How is your summer progressing? Have you gone to the library and gotten a stack of books? Have you gone to the beach and raced across the oven-hot sand to the edge of the cool, lapping waves? Have you skimmed any rocks? Have you hiked any local trails? Have you caught any fireflies in an old Hellmann’s mayo jar? What are you waiting for? It is going to be rainy damp old fall any minute. In a flash you will be carving out slimy pumpkin seeds and then hauling the Christmas tree down to the curb. Get cracking!
Everything is so very pleasing and tasty this time of summer. Though we are having the occasional thunderstorm, and it has been awfully hot; the corn is sweet. The watermelon is delicious crunchy sugar water. The burrata is slick and engagingly fresh and creamy. My basil farm is burgeoning: bursting with fragrant fat green leaves. (Although one planter was recently attacked by caterpillars! Obviously they did not note the deadly battle I just waged with an upstart family of yellow caterpillars trying to take over the morning glories! Game of Thrones is coming in handy for garden metaphors, I must say… Hand me my vorpal blade! Now pass me the soapy water!)
And as light-hearted and carefree as we might feel, running around in shorts and flip flops, dinnertime rears its ugly head with predictable regularity. Although we adults could be happy working our way through a watermelon and handfuls of salty peanuts, we have to feed the young ‘uns again. They are here for a boll weevil visit – eating us out of house and home.
This is a tasty and practically effortless salad idea: everything is raw except for a little something in the way of protein, just to make it a proper dinner. You can sautée or grill chicken or shrimp, in just a few fleeting summer minutes. It will not compromise your No Cooking Summer Commandments. My pescatarian will do something with tofu or tempeh, but I cannot bear to consider those options. I avert my gaze and pour more Chardonnay. The Tall One will merely heap and re-heap servings in his yawning dish.
I think Best Beloved is wise to my sneaky delegating ways, so this time I tossed the chicken with basil and garlic in a frying pan on the stove, before sliding it on top of our salads. I did not try to foist the cooking responsibilities on him this time. He did look askance at the raw corn, but after one bite he was converted to my lazy summer techniques. Sitting out back, enjoying the cooling illusion of the furtive breeze, we ate contently. The mosquitoes were held at bay for once, so we weren’t even swatting at our ankles. And then there were the fireflies. Glow-in-the-dark bliss.
Pan-sautéed Chicken with Watermelon, Basil, Corn and Burrata
Cooking for two – if you have more people do the math – easy peasy
1 boneless chicken breast, cubed
Olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 clove garlic, smashed to smithereens with the garlic press
Handful of torn, freshly picked basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Kernels from 2 ears of corn (Best Beloved prefers Silver Queen)
An eyeballed splash of balsamic vinegar
2 cups cubed watermelon
1 ball of burrata, divided in 2
Toss chicken with oil, garlic and half of the basil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss corn with vinegar and the rest of the basil and oil. Add watermelon and season with salt.
Sautée chicken over medium-high heat until done and lightly browned on the edges. Drain on paper towels. Season burrata with salt, drizzle with oil and serve. Add candles. Romance! Chilled white wine. Of course!
The kitchen god also known as Mark Bittman has studied the watermelon proposition and has devised any number of ways to serve it: sliced, diced, puréed, whipped, gratinéed or as cocktails. Yum
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/21/magazine/watermelon-recipes.html?_r=0
Food52 also has some clever ideas for boozy watermelon approaches. You should try this fine concoction. After all, it is a summer weekend, and you can sleep late tomorrow. I also have some rosemary growing out back if you need to borrow some. No caterpillars in that planter!
https://food52.com/recipes/13319-boozy-watermelon-rosemary-lemonade
Mark Twain on watermelon: “It is the chief of this world’s luxuries, king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took; we know it because she repented.”
Pudd’nHead Wilson
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BobHallsr says
Here is a nice easy chicken dinner that is ready to eat after two glasses of wine.
What is this? It’s a term that probably originated in 18th century Ireland. It means “to butterfly”. It involves removing the backbone from the chicken so you can open it up and press it flat. The purpose of spatchcocking is to cook the food faster, and to increase the flavor by exposing all of the outside the inside to intense heat. This method will also keep the meat moist.
2 Cornish hens or 1 small fryer
olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Cut the backbone off the chicken with kitchen shears and spread it out into one piece. Rub it with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag on top of a heavy wooden carving board and pound the chicken with a mallet or a meat pounder until the chicken is flat, but still in one piece.
During the warm season, grill the chicken , each side, over the hottest fire you can muster on your gas or charcoal grill. Keep the chicken flat by topping it with a foil wrapped brick (al matotne). The skin should be dark brown when finished. Inside, cook each side on the stove in a very hot cast iron pan or a stovetop grill and add a foil wrapped brick or another heavy weight on top. The secret is to maintain complete contact of the chicken with the heat.
There are several variations to this recipe according to your taste and the season. Herbs, spices or sauces will accentuate their flavors if you add them before pounding the chicken flat.
1. Fresh summer herbs; any combination of tarragon, summer savory, dill, basil, culinary lavender, mint or sweet marjoram.
2. Minced garlic and grated lemon skin
3. Prepared spice rubs, or make your own, with any mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, paprika, cumin, chili powder, mustard, dried herbs.
4. Pesto, or any other prepared sauce or paste slipped under the skin.
Serve the chicken with a potato salad, sliced fresh tomatoes, and a Viognier or a heady white Alsatian wine.
*Italian Version: Start with a 3½ – 4 pound chicken. Make a thick marinade of garlic, chopped rosemary & sage, and hot pepper flakes. Add just enough lemen juice and olive oil to make a paste. Rub all over the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator 6-8 hours. Serve with a pesto pasta salad (using radiatore/quadrefiore, rotini or, fusilli, oracchiette, cavatelli, or conchiglie), and tomato caprese. Try a spanish albarino or a light pink rose from Provence.