes the cut (and what doesn't). We're choosy about what goes into our franks--we use only premium cuts of 100% kosher beef from the front half of the cow and then choose the best from that. No artificial flavors, colors, fillers, or by-products. When your hot dog is Kosher, that's a hot dog you can trust! For more summer fun with Hebrew National, visit facebook.com/hebrewnational.