Summer Fest Ingredient: Cukes n’ Zukes

Sliced, chopped, dipped or dressed, cucumbers are one of the most versatile vine veggies. And what better way to kick off the launch of Summer Fest 2010 than with a refreshing pickled salad loaded with carrots and tomatoes and tossed in a toasted sesame vinaigrette. Cool off by enjoying this dish as a simple side, or top it off with sauteed chicken or tofu for the ultimate summer salad.

A full listing of cukes n’ zukes recipes (and more pics!) from Summer Fest 2010 is after the jump …

Shopping List

• 1½ teaspoons white sesame seeds
• 3 cups very thinly sliced cucumbers
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup diced red onion
• ½ cup carrots, peeled and julienne cut
• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2½ teaspoons sugar

Recipe

Makes 4-6 servings.

The third annual Summer Fest is here! I am delighted to have been invited to join a group of food bloggers from across the country to dish on the season’s peak produce for Summer Fest 2010. Fellow foodies from the likes of Food2, A Way to Garden, Devour and more will be blogging each Wednesday about a specific summer ingredient.

Stay tuned for a whole lot of linkage and find us on Twitter at #summerfood!

Summer Fest 2010 Schedule

July 28: cukes n’ zukes

August 4: corn

August 11: herbs, greens & beans

August 18: stone fruit

August 25: tomatoes

Despite my obsession with the S’more Shake, I’ve about hit my peak on dairy intake for the month. So while the east coast continues to sizzle, I’ve turned to a quick-fix cooler made with watermelon and frozen grapes and sweetened with a squeeze of agave. It’s the consistency of a slushie without the sugar high.

I pour the cooler into chilled mason jars for a fun summertime twist then tie different color ribbons around the tops of the jars so everyone can keep track of their beverage. Keep the drinks kid-friendly or kick them up a notch and turn them into cooler cocktails by adding a splash of your favorite liquor!

Hooked on agave nectar? Check out my list of agave-inspired recipes!

Shopping List

• 3 cups seeded watermelon, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1 cup frozen grapes
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 3 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 1½ cups ice

Recipe

Makes approximately four 7-oz. servings.

In a blender, combine the watermelon, frozen grapes, lime juice, agave nectar and ice. Blend until the ingredients are well incorporated and the cooler is the consistency of a slushie.

Pour into chilled glasses and serve.

I’m steering clear of anything that involves pre-heating, sauteing, boiling or baking at the moment, as the mere thought of going near my stove gives me heatstroke.

But I was determined to beat the east coast heat with a no-cook dish that comes straight from one of my favorite hometown restaurants, Roppongi of La Jolla. Delicious. Healthy. Impressive. No oven required. The La Jolla Crab Stack has it all.

Chef Stephen Windows stacks layer upon layer of fruits and veggies and then tops off the tower with a handful of fresh crab meat. A final drizzle of make-ahead ginger dressing gives this piled high stack a punch of far eastern flavor.

So grab your knife and get ready to slice and dice your way to an impressive dish. Step-by-step photos included after the jump!

Shopping List

• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 6 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup pea shoots
• 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes
• 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup diced mango
• 1 cup diced avocado
• 1 cup fresh crab meat

Recipe

Makes 4 servings. Recipe adapted from Roppongi Restaurant and Sushi Bar in La Jolla, Calif.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the ginger, sugar, lime juice, garlic and water. Refrigerate the dressing overnight.

See step-by-step photos below to assemble each of the four crab stacks by tightly layering together in a mold one fourth of each of the pea shoots, tomatoes, cucumbers, mango, onions, avocado and crab. (If you don’t have a mold, you can use any hollowed-out aluminum can or circular bottle).

Press down on the top layer while slowly removing the mold to reveal the freestanding crab stack. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to form a total of four crab stacks.

Drizzle the crab stacks with the ginger-lime dressing and serve.

Step-by-Step Photos:

Step 1: Place a layer of pea shoots in the mold and then top with a layer of firmly packed tomatoes.

Step 2: Place a layer of sliced cucumbers atop the tomatoes, fanning them out to fill the circular mold.

Step 3: Layer the diced mango atop the cucumbers, then add the red onions.

Step 4: Add a layer of avocado, pushing it firmly into the mold.

Step 5: Add a layer of crab, then while pushing down on the crab with one hand, slowly slide the mold upward to reveal the layered La Jolla Crab Stack. Drizzle with ginger-lime dressing and serve.

Holy hotness, New York City.

It’s a summer of triple digit temperatures, when few foods sound appetizing thanks to the fact that you could cook them on the city’s sidewalks. The only solution? A no-cook culinary repertoire loaded with freezing favorites, like this campfire classic turned chilled treat. It’s chocolate meets toasted mallow with a graham cracker crunch, and it’s a celebration of the gooey glory of summer without burners or a bonfire.

Blend up a batch of S’more Shakes and get ready for my upcoming arsenal of no-cook favorites.

Shopping List

• 1 cup chocolate ice cream
• ½ cup light cream
• 3 Tablespoons marshmallow fluff
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Marshmallows, for garnish
• Crushed graham crackers, for garnish

Recipe

Makes two 8-oz. shakes.

Combine the chocolate ice cream, light cream, marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract in a blender or milkshake machine. Blend until smooth.

Pour into glasses and top with marshmallows. Torch the marshmallows with a kitchen torch or flame until they begin to brown. Garnish with crushed graham crackers.

