summer fruit salad with mint sugar

Here we are, almost in the middle of July, and it seems like summer is almost over. The advertisements for sales on school back packs and lunch boxes and school uniforms aren’t helping the matter any. My work is plugging away, and my husband added on an extra day of work himself.

It seems like time is just rushing by. And I seriously wish it would just. slow. down.

I saw this salad in a 2004 issue of Gourmet magazine, and I knew it would help to slow things down at least for a day. Chock full of summer fruits, I knew this would be the perfect remedy for my time-is-moving-too-quickly blues.

The recipe calls for peaches or nectarines, blackberries or cherries, and grapes. But really, you can customize it however you like. I used fragrant peaches, sweet cherries, a handful of blueberries, and seedless red grapes.

The secret – well, not terribly secret – ingredient that makes this salad just stunning is the mint sugar. After tasting it alone and in the salad, I’m wracking my brain trying to come up with more uses for it. It would be great with citrus or watermelon, for example. And there may be some real possibilities with cocktails. Perhaps mint sugar on the rim of a glass of refreshing mojito? Hmm…

My kids both had three servings each of this summer fruit salad. My daughter now thinks I’m the BEST COOKER EVER for making this for her. And you know what? This salad does make me look like pretty darn good cook.

Yield: Serves 6.

Summer Fruit Salad with Mint Sugar

This salad disappears QUICK. You may want to make extra.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup loosely-packed fresh mint, washed and dried thoroughly
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds cherries, pitted and halved
3 firm-ripe peaches (or nectarines), halved lengthwise, pitted, and cut into 1/3-inch thick wedges.
1/2 pound seedless red grapes (1 1/2 cups), halved

Directions:

Pulse mint and sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
Combine fruit in large bowl and sprinkle with mint sugar. Toss gently to combine. Let stand 5 minutes prior to serving.

Recipe only slightly tweaked from this one in Gourmet magazine, July 2004.

fresh summer corn risotto

Some days are just painful. You know what I mean, right? There’s the stress of getting the kids dressed and fed in the morning, making sure Oliver’s daycare has been paid, making sure Madeline’s swim bag is packed, remembering to buy diapers and feed the cats, and on and on and on. Our life is filled with this type of chaos.

And sometimes I take shortcuts. I do. I hereby confess that that to all who are reading.

For weeknight dinners, we often take shortcuts. Sometimes, I use refrigerated pizza dough for our “homemade” pizzas. And we’ve been known to pop open a jar of pasta sauce to top our spaghetti. Spaghetti that comes from a box. And sometimes, dinner is simply some rice topped with a can of black beans. I’m embarrassed, but it’s true. I’m admitting that right now.

So, when a busy working mother of two who gives bad news as an integral part of her profession and who has to hire a housekeeper and a babysitter and a person to mow the grass craves risotto, what does she do?

She uses her electric pressure cooker.

When I bought my electric pressure cooker about a year ago, I thought I would use it for pot roasts and stews and bean soups. As it turns out, the thing I make most frequently is risotto. I’m sure I’m breaking all sorts of culinary rules by doing so, but I really love making risotto this way. I can sauté the onion and garlic, sauté the rice, add a bit of dry white wine, pour in the chicken stock or broth, and then essentially walk away. While the machine is doing its thing, I can read my kids a bedtime story or bandage a knee or pick some tomatoes from the garden. When the timer goes off, the risotto is perfectly creamy, just the way it’s supposed to be.

This is one shortcut I’m happy to make. And I’m not ashamed.

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Fresh Summer Corn Risotto,Pressure Cooker Method

[This first version is the recipe I used, and it’s made in my electric pressure cooker. Making it this way is a huge time saver, and the risotto has a great creamy texture when it’s all said and done. Makes 4 main dish portions or 8 side dish portions.]
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cups arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Chardonnay
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2-3 ears of corn)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
  1. In the electric pressure cooker, on the Sauté setting, place the olive oil and butter and let the butter melt. Add the shallot and onion, and saute for 2 or 3 minutes until  translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
  2. Add in the arborio rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is opaque (about 3-4 minutes). Add the wine and salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed.
  3. Add 4-1/2 cups chicken broth, stir, and set the pressure cooker to High Pressure setting and cook for 6 minutes. When the 6 minutes is up, use the quick release to release the steam in the pressure cooker. Open the lid carefully.
  4. Set the pressure cooker to the Simmer setting. Add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth, stirring until liquid is absorbed. Add the corn kernels and  cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.*

* Note: While it’s recommended to serve risotto immediately, I’ve been known to keep it warm in the pressure cooker for up to an hour. It will set up a bit, but you can add in a bit of warmed chicken broth prior to serving to make it creamier.

For those of you who don’t have a pressure cooker or who simply prefer the old fashioned way, the following recipe is for you.

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Fresh Summer Corn Risotto, Stove-Top Method

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cups arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Chardonnay
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2-3 ears of corn)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
  1. In a saucepan bring chicken broth to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.
  2. In a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and shallot, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute more.
  3. Add rice and stir until rice is opaque in the center, about 3 minutes. Add salt and wine; simmer until wine is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup simmering broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking at a simmer and adding broth mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 to 20 minutes total. (You will probably have broth left over.)
  4. Stir in fresh corn kernels and grated Parmesan, and cook over low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

a summery salad: vine-ripened tomato and watermelon salad

Every summer since my daughter was born, we have spent a glorious week in the summer vacationing in – or very near – Seaside, Florida. If you recall The Truman Show with Jim Carrey, Seaside was the perfect little  town where the movie was set. Seaside is right on the Gulf of Mexico, and most of the cottages are just a block or two or three off of the pristine white sand beaches. Well, at least they were pristine. Until the oil spill happened. Last summer we ate at Fish Out of Water, in the neighboring Watercolor Resort, for the first time. My sister-in-law and her family were vacationing with us, and they agreed to babysit our kids one evening so Sam and I could have at least one meal out by ourselves. Fish Out of Water had been on my wish-list of restaurants, so we finally had our chance.

tomato and watermelon salad | the merry gourmet

My first course was an heirloom tomato and watermelon salad. After one bite – a salty-sweet bite with juicy tomato and watermelon in a to-die-for vinaigrette – I was in heaven. I asked our waiter if he knew the recipe, and he didn’t. Recently I emailed the restaurant to see if the chef would be willing to share it, but I haven’t had any reply yet. So, until I get my hands on their recipe, I decided to experiment a bit. This salad was a good approximation, but the vinaigrette is not what I remembered. I wanted to use heirloom cherry tomatoes, but I used vine-ripened regular tomatoes instead since there were no heirlooms to be found. Some basil and a touch of feta, and the salad was delicious. The right amount of sweet and salty, incredibly juicy, and perfectly refreshing.

tomato and watermelon salad | the merry gourmet

tomato and watermelon salad | the merry gourmet

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

I've listed amounts for the salad ingredients, but truthfully, this is a salad that doesn't need to be precise. If you like more tomatoes, add more. If you like more watermelon, add more. If you prefer cherry tomatoes instead of regular, those would be great, too.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Ingredients for Salad

3 cups cubed watermelon, seeds removed
6 vine-ripened tomatoes, cored and seeded, chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped or torn fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup feta (or more or less, depending on your taste)

Directions:

Make vinaigrette: Mix vinegar and minced garlic in bowl. Whisk in olive oil, then whisk in basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Add watermelon, tomatoes, and torn (or chopped) basil leaves to bowl. Sprinkle with feta. Toss gently with the vinaigrette and let sit for at least 10 minutes or so before serving to allow the flavors to deepen.