If watching fireworks from a spot so close the boom reverberates in your chest is the ultimate Independence Day moment, a backyard cookout is the holiday's penultimate experience.

You're on your own in the fireworks department, but for a cookout menu that's both affordable and abundant, we suggest a burger-and-toppings bar.

Start with the patties, then steer guests toward a buffet table where they can create their own combos from an array of choices.

Think pesto, bruschetta, fruit salsa, jalapeno mayo, corn relish, olive tapenade, pickled cucumbers, spicy horseradish, coleslaw, grilled eggplant slices, along with some of the more familiar toppings: raw, grilled or caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, Boston Bibb or romaine lettuce, fresh or sun-dried tomatoes, dark, light or Dijon mustards.

No, you don't want all that on one burger. Nor do you want to eat four or five burgers. Let guests taste a wide array of toppings without busting their belts by serving sliders - those 3-ounce burgers restaurant chefs love to plate in groups of three.

They're cute, convenient, and perfect at a toppings bar. And you can go beyond beef and offer slider variations made of lamb, pork, turkey, crab - even veggies.

For more inspiration on toppings, we looked at two new burger-specific books from celebrity chefs: Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes (Clarkson Potter, 2009) and Burger Bar by Hubert Keller (John Wiley & Sons Inc. 2009).

Keller, a French-born chef, says he'd eaten perhaps three burgers in his life before 2004 when he and two other French chefs opened Burger Bar, a build-your-own eatery in Las Vegas.

Flay, the chef, restaurateur, and Food Network star with nine books to his credit, says he personally prefers classic burgers topped with American cheese.

But both books suggest imaginative combinations on the cookout classic.

Our favorites from Flay include a turkey Cobb burger with avocado, bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, and tomato; a Philadelphia burger, with roasted bell peppers and grilled onions; and a Greek burger with yogurt, cucumber, kalamata olives, oregano, feta cheese, and tomatoes.

From Keller, we liked his crab cake sliders with fennel, and his "vegan burgers," a stack of veggies topped with pesto, with portobello mushrooms for buns.

Fast-food purists insist the term slider originated with White Castle, the chain of turreted hamburger stands that made tiny, flat, square burgers, each with five holes so they could be steamed on a grill without flipping.

Legend has it the "slider" moniker stems from the likelihood that the greasy burger would slide off the equally greasy bun.

So much for fast food.

Tiny burgers grew more sophisticated, and by 2007 sliders were on the menus of even fine restaurants. This time around, they were presented as a plate of three 3-ounce mini burgers, each with a different gourmet topping. They were absolutely adorable, more affordable, and delicious.

On the home front, foodies discovered that sliders fit perfectly in dinner rolls. Martin's party-size potato rolls quickly became the front-runner.

And now there's new evidence of the slider's growing popularity: Pepperidge Farm offers 12-packs of mini-rolls clearly labeled as "slider-size."

As for preparation, both burger chefs agree that leaner is not better for burgers.

Fat carries flavor and moisture, so start with chuck that's 80 percent lean, 20 percent fat. If you're not using beef, choose ground turkey that is 15 percent fat, or dark meat from poultry, shoulder cuts of lamb, and butt portions of pork.