Watermelon

Grilled Watermelon Salad

27.06.2013 18 Comments

Grilled watermelon salad is the perfect summer side dish. Slice up some watermelon rings, throw them on the grill (literally if you’re brave enough), wait for some gorgeous smokey grill marks to spear and you’re half way there.

If you don’t have a grill, a grill pan will work fine. You can also skip the egregious use of fire all together and just cut the watermelon into bite sized chunks. The saltiness of the Cotija and the briny quick-pickled red onions set of that great sweetness of in-season watermelons.

It’s also a great salad to serve at room temperature, making it the perfect low maintenance side dish to serve on your summer party table. It also has a lovely sweetness that pairs well with a spicy food, I served it with these wings. It does not, however, keep very well. If you plan to make it ahead of time, keep all of the components separate and toss just prior to serving.

If you need a patriotic plan for the rest of the watermelon, check this out.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

Ingredients

¼ cup apple cider vinegar (or rice wine)
1 tbs raw honey
½ red onion, very thinly sliced
2 slices (2 inch thick each) watermelon
½ cup crumbed Cotija cheese (can substitute feta)
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar and honey. Add the red onions, toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Place the watermelon slices on a hot grill until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side.
Remove the watermelon rind and chop the grilled watermelon into bite sized chunks, place in a large serving bowl.
Pour the red onion and the vinegar over the watermelon. Sprinkle with Cotija cheese and cilantro.

Boozy (or not) Watermelon Stars

06.06.2012 23 Comments

I have a confession to make.

I stole this idea from my friend Tori. She is the genius behind The Shiksa In The Kitchen. And if you watch the morning news, anywhere in America, there is a chance she cooked up something special on your TV. She is a big hit in New York and San Francisco especially, but can you blame them? She’s gorgeous, smart and nicer than you could ever expect.

Even when the inevitable day comes when she gets her own cooking or travel show, she will be the girl who sits in the airport terminals between flights and answers your cooking question via twitter, because she’s that nice.

We met over crayons and wide ruled paper in Mrs. Newets 4th grade class room. We lost touch when I moved to Eastern Washington, because we are both older than the internet, but met up again through blogging. Which is one of the reasons I love blogging. And why I love when my friends in the computer, become real life humans who call me on the phone and invite me to have lunch with Mario Batali.

I’m going to show you how to make these watermelons into stars for that I Heart America holiday that is rapidly approaching, but you’ll have to go over to her blog to find out how to put booze in them

Make sure you do, because whats more American than produce and booze? Good Bless the USA.

Go check out: Tori’s Watermelon Mojito Pops!

Watermelon Stars

Materials:

1 medium sized watermelon

14-18 large blueberries

6 inch wooden skewers

Cap to a Chapstick tube

Step One:

Slice the watermelon into 1 inch rings.

Step Two:

Lay the rings on a flat surface and cut out as many stars as you can with a Star shaped cookie cutter. You should be able to get two or three stars out of each ring. If the stars are too fat, cut them in half width wise to make two thinner stars. Be sure to reserve the watermelon "scraps."

Step Three:

I know this is a little skeevey, but bear with me, use the cap to a Chapstick tube to cut out a hole in the center of your star. It’s odd that I’m asking you to go find a tube of Chapstick to add to your kitchen equipment, but if you are anything like me, you have handfuls of those things in every drawer and purse in your house.

Just push the cap all the way through the center of the star. The hole is the perfect size for a large blueberry.

Step Four:

Place a blueberry in the hole in the center of the star.

Step Five:

Press a six inch skewer into the watermelon and through the blueberry.

Step Six:

Go to Tori’s site and she will tell you how to turn these suckers into boozy treats!

