We’re in full-on summer here in NYC and it’s blatantly obvious lately. It’s almost-brutally hot every day and night, extra-humid every time there’s a quick thunderstorm, and everyone and their brother is always throwing a BBQ for any (or no) reason.

On Monday, to celebrate Independence Day, my friend Kimberly threw a BBQ in her backyard. She’s got one of the most impressive outdoor spaces I’ve seen yet in the city, big enough to fit 30 people! We ate everything from staples like hot dogs and burgers to totally-not-traditional rice balls, and it was all really really good. My contribution? This Fingerling Potato Salad from the July 2011 issue for Bon Appetit. Step-by-step photos and the recipe after the jump!

Every time I get the itch to make potato salad I look for a new recipe to try. Maybe one day I’ll settle on “my” potato salad, but that hasn’t happened yet, I’m still auditioning potential candidates!

Like almost every potato salad recipe, this one calls for boiling the potatoes first. In the instructions it actually says to cut the potatoes and then boil them, but I always boil them whole and cut them later so I didn’t even realize the recipe said to do otherwise. The reason I always boil them whole is because I’ve found that boiling sliced (or peeled) potatoes makes the potato take up a bunch of water and leads to a soggy finished product. I’m not sure if that’s really true or if it’s all in my head, but I’m planning to do a semi-scientific test in the near future to see if my gut is right on this one . . .

But anyway, back to the potato salad.

I set the potatoes to boil and moved on to the rest of the prep work:

How beautiful are these freshly-washed leeks? I love them! The picture kind of takes my breath away, and really makes me thankful for the natural sunlight in my new apartment. Looking at these leeks again is making me want to go out and get some more to roast.

But again, I digress . . . these leeks were quickly broken down:

And while the potatoes kept working on the back burner, I started toasting the mustard seeds:

When you’re toasting spices in a pan, it’s important to take them off the heat as soon as they get aromatic. For mustard seeds, which don’t really have much of a scent, take them off the minute you see/hear the first one pop. They’ll keep popping even after you’ve taken the pan off the heat!

After moving the oil and seeds into a bowl, I added more oil and started sauteing the leeks:

If I had more patience, I would have done the leeks in batches as my frying pan was not large enough to accommodate all of them without crowding them, which leads to steaming rather than sauteing . . . but I decided that it was good enough for this salad and tried not to feel lazy about it as I stirred the leeks and kept checking on the potatoes, which still weren’t done by this point.

Once the leeks were just-soft, I turned the heat off and turned to the dishes while I waited for the potatoes to be done. When they finally were, I drained them, waited a few minutes for them to cool off a bit, and then started to break them down:

The secret to cutting cooked potatoes is little-to-no downward pressure. If you push down with the knife, the skin will pop off and the potato won’t slice neatly. If you use your knife the way you would to slice fish, you’ll get a nice smooth cut on the potatoes. Wiping the knife off reguarly (just like you would if you were breaking down fish!) helps too.

In the end, you have a bowl full of cut up potatoes:

And then it’s just toss toss toss, season season season, and you’re done!

The resulting potato salad was subtly-flavored yet interesting. Because it has no mayo, it’s a much drier potato salad than is traditional. Feel free to up the mustard/vinegar amount at the end to make it more tangy if that’s what you prefer! To be honest, that’s what I prefer, but I kept it as-is for the sake of following the recipe the first time (I usually don’t change too much the first time I make a recipe, otherwise I can’t trust the result to tell me whether to try the recipe again or not!). As written, the recipe produces a mellow potato salad that most people will love. Everyone who tried it at the BBQ said they loved it!

Fingerling Potato Salad
Modified from Fingerling Potato Salad, Bon Appetit July 2011

• 3. pounds fingerling potatoes, washed & unpeeled
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 9 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4″ slices
• 1 tbsp (or more to taste) apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, making sure there is enough water to cover the potatoes by a few inches. Add 1 tbsp salt and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. (You can test if they’re ready by spearing one with a fork, it should be easy to spear)

While potatoes are working, heat 3 tbsp oil in pan and toast mustard seeds over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you hear the first one pop. Remove from heat and transfer oil/mustard mix to a bowl to wait.

Add 2 tbsp oil and leeks to the pan. Add salt and cook over medium heat until just softened, about 10 minutes.

When potatoes are ready, drain them and let them cool off a bit. Then using a sharp knife, cut them into pieces about 3/4″ in size.

