We’re thinking 4^th of July here in Kelly’s Kitchen! It’s Ann Kelly, and this is a holiday made for some fine outdoor food and fun. Let’s make it pay off for you, with a chance to win a $100 gift card to Sweetbay Supermarket! Start looking through those treasured recipes and send us the one that is the most requested for your big 4^th of July party. We’ll choose one winner and that recipe will be featured in Kelly’s Kitchen, and will win the $100 gift card to Sweetbay Supermarket. All entries must be received by Friday, July 1st. To enter, just click on the Sweetbay Contest at www.newmagic949.com.

This has me thinking about what my favorite foods might be for the 4th. Usually, I’m  up in Cleveland with the family and have a pretty good seat for the fireworks displays since my brother-in-law Sal is a firework pro, and shoots for Zambelli Fireworks. How cool is that! That's Sal very carefully working with eight inch mortars; he's done everything from the small town shows, to working with the crew who produced Thunder Over Louisville. It's one incredibly over the top fireworks show that's the kickoff event for the Kentucky Derby. It's the largest single fireworks show in North America,  actually shuts down the George Rogers Clark Memorial bridge over the Ohio river. That bridge becomes part of the show, and is worth checking out on YouTube. The fireworks crowd is usually about five times larger than the Kentucky Derby itself! I’ve actually had a chance to visit the Zambelli location in Pennsylvania, and it’s pretty intimidating to see all those warning signs for explosives! Great place for someone with my klutz gene to be. This year Sal will be shooting for the city of Cleveland's celebration, and I can watch that online! I’ll be here in town this year, so I’ve already logged on to www.sweetbaysupermarket.com  and found a delicious recipe for a Black Angus Cheddar Burger that just might do the trick. Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!  So, what’s on my family's menu? My sister Tricia does the cool flag cake, we have hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and sit out on the deck and watch the kids enjoy the pool.

And speaking of family, my guests that are in for the week became victims of the United Airlines computer "malfunction" Friday night, and spent twelve really special hours sitting around airport in DC, five of those standing in line hoping to be rebooked. They were lucky and had the last two seats on the 8:15 am flight Saturday. Which of course, was delayed another hour. But they made it here, and are catching up on their sleep. Oh, and what haute cuisine did they enjoy at Dulles Airport? The best they could find in a meal were garlic french fries. And they were cold.

But Kelly’s Kitchen is always open, 24/7 and we’d like to know where you eat, what you love about your kitchen, and love to see you cooking with the kids. Share those at 949comments@coxtampa.com .

Words of Wisdom from Kelly's Kitchen - The belly rules the mind.  ~Spanish Proverb