Cherry Tomato and Watermelon Salad

Yesterday, since we finally are experiencing summer weather, I decided to make Cook's Illustrated's Cherry Tomato and Watermelon Salad.

Saturday I had visited the South Lansing Farmer’s Market and picked up several of the ingredients needed to make the salad. It was my first visit to the small market, but was excited to see a nice mix of vendors. I purchased some locally grown produce, a Jamaican meat patty and even a cute pair of earrings (with proceeds to send a grandson to college).

At the market, I was able to find cherry tomatoes and fresh mint. From there a quick stop at the regular market for a watermelon, shallot and feta. The rest of the ingredients were in my pantry. I followed the recipe as it was written. The salad took about an hour to prepare. It was a great combination of sweet (from the cherry tomatoes and watermelon) and tangy (from the feta). The mint added a nice coolness which really helped exemplify the flavor of summer.

As the recipe indicates, I let the tomatoes sit for half hour in sugar and salt. This was ample time to chop the rest of my ingredients. I went a bit over 1 cup of watermelon and next time I will increase the watermelon to 2 cups. I would have liked an even mix of tomato to watermelon.

When the tomatoes had sat, there was quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of my bowl. As I spun the tomatoes of their seeds and liquid even more liquid was expelled. It had never occurred to me to spin my tomatoes. I spin everything else – salad green, herbs, why not tomatoes?! I was just able to get a 1/2 cup of liquid from my spinning.

Next time I make this salad, I will either sweat the shallots, by letting them sit for 5- 10 minutes with a bit of salt on them, or gently sauté them before adding my tomato liquid. The shallot flavor was a bit overwhelming in the final salad.

By reducing the liquid from the tomatoes, it gave you a sauce with a great concentrated tomato flavor. Adding the vinegar really helped cut the sweetness that you get from tomatoes. I did not add any additional salt to my final dish, as feta is usually so salty I did not think I would need any additional, and I was right, I didn’t.

This salad would be a great addition to take to a summer picnic or if you looking for a refreshing alternative to traditional salad. By our serving size (about ½ cup), we were able to get 6 servings from this salad. Here is my modified recipe:


Cherry Tomato and Watermelon Salad
Serves 6. Published July 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated, slightly adapted

If in-season cherry tomatoes are unavailable, substitute vine-ripened cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes from the supermarket, avoiding pale, unripe ones. If using grape tomatoes, simply cut them in half along the equator (rather than quartering them) to expose the maximum amount of seeds and pulp. If you don’t have a salad spinner, after the salted tomatoes have stood for 30 minutes, wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and gently shake to remove seeds and excess liquid. Strain the liquid and proceed with the recipe as directed. The amount of liquid given off by the tomatoes will depend on their ripeness. If you have less than 1/2 cup of juice after spinning, proceed with the recipe using the entire amount of juice and reduce it to 3 tablespoons as directed (cooking time will be shorter).

2 pints cherry tomatoes , ripe, quartered (about 4 cups) (see note)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
2 cups watermelon , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces feta cheese , crumbled (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves , roughly

Toss tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and sugar in medium bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt on the minced shallot and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Transfer tomatoes to salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed, 45 to 60 seconds, stirring to redistribute tomatoes several times during spinning. Return tomatoes to bowl and set aside.

Strain tomato liquid through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.

Bring 1/2 cup tomato liquid (discard any extra), shallot, and vinegar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 8 minutes.

Transfer mixture to small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Whisk in oil and pepper to taste until combined. Taste and season if necessary.

Add watermelon, mint, feta, and dressing to bowl with tomatoes; toss gently and serve.

Jen's note: If you are not immeidately serving the salad, wait and toss the tomato dressing when ready to serve.

Goodbye Elsie

April 16, 1941 The original Elsie the Cow died. Elsie the cow was originally a cartoon character appearing in ads for Borden Milk. At the 1939 New York World's Fair, when people began asking where Elsie was, Borden's picked a cow originally named 'You'll do Lobelia' from their herd to be Elsie. Elsie stared in commercials, made personal many appearances, and even starred in an RKO movie, 'Little Men.' Elsie was injured in a truck accident in 1941 and had to be put to sleep. She is buried in Plainsboro, New Jersey. .......

http://foodreference.com/

Isn’t she sweet? She rode first class, she had her own boudoir and four-poster bed. Should we take a moment to pay our respects? (Those of you who know me, know my love of cows.)

Cows make milk (about 400 glasses of milk per day actually), which is used to make cheese! Cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk and buffalo’s milk – there are hundreds of types of cheeses – hard, soft, smoked, flavored, cubed, shredded, melted, French, Swiss, Welch, farmer’s, artesian. Cheese, glorious cheese.

Cheese is organized into four main types:

.....soft (cottage, cream, mozzarella, brie);

.....semi-soft (Colby, Monterey jack, Queso Fresca);

.....semi-hard (cheddar, provolone, gouda); and

.....hard (parmesan, asiago, gruyere).

The moisture content of the cheese affects its texture and defines which category the cheese belongs to.

Great detailed list of each of these types of cheese
Soft Cheeses
Semi-Soft Cheeses
Semi-Hard Cheeses
Hard Cheeses

Making cheese at home can be really quick, easy and very tasty. This recipe is from Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses by Ricki Carroll.

