The story below is from our May/June 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Photo above: ©Ashley Cuoco
Summer gives us 73 days to fill with the joy of picking fresh strawberries out of the garden, watching tomatoes turn plump and red on the vine, sippin’ lemonade on the front porch and cookin’ up summer sunshine with these recipes.
What will you be doing during the fun months of June, July and August? Playing outside in the sunshine, dipping your toes in the lake or cooking in a hot kitchen? My plan is to leave the confines of a hot stove and invite lots of friends over to dine al fresco on our patio.
In the summertime we practically live outside so I like to stock my freezer with food that is ready to serve at a moment’s notice. I recently found tasty Wellsley Farms frozen appetizers at BJ’s Wholesale Club. Fig and Brie Bites, Cheese and Caramelized Onion Puff Pastry Tarts and Chicken Pot Pie Bites. A deliciously good deal. Just pop them in the oven and in minutes you are ready to join your friends outside. I like to serve a lively cocktail with my appetizers so let’s get the party started with Pink Lemonade Vodka Slush cocktails.
Pink Lemonade Vodka Slush
10 servings
- 4 ginger peach tea bags
- 6 cups water
- 12 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
- 12 ounce frozen pink lemonade concentrate
- 2 cups citron vodka
- 1 cup caster sugar
- Ginger ale, chilled
- Fresh mint sprigs for garnish
Boil the tea bags in 2 cups water and let steep for 5 minutes.
Add 4 cups more water.
Add orange juice and pink lemonade concentrate, citron vodka and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Place in a large freezer container (5 quart), cover and freeze.
To serve, using ice cream scoop, scoop 2 or 3 scoops of the frozen slush in a glass and top with ginger ale, giving each drink a little stir before serving. Garnish cocktails with sprigs of fresh mint.
Follow appetizers with a flavorful garden fresh salad. You’ll love the crisp melon flavor paired with the creaminess of Feta cheese in this summer classic.
Watermelon Feta Salad
6 servings
Place glass or china salad plates and salad forks in the freezer prior to making the salads.
- 1 watermelon
- 4 ounces feta
- ¾ cup toasted pine nuts
- 4 tbsp balsamic glaze
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh mint sprigs for garnish
Cut a large watermelon into 1 ½-inch thick slices. Using a cookie cutter, cut out rounds of the watermelon.
Place 2 rounds of watermelon on each chilled salad plate and crumble feta over the watermelon, then sprinkle toasted pine nuts over the feta.
Drizzle with balsamic and olive oil and season to taste with fresh black pepper.
Garnish with fresh mint and serve with chilled salad forks.
BLT (Bacon, Leek and Tomato) Tart
4 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes
1 hour 10 minutes
400 degrees Fahrenheit
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 cup fontina cheese, grated
- 4 ounces burrata cheese
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 14 fresh basil leaves torn into small pieces
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 12 slices bacon
- 3 leeks, white parts only, sliced thin
- 1 pint assorted color cherry tomatoes, sliced into 3 or four slices per tomato
Spray 9” x 13” baking pan with vegetable spray. Dust a pastry board with flour. Place the puff pastry flat on the board and roll out with a rolling pin to fit the baking pan. Place the pastry on the baking pan. Make an egg wash by mixing the egg and the water in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash lightly across the puff pastry. Sprinkle parmesan cheese evenly on the pastry.
In a small bowl combine fontina cheese, burrata cheese, thyme, basil, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Spread cheese mixture evenly over the pastry.
Fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon strips from pan to cool. Add sliced leeks to the bacon fat and sauté over medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes or until the leeks are soft and starting to brown. Remove from heat. Crumble bacon into small pieces. Evenly distribute the leeks and bacon over the pastry.
Place the cherry tomato slices over the pastry to evenly cover the top of the tart. Fold the vertical edges of the tart over and brush with egg wash.
Bake tart in preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the tart into 8 pieces.
Spicy Chili Shrimp Tacos or a fanciful BLT Tart are excellent choices for the main entrée.
Spicy Chili Shrimp Tacos with Baby Bok Choy Coleslaw and Pickled Red Onion
6 servings, 3 tacos per serving
Quick Pickled Red Onion
- 1 ½ cups white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp pickling spice
Whisk white wine vinegar, sugar, salt and 1 cup water in a small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Add pickling spice. Place onion in a jar; pour vinegar mixture over. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover and chill. Drain onions before using.
Baby Bok Choy Coleslaw
- ½ head red cabbage
- 1 head baby bok choy
- 1 carrot, peeled
- 2 tbsps white wine vinegar
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp celery seed
- good grind of black pepper
Shred red cabbage and place in a mixing bowl. Chop baby bok choy and add to cabbage. Grate carrot and add to cabbage mixture. Combine white wine vinegar, mayonnaise, salt, celery seed and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine all ingredients. Chill until service.
Spicy Chili Shrimp Tacos
15 (6-inch) flour tortillas
Wrap stacks of 5 tortillas in aluminum foil. Warm the tortillas in 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 – 15 minutes. Keep warm while preparing shrimp.
- 1¼ pound frozen shrimp (16 – 20 count) (E-Z Peel Naked Shrimp are available at BJ’s Warehouse and they are already deveined)
- ¾ cup flour
- 3 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup Asian sweet chili sauce
- Juice and zest of one-half lime
Peel shrimp and remove tails. Place flour and Old Bay seasoning in a plastic bag. Seal bag and shake to combine the flour and seasoning. Add shrimp to the bag and shake to cover the shrimp with the seasoned flour.
Place oil in a large sauté pan. Heat oil over medium high heat until sizzling. Sauté shrimp in oil until cooked through (shrimp will be light pink). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add Asian sweet chili sauce and stir to cover warm shrimp with sauce. Drizzle shrimp with lime juice and sprinkle with lime zest.
To serve, place 2 shrimp in center of each tortilla. Top with baby bok choy coleslaw and pickled red onions.
Serve this tart with a simple green salad. Perfect for brunch or chill the tart after baking and take it along on a summer picnic.
Online extra: Don’t miss the recipes for strawberry honey and strawberries with chocolate balsamic vinegar! Get them here.
… for more from our May/June 2019 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