To assemble salad:

Add remaining oil plus the vinegar, Dijon mustard, and 1 tbsp water to the mustard seed mixture and wisk to combine. Toss potatoes and olives in the dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

I used to think that I disliked coleslaw that had a lot of mayo in it but then I accidentally put too much in a batch and found that I didn’t mind at all! I already knew that the slaws I like are the tangy or vinegary kind, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that I didn’t like in the “bad” ones. I recently figured it out: sugar! Most coleslaw has some sugar in it but some recipes overdo the sugar and then it’s all I can taste when I take a bite. Given this newfound revelation I set out to make a batch that had no added sugar at all and was bright, summery, and a bit spicy. I present you with my (mildly) Spicy Chipotle Coleslaw! Enjoy!

In this recipe there is no added sugar at all but the addition of raw fresh corn gives a bit of sweetness (and extra crunch!) to the overall slaw. If you want to make it spicier I suggest adding other spicy elements instead of upping the chipotle powder, as any more than what I’ve included in this recipe will just give you heat without added flavor. Instead, try adding one finely chopped serrano pepper (seeds removed) or a splash of the liquid from pickled jalapenos if you have that on hand.

Slaws like these keep in the fridge for ages, but the fresh corn in this one means it has a slightly shorter shelf life. So maybe only a week or two instead of “ages” . . .

Spicy Chipotle Coleslaw
Makes enough to bring to a potluck or picnic!

• 1 head green cabbage (approx 2 pounds)
• 1.5 cups light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup deli mustard
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro or mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
• corn kernels from 3 ears of fresh corn

Cut the cabbage in half and remove the cores. Slice cabbage the long way into about 1/4″ thick slices. Put the chopped cabbage in a large bowl.

In another bowl, mix together all the remaining ingredients except for the corn. Toss the cabbage with the dressing until it’s well coated. I find that it’s easiest to mix with your hands! Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Top with corn and mix the corn in as you eat the slaw.

Tip: Don’t dump all the dressing onto the cabbage at once as you may not need it all. Instead, work about half the dressing in first and then taste, and keep adding more dressing until you’re happy with the mix.

The asparagus this year is so gorgeous it practically breaks my heart. When I tell you I’ve been eating asparagus several times a week for the last few weeks I’m not exaggerating! My favorite way to eat it is simply roasted with some olive oil and pepper . . . but I recently came across the idea of shaving it into thin strips and tossing it for a bright salad and I knew I had to give it a try. This refreshing, spring-like salad would be a perfect side to go along with a strong protein like duck or lamb, but it would also go well served next to a pile of simply-garnished pasta. Me? I made a pile big enough to serve as my whole dinner and drank a beer “on the side.” Works for me.

I found that the easiest way to shave the asparagus was to lay each stalk flat on a chopping board and then run the veggie peeler across the stalk. To avoid injury, use your other hand to hold the end of the stalk that’s closer to you and run the peeler away from you. Use your imagination to figure out how I figured that one out . . .

Raw Asparagus Salad with Peccorino and Pine Nuts
This recipe is for a side salad portion for one

• 4 oz asparagus, shaved into thin slices
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful of pine nuts
• shaved Peccorino
• Juice from half a lemon

Toss all the ingredients except the lemon juice together. Squeeze lemon juice over the top just before eating.

Last week Serious Eats asked a good question: What do you eat when you’re alone?

I have to say that my eating habits totally changed when I stopped eating by myself. BB (Before Boyfriend), I regularly ate potato chips, mozzarella cheese, and diet coke for dinner . . . or just a microwave-baked potato with butter and salt and pepper. Now AB (After Boyfriend, which really should be AH for After Husband now), it’s rare that I have such an incredibly unbalanced meal anymore, because Adam likes to eat a “real dinner” every night.

In general I think I eat better now than I did when I was single, but I do sometimes miss my completely-illogical dinners. Last week when Adam had an evening appointment, I took advantage to eat the “dinner” you see above: Tomato and onion salad with capers, plus a lemonade. This would have been OK as a side dish if Adam had been home, but on a night when I was eating alone? This was my entire dinner! (but don’t worry, there was more of it than you see in this picture!)

This incredibly simple salad is the type of salad I grew up on. I can’t have tomatoes, onions, and lemon without thinking fondly of my father — we had this salad more often than any other! Is it weird to have fond memories of a salad? If it is, well, then I’m weird (huge shock, I’m sure). I’ve always loved the tangy liquid that collects at the bottom of tomato-based salads. And even though I rarely have these salads anymore, eating this last week reminded me of just how good it is! I literally drank the liquid from the bottom of the bowl after I’d eaten all the tomatoes and onions. And no, I’m not ashamed to admit it! Besides, we already established two sentences ago that I’m weird . . .