Nothing says Happy 4th of July like this chilled patriotic pie, piled high with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I use a pre-made crust for convenience, but you can use any pastry, shortbread or graham cracker crust as the base for the quick-fix custard. And don’t fear the gelatin! It’s a simple ingredient that gives the custard that perfect firm yet creamy consistency, and it’s usually found next to the Jell-O in most supermarkets.

Check out my other favorite summertime recipes that are guaranteed to help you beat the heat!

Shopping List

• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 Tablespoon water
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1¼ cups cold light cream
• 1 pre-made or freshly baked 9″ pie crust, such as shortbread or graham cracker
• 1 quart strawberries, quartered
• 1 pint blueberries

Recipe

Makes one 9″ pie. Custard recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine.

Sprinkle the gelatin over 1 tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Put the sugar into a small saucepan then split the vanilla bean in half and scrape it into the sugar. Rub the vanilla bean into the sugar with your fingers until it’s well distributed. Add the scraped bean halves to the mixture.

Add one cup of light cream to the sugar mixture and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove it from the heat. Discard the vanilla bean halves and then immediately whisk in the gelatin mixture.

Pour the mixture into a bowl, then set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Stir the custard with a rubber spatula until it begins to thicken, roughly 3 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ¼ cup of cold light cream.

Pour the mixture into the fully pre-baked pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 90 minutes.

Once the custard is firm, top the pie with the strawberries and blueberries.

As a child I used to read through my mom’s endless countertop cookbook collection, flipping through page after page of Giada’s and Ina’s latest creations. And while my tiny New York City kitchen reached its maximum book occupancy long ago, I recently made room for one more - a personalized cookbook detailing my 40 or so favorite recipes and photos from culinary school.

Rather than immortalize my gastronomical journey on scraps of paper, I opted to create a Just a Taste of … Culinary School Tastebook, a custom-designed cookbook containing my personal recipes and photos, which are printed out and bound into a beautifully crafted book. Best of all, the recipes are housed online for quick reference and safe-keeping.

Check out The Tastebook to design your own cookbook or to search through an impressive list of pre-made books designed by the likes of editors from Epicurious, Simply Recipes and RecipeZaar.

There are few things better than homemade meatballs. These Polpette Fritte hail from the northeastern region of Italy and combine spicy Italian sausage, ground turkey and beef with raisins, pine nuts and Parmesan. Roll this killer combo of sweetness and spice in breadcrumbs then saute them until golden brown for the perfect appetizer or addition to your favorite pasta. I enjoyed them tonight with orechiette tossed with garlic-infused olive oil and fresh parm. Pasta has never looked so good.

Shopping List

• 6 ounces spicy Italian sausage
• 6 ounces ground beef
• 6 ounces ground turkey
• ¼ cup non-fat milk
• ¼ cup + 1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1 Tablespoon pine nuts
• 1 Tablespoon raisins
• salt and pepper, to taste
• olive oil, for sauteing
• 1 Tablespoon water

Recipe

Makes 20 meatballs. Recipe adapted from The Institute of Culinary Education.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, combine the ground Italian sausage, ground beef, ground turkey, non-fat milk, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, minced garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, 2 lightly beaten eggs, chopped parsley, pine nuts, raisins, and salt and pepper. Use your hands to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.

Use approximately 1½ tablespoons of the mixture (per meatball) to form the meatballs.

Beat together the remaining two eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. Coat the meatballs in the eggwash and then roll them in the remaining 1 cup of breadcrumbs.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to liberally coat the bottom of the pan.

Add the meatballs several at a time to the pan, careful not to crowd them together. Brown them for 2-3 minutes on all sides.

Transfer the browned meatballs to the oven and bake them for 10 minutes, or until they’re fully cooked.

Drain the meatballs on paper towels and serve.

1 : a small usually ring-shaped cake fried in fat
2 : something (as a mathematical torus) that resembles a doughnut especially in shape

Forget the second definition. Today, our nation is honoring the golden glazed glory that are doughnuts. Many of you know about my love, and by love I mean near unhealthy obsession (hello, Just a Taste Doughnuthon), with deep fried dough. But you show me a doughnut that’s dipped, filled, dusted or sprinkled, and I’ll show you a country beaming with fried fulfillment.

So here’s to you Mr. Dunkin and Mrs. Kreme, for bringing satisfied smiles to our nation. Now go make your own, or stop by your local deep-fried supplier for a free taste.

Homemade banana ice cream, minus the cream, and the eggs … and the sugar, and pretty much everything else. That leaves us with one thing: frozen bananas.

The ingenious folks over at The Kitchn came up with this technique of slicing, freezing and blending the bananas. And the result is a quick-fix treat that has the consistency of soft serve and the taste of pure fruit. I’ve added a splash of vanilla and sandwiched the frozen treat between two peanut butter cookies for the ultimate summer splurge.

Shopping List

• 2 bananas
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 peanut butter cookies

Recipe

Makes 4 ice cream sandwiches.

Peel the bananas and slice them into ¼” rounds. Place them on a plate and cover the plate with plastic wrap. Place the bananas in the freezer for 2 hours, or until frozen.

Place the frozen bananas and the vanilla extract in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the bananas turn into a creamy texture. Stop the food processor intermittently to scrape down the bowl.

Divide the banana mixture by scooping it onto four of the cookies. Top each cookie with the remaining four cookies and immediately transfer the ice cream sandwiches to the freezer. Allow the ice cream sandwiches to freeze for half an hour before serving.