Classic Summer Recipes

This is the time of year when classic summer recipes come in handy. They make good use of the produce of the season, from zucchini to corn, from fresh fruit to fresh herbs. These are what make summer eating memorable.

Farms and farmer's markets are selling corn right now. Og course there is classic corn on the cob (made easier with an air fryer) but there's also the deliciou corn chowder which can be made now and then frozen for the colder weather. This is a creamy soup made with crispy bacon  which gives the fat to saute the onion. Potatoes and chicken broth are added to this along with flour mixed with milk and heavy cream. Three cups  of fresh corn along with a pound of Russet potatoes are added. A cup of white Cheddar cheese is added for more richness along with salt and pepper. It's a perfect soup to make on one of those rare cool summer days. Another classic using the ears is corn salad. This is made with fresh tomatoes from the garden, sliced cucumber and chopped red onion. Dress with a simple oil and red wine vinaigrette. Another summer staple is zucchini. Sliced zuccnini coils sauteed in a mix of butter and oil  infused with chopped garlic. This is a perfect side for any grilled meat. Also consider subbing in the squash for eggplant when you make ratatouille too.

Fresh herbs are in bloom right now. It's definitely time to create pesto, the basil sauce from Genoa. This is taking two cups of fresh basil and blending them with half a cup of  olive oil. You could add pine nuts or walnuts if you want but this may cause the sauce to become rancid quickly. Add some Parmesan before you serve it. What's pesto good on? Try it on any kind of pasta from spaghetti to ravioli.It's also good on gnocchi too but even better on grilled chicken and pork chops. MInt is in abundance right now. It can be used in everything from salads to cocktails and mocktails. A refreshing picnic side dish are peas with mint. You could also add a sqwueeze of lemon to this. Try a simple syrup infused with mint. THis is just cooking water and granulated sugar together. A cup of freshly picked leaves is added to this and then strained out. Of course fruit is being harvested right now. It's the time for crisps and crumbles with all sorts of buttery , sweet toppings over cooked blueberries and blackberries,. However  bake classic fruit  muffins chock full of these gems that also include peaches. These are a great breakfast treat, especially slathered with butter.

This is the season that begs for classic recipes from summers past. Use the bounty of the season to create memorable dishes. It's time to make culinary memories.

A Shot Of Fresh Fruit

 What gives a summer cocktail or mocktail sassiness and freshness.? A shot of fresh fruit. There's something about adding summer's bounty to a fruity and relaxing iced drink.

I recently discovered this at Moby's down in the Atlantic Highlands. Moby's is  known for its' seafood but also for tasty  drinks that go well with oysters and lobsters. The bartender was making a mango daquairi which gives the traditional cocktail a different tastier spin. Fresh mango slices were pulverized in a blender and then the rum and dark sugar or demerrara syrup.Blueberries and strawberries can also be used in this as well. For the blueberry cocktail use about one cup of washed berries and for the strawberry the same. Keep in mind you can make virgin daiquiris' too. Just sub in Ronsin a non alcoholic rum or use pinenpple or cherry juice. The pineapple gives the mocktail a tropical flavor while the cherry imparts a tart flavor , perfect for counterbalancing all that sweetness.Another fun blueberry drink is one where blueberries are blended with vodka.They're smashed first with mint , homey or simple syrup and a squeeze of lime juice. Add half  a cup of good vodka (like Skye or Stoli) and shake well in a cocktail shaker. Pour into mason jars. Add more mint and a straw for sipping.

Think silky Bellinis since it's peach season too. This wonderful mix of Prosecco is just as easy to make as it is to drink. Keep in mind that the original recipe does call for white peaches however if you can;t find any then use the golden ones. The peach puree is easy to make (and cna be used to make fresh peach ice cream too).It peeling or boiling off the skins and then cutting four ripe pitted  ones into chunks. They're then put into blender  and pureed You can also use an immersion blender for this too.  Add a quarter cup of th e puree into champagne flutes and the top off with Prosecco or Asti Spumante. You can make an easy Bellini mocktail too with ginger ale or spakling apple cider. These may be too sweet so try a plain or peach flavored seltzer for this.Nectarines are also in season right now and the fruit lends itself to some tasty cocktails. Again peel and then puree. You could add it to Prosecco but also try the nectarine in whiskey sour  which is a combo of simple syrup, whiskey and egg white mixed with the puree. The egg white is added to give the drink it's signature foamy head. As for a nectarine mocktail, think seltzer and puree with an infusion of a mint flavored simple syrup.