I think what makes the liquid so tart-delicious is that it still tastes like tomato in addition to the lemon/onion/salt/pepper. The salt makes the tomatoes release their juices, so if you let this salad sit for a few minutes before you start eating, there’ll be even more “juice” to savor once you get to the bottom. And please, do like I do: throw all dignity out the window and drink that stuff up! You’ll be glad you did.

Tomato and Onion Salad with Capers

• 4 medium tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (don’t chop them too small!)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• The juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons un-rinsed capers, plus a dash of the brine
• Spash of extra virgin olive oil

Assembly couldn’t be easier: Mix everything up and add salt & pepper to taste. Then stick the salad in the fridge for about 5 minutes before you dig in.

Note to onion-haters:

The onion is critical in this and shouldn’t be substituted, but I understand that some people really don’t like them raw. Have you tried soaking raw onions in a bit of water for 15 minutes and then trying them? Soaking them takes a lot of the bite out but leaves a nice flavor behind. Especially in the case of red onions, whose flavor is milder than white onions, I definitely think it’s at least worth trying before you dismiss it with an instinctive “Yuck! Onions!” reaction.

I’m really curious to find out what onion-haters think if they try it, so please leave a comment if you decide to give it a shot!

I intended to use this salad as a Meatless Monday post but didn’t quite make the cutoff, sorry!

I came across this salad in a recent issue of Martha Stewart living and it got stuck in my brain, reminding me every so often of how weirdly appealing it sounded. Roasted broccoli is strange enough in a salad already, but pairing it with cooked chickpeas, goat cheese, and nuts? Downright odd! And downright delicious.

Read on for more on my twist to Martha’s Composed Salad of Roasted Broccoli, Romaine, Chickpeas and Walnuts.

Right off the bat, I have to warn you that this salad is no quick meal! Each element requires some preparation and you end up with multiple dirty pots/pans/dishes. Frankly it’s so much work that I know I won’t be making it again on a weeknight, but I do think it’s worth making because it’s so unique and tasty.

With the intent of saving myself some time, I roasted the garlic and the pecans at the same time in the oven, leaving the broccoli a bit longer than the pecans. This part was really easy, you just toss the broccoli with some oil and salt & pepper and pop it right in the oven:

When it comes out the edges are browned and the stalks are fork-tender. After eating broccoli this way, I may never cook it any other way again!

The recipe calls for candied walnuts, not pecans, but I had pecans on hand so I used those. Before going into the oven:

And ready to eat:

These came out so good I plan to make them for a snack at our next get-together! We could NOT stop sampling these while we were getting dinner together. They were just the perfect blend of sweet and flavorful, and of course it helps that pecans are my favorite nuts! A definite keeper of a recipe.

So, if you’re counting, that was already 2 preparations for 2 salad ingredients. Next came the chickpeas, which were done in a frying pan:

I deviated from the recipe the most for these chickpeas: I used garlic instead of shallots and balsamic vinegar instead of sherry vinegar, for (again) no better reason than that’s what I had on hand. The balsamic may have made the chickpeas come out a bit darker than they were meant to be, but the flavor was very nice so we didn’t mind! When I saw that the recipe called for sherry vinegar I intended to go out and buy it, but then I realized I’d be adding the 5th bottle of vinegar to my stash and decided I could make do with the balsamic. You certainly can too in a pinch, the sherry and balsamic have similar properties and can be substituted without too much worry. I do wonder how this would have tasted with sherry vinegar though . . .

The next two steps (yes, there are two more!) were to make the vinaigrette, which was quick and easy, and the goat cheese puree, which took just a few minutes in the food processor but added 3 items to the dirty dishes pile . . . after all these different components were done, we got to eat!

I tried my best at setting this salad up as a “composed” salad the way Martha did in the magazine but I think my food styling leaves a lot to be desired. That and I don’t have the right dishes for the side items, so I used teacups! I had originally intended to toss the salad like a traditional one, but when I saw how varied the ingredients tasted I decided that it was better done as a self-serve sort of thing. It turned out that I wanted way more pecans and Adam wanted more goat cheese puree, so the “composed salad” thing came in very handy! Sort of like a salad buffet if you will.

Oh, and I doubled the amount of broccoli and increased the chickpeas by 50%, yielding enough salad for one dinner for two and leftovers for one the next day. If anything, the broccoli and chickpeas tasted better the next day, not worse! Good to know if you are going to go through all the trouble to make this one . . .

As you’ve probably noticed by now, I really love salads that can stand their ground as a complete dinner. When I saw this recipe for Skirt