What to do with all those leftover Watermelon scarps:

Grilled Watermelon and Cotija Salad

Watermelon Ceviche

Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita

Watermelon Feta Mint Salad

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Watermelon Ceviche

28.07.2011 8 Comments

The last time I had ceviche I was one week into my pregnancy with Tater. We were in New York. A trip that had been planned for months, even before all the fertility goalies were removed and we were officially “trying.” The first few weeks of pregnancy, when it is all just more of an idea, a theory, than an actual BABY, there is a thick fog of impending miscarriage. As if that is the inevitable outcome. You don’t tell anyone outside your very inner circle so that you don’t have to UNtell, “in case…well, you know.” We had gone to have dinner at the apartment of a newly married couple we know. He’s a musician we’ve known since we were kids and she is a doctor we feel grateful to know as adults. We arrive to a beautiful spread of homemade ceviche. I panic. I haven’t been able to do all research. Fish? Some is ok, right? What if this is the horrible, mercury laden trigger that will decimate the theoretical baby growing in my uterus? I gave a frantic look towards Mr. Fits. Casually, he searched Google on his phone without missing a conversation beat, as if just answering a text rather than shieling his unborn theory from poisonous, metal saturated fish. “It’s fine,” he leans over and whispers to me, showing me the phone, “Very low in mercury. They even encourage you to eat this kind because the omega 3’s are good for brain development.” Brain development? BRAIN? I’m growing a brain. It all hits me. I am growing a human. No one can even tell and my guts are making a brain. That was the moment that this theory, this idea, this pregnancy actually started to become a baby, a human Tater. Ceviche will always remind me of that night, and the realization that my pregnancy would end with my beautiful baby being born.

Watermelon Ceviche

3 cups of watermelon, chopped

½ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup diced red onion

¼ cup chopped cilantro

2 tbs diced fresh jalapenos, seeds removed

1 ½ cup cooked, chopped shrimp, tails removed

½ cup fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice (or a mixture of both)

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sriracha

Corn chips and Boston lettuce leaves for serving

Put all the ingredients (except the chips and lettuce) in a large bowl and mix until combined. Allow to chill for at least an hour before serving.

Watermelon Jalapeno Margaritas

15.07.2011 5 Comments

Jalapenos have been popping up in cocktails all over the place lately. Are you skeptical? Scared? Intrigued? I’m just plain excited. I have a deep love in my culinary soul for jalapenos, as you can see, I’ve add them to my Mac N' Cheese, as well as my Bacon Cornbread. Why not cocktails? And I dare you to find a better adult beverage than a margarita to showcase this beautiful pepper.

Watermelon Jalapeno Margaritas

4 cups seedless watermelon chunks

1 1/2 tbs chopped fresh jalapenos, seeds removed (very important)

1 cup of tequila

1/2 cup triple sec

1 tbs Agave nectar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Put all of these ingredients in a blender and blend for about a minute.

Taste to see if you want to booze it up and bit and adjust accordingly. Now, you can add ice and blend or you can serve it on the rocks. Either way, you will porbaly need about 3 cups of crushed ice or ice cubes.

You can rim the glass with either sugar or salt, this recipe lends itself very well to both.

I added a jalapeno ring as a garnish, but that is totally optional.

Watermelon Caprese Skewers with Honeyed Balsamic Vinegar

08.07.2011 5 Comments

I’ve been making Caprese skewers for years. Great for parties. Anything that is in a smaller form is just inherently more adorable. I had the idea the other day to substitute a watermelon ball for the standard grape tomato that I use. Hmm…cheese and mellon? Is this OK? I waited a week for this to sink in. I tried it. Now it’s all I can think about and I want more. Right. Now.

Watermelon Caprese Skewers With Honeyed Balsamic Vinegar

1 large watermelon

16 oz of Ciliegine or 'Cherry Size' Fresh Mozzarella

6 leaves of basil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp raw honey

Cut the watermelon into 3 inch rings (slices? is that a better term?). This will make it easier to get as many balls out of it as you can with your melon baller. Make as many balls as you can out of your watermelon, because, if you have leftovers you also have a great snack! Store the extras in a container filled with water to keep them fresh. These ciliengine mozzarella balls are pretty fantastic. They sell them at just about any grocery store, in the fancy cheese section, and they come in a tub filled with water.

Photo:http://www.lionimozzarella.com

Slice the basil leaves into thin strips, discarding the thick vein that runs down the middle. Skewer one mozzarella ball and one watermelon ball on each skewer, drape with a basil slice. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic and the honey until well combined. Drizzle over the skewers or serve on the side.

ENJOY!! I love these cute little guys!

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