30 Minute Mozzarella [more like 1 hour]
Yields 3/4 to 1 pound

1 1/2 level teaspoons citric acid dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water
1 gallon pasteurized whole milk
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon lipase powder, dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water and allowed to sit for 20 minutes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet (or 1/4 rennet tablet) diluted in 1/4 cup cool water (unchlorinated)
1 teaspoon salt

While stirring add the citric acid solution to the milk at 55° F and mix thoroughly. (If adding lipase, add it now.)

Heat the milk to 88° F over medium/low heat. (The milk will start to curdle.)

Gently stir in the diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion, while heating the milk to between 100 and 105° F. Turn off the heat. The curds should be pulling away from the sides of the pot; they are ready to scoop out.

The curds will look like thick yogurt and have a bit of shine to them, and they whey will be clear. If they whey is still milky white, wait a few more minutes.

Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon and put into a 2-quart microwavable bowl. Press the curds gently with your hands, pouring off as much whey as possible. Reserve the whey.

Microwave the curds on HIGH for 1 minute. Drain off all excess whey. Gently fold the cheese over and over (as in kneading bread) with your hand or a spoon. This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese, which will not stretch until it is too hot to touch (145° F inside the curd).

Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each; add salt to taste after the second time. After each heating, knead again to distribute the heat.

Knead quickly until it is smooth and elastic. When the cheese stretches like taffy, it is done. If the curds break instead of stretch, they are too cool and need to be reheated.

When the cheese is smooth and shiny, roll it into small balls and eat while warm. Or place them in a bowl of ice water to 1/2 hour to bring the inside temperature down rapidly; this will produce a consistent smooth texture throughout the cheese. Although best eaten fresh; if you wait, cover with the reserved whey and store in refrigerator.

Chef Jen’s notes: I was able to find rennet tables in the ice cream topping aisle of the market and both rennet and citric acid can be found in the health food stores (bulk spice aisle). I was unable to find lipase. I know all of these itmes are readily available online. Make sure you have a clean pair of dish washing gloves available, the cheese gets extremely hot and is too hard to handle without them.

For my cream cheese loving fans, here are a few links to making your own cream cheese.

Making Cream Cheese At Home
How To Make Cream Cheese

I have not made cream cheese (but am now inspired to do so) so I cannot authenticate either of these recipes. I think I will soon be making some cream cheese and will post on it when I do.

My next post will be back to spring ingredients, I just could not resist my first love (cheese).

It's So Cheesy, Part 2

I tried to upload this to the original post, but had no luck doing it. So I am adding it as a secondary post so you can see the beauty of this gem.

It's So Cheesy

Several weeks ago I spent a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at my grandparents' farm. My grandmother (amazing woman if I you have not met her or heard about her, but that is a another topic) had a stack of old cooking pamphlets, most circa 1950's. Among them was a fantastic little gem about, in my opinion, the most versatile and yummy food item -- cream cheese. The book was titled "Philly" Dip Party Handbook and you will be shocked to find out, it is full of dip recipes all based on cream cheese!

“Philly” dips can be simple or elegant, depending on the flavor and serving dishes you prefer. We hope these suggestions will add the variety and originality that make your parties truly festive occasions.

In an effort to find out when the book was published, I went online for some research. Unfortunately that was a dead end, several posts about the book but none had a date. I did find that you too could own this book for prices ranging from $1.99 to $22.50. I contacted Kraft food company to find out more information and am still waiting to hear back.

The recipes are all aptly named - Avocado Dip is cream cheese and mashed avocado, Cucumber Dip is cream cheese and grated cucumber. Most recipes have a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce.

I find the most intriguing recipe to be:

Philly Hostess Dip

1 8-oz pkg. Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese
3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Kraft Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Kraft Mustard with added Horseradish
¾ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon paprika

Combine the cream cheese and milk, blending until smooth. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic salt and paprika, and mix well. Serve with corn chips.

Although I may do a few things differently such as, I would substitute sour cream for the milk. The mustard with horseradish is similar to Dijon, so I would add Dijon instead of yellow mustard and may add more horseradish at the end if I thought it needed it. I would substitute a little fresh garlic for the garlic salt (I do not think it would need any more salt with the Worcestershire sauce). I may add some white pepper and garnish with sliced green onions.

According to Kraft, “Cream cheese originated in the United States in 1872 when a dairyman in Chester, New York, developed a 'richer cheese than ever before,' made from cream as well as whole milk. Then in 1880, a New York cheese distributor, A. L. Reynolds, first began distributing cream cheese wrapped in tin-foil wrappers, calling it Philadelphia Brand. The name 'Philadelphia Brand cream cheese' was adopted by Reynolds for the product because at that time, top-quality food products often originated in or were associated with the city, and were often referred to as being ‘Philadelphia quality’.”

And the reason for the blue piece of material inside the package, “We put the blue strip of material inside our 3oz packages of Kraft PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese and Kraft PHILADELPHIA FREE Cream Cheese to help form and wrap the packages at high speeds.”

Some friends and I recently had an interesting debate about cream cheese. It is a versatile ingredient used for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert. We were looking for the food item you would not want to have cream cheese with. Someone suggested pickles, but according to my new Party Handbook, The Philly Dill Dip was pickle juice and chopped pickles so that is out. I would be interested to hear what food item you do not think cream cheese would accompany.

Bon appétit!