Fresh fruit takes cocktails and mocktails to a whole new level. Add some of the summer's bounty to your next drink.It's a refreshing and fruity respite on a hot day.

A Restaurant Staple Comes Home

Diamond Crystal kosher  salt has been a staple of restaurant kitchen since the 1880's Yet  home chefs have always had a hard time of getting the restauranr quality salt for their own cooking and baking. Now that's about to change.

New conrtibutor and cookbook author Marnie Hanel wrote about this much loved restaurant kitchen staple in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Kosher salt is popular.It's even seen on the trendy show "The Bear" as the main character ,a splenetic chef called Sidney instructs his chef de partie to salt T-bone steaks "like a sidewalk" with it. Ina Garten calls the salt perfect and it's been used in recipe testing in both Bon Appetit and America's Test kitchen magazines' recipes. when rumors of it being discontinued in 2010 france Lam, the editor in chief of the cookbook publisher Clarkson Potter went out and bought ten boxes. why is it so desired? Because unlike regular table salt, the crystals are hollow and lightweight, giving them a brittleness. This makes them easily crushable.This makes the salt the ideal seasoning because it dissolves quickly in food.Recipe developers favor it over its' competitor Morton's which is denser and nearly twice as salty. It could ruin a recipe if too much is added in.

However it could be a hard sell with home chefs. Many associate salt with the iconic Morton's umbrella and the lirtle girl underneath it instead of the famed crystal and star  on the box. It seems that ninety percent of home chefs prefer Mortons' kosher salt despite its' drawbacks.Diamond Crystal's parent company the one hundred and sixty year old Cargill enlisted the fairly new Enlisted Design to redesign everything about it.It's new target demogrpahic is young and trendy, the aspiring home chef with  two avatars the academic(a guy with a goatee) and the entertainer(a girl with an Afro and multiple nose piercings). The traditional granny  figure is secondary. The new box is an eye catching tomato red with sharp serifs.It comes in three sizes, three pounds twenty six ounces and one pound. The redisigned box has a description which helps buyers discern what it is. The designation kosher confuses them.Is it pertaining to religion or its' type - its' both. The salt is called flakes like Malden's sea salt. whole foods and Trader Joes' for $8.99 and whole foods has it for $10.99.

Many home chefs will use the new Diamon Crystal kosher salt. It's a good addition to recipes and enhancing foods. It's definitely worth trying.

A Summer Feast

 What would make up the menu at a summer party? There could be fresh veggies maybe Grilled meat of some kind is a must A dessert featuring the fruit of the season is another must. Luckily there is amenu featuring all of these.

Regular contributors  Genvieve Ko , Melissa Clark, Yewande Komolafe and Eric Kim created such a feast in today;'s New York Times Wednesday Food section. This is the perfect pulled together dinner for an August birthday celebration at home or even after a fun pool party with friends. What's exciting is that it starts off with a tangy appetizer, a baked feta dish with spicey tomatoes and honey. The classic Greek cheese is baked with a mix of tomatoes, garlic onion, olives and capers wich have been tossed in olive oil ,and Aleppo peppers. along with sea salt. Honey is spooned around the feta . It's baked in a 425 degree Farenheit oven until the  tomatoes break down and the cheese has melted. Halfway through stire the veggies andat the end stir the veggies and feta together .The feta may look curdled. Add fresh mint or basil. serve with either sliced toasted baguette, pita or crackers. You could easily bake dessert too at this time if you want too. It;s a  buttery blueberry crisp that also has almonds in in for flavor and crunch.It's baked with fresh blueberries A half cup of melted and cooled butte is added to the crisp for a really rich flavor and the crisp is baked at 375 degrees Farenheit for forty minutes. Serve with either vanilla ice cream or better yet fresly whipped cream.

There are two different meat recipes. Make both if you're having a big crowd  or try either one  for a smaller crowd. There is coconut dill salmon with green beans and corn The fish and green beans are cooked in separate tin foil packets. The salmon is grilled in a dressing made of coconut cream, brown sugar mustard and vinegar. The beans are grilled and mixed into a salad with corn and tomatoes.The fish's dressing is also used on the veggies. Pile them on the fish fillets and serve with more dressing. Pork lovers will love the grilled pork chops with plum barbecue sauce. The sauce is made with fresh plums, in season right now.They're simmered in a mix of sauteed onion,applle cider or rice  vinegar brown sugar and chili sauce (although you could use Heinz ketchup for a milder flavor). The onion is sauteed first in oil and then the chili sauce, brown sugar and vinegar added. The sliced and pitted plums are then simmered in until the sauce has thickened. Served with  the grilled pork chops which have been seared on both sides for two to three minutes.

A summer feast is easily made. Try this one for a warn evening full of good food.It's a great way of  celebrating th season.

The Salvation Of Salad Kits

 One of the best things about summer is its salads. One of the worst things is getting the right veggies and then chopping them. Then there's the dressing and the extras to be put on top to give the greens some zing. What to do? Get a salad kit.

These have helped me tremendously thorugh the year, but more so during the summery heat waves we've been having. The best part is that salad kits come in all sorts of flavors from Caesar to Greek to Thai inspired and Mexican. 

Fresh Express is one of my go to salad kits.Acme's Signature's brand also has some very tasty mixes. Tonight was Thai and Cashews which went perfectly with the main course  - plant based chicken patties . 

This was a fun and yummy mix of sliced carrots, Romaine lettuce, red cabbage and green onions. The crunchy part came from Thai seasoned wonton strips. toasted coconut flakes and cashews. It was topped with a thick and creamy Thai dressing. I just added some olive oil and a tablespoon of vinegat to stretch the dressing.  Their Mexican Style chopped salad, complete with cotija cheese , cheddar tortilla chips and roasted pumpkin seeds is on my radar to try next.Keeo in mind that extras like shredded rotisserie chicken, sliced London broil or shrimp can be added to these salad kits to make them into whole dinners.

There will be more hear waves this summer. Make dinner easier by buying a salad kit. It's an easy side to create  cool and tasty.

Tattooed Chef's Vegan Two Cheese Pizza

 Trying to find a vegan pizza is hard. Most pizzerias don't offer it or you'd have to find one miles and miles away. Not to worry anymore. Tattooed Chef has a great vegan one that's loaded with non dairy cheese and the much desired thin crust.

I love Tattooed Chef's products.I'mm a big fan of their baked  mac and cauliflower .Now I've tried their two cheese pizza and it's a winner. Forget Blaze and my local pizzeria This is the pizza to get.

I just doctored it up a little bit with a good sprinkle of oregano  which I  love on pizza and a drizzle of olive oil.

It was just popping it into a 450 degree Farenheit oven for ten minutes. The baked oie was a gooey , delicoius slice with a super crispy crust  - always a plus.Its' crispiness comes from the mix of cauliflower and rice flour and starch along with chia flour. The cheese is a mix of  soycheddar and soy mozzarella I am definitely going to try their vegetable and plant based pepperoni versions. It really is the perfect pie.

Forget going to the local pizzeria. Get the Tattooed Chef's pizza for a delicious vegan treat. It; has every pizza lover's requirements , ac heesey top and super crispy crust. That more could you ask for? It;'s just pure yummy.

Hot Out? Take Out!

 Most of the wrls is literally burning up right now. The temps are high. Spirits are low. Who want's to cook? No one.It's time to take out.

That's my philosophy. Normally I would make any kind of salad for a ninety plus degree day like today. ecept I wasn't even into chopping veggies. This is where my local Subway comes in.

It's just easier. They create a vegan garden style for me with sliced tomatoes , tangy vinegar soaked green peppers which take like relish and sliced olives. It was just a quick, no fuss dinner. Keep in mind that you don;t have to have a hot burger and fries. Any one of the fast food restaurants, from Wendy's to McDonald's have a variety of different cold, fresh  salads. Wendy's has brought out their famed strawberry salad again for cool summer eating. Have it with one of their lemonades. With McDonald's finish with a frosty Coke  slurpee. Go visit your local hot do vendor and get a garden dog  along with a  chilled birch or root beer.Don't  bother getting hot, Italian  Chinese or Indian take out. Save those for cooler fall days.

You could push yourself to make a salad. I just combined fresh Roma tomatoes with purple basil which has a sweeter taste than regular basil. I'ts just chopping both with garlic and adding olive oil, salt  and pepper.This will be a quick side with the sandwich but also the main dish for tomorrow's Sunday supper. I just have to add some sliced Italian bread drizzled with olive oil to round it out.

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It's hot. Don''t cook. Get a simple hero or a salad. Make a salad if you feel a bit ambitious. Just enjoy a cool meal on a sweltering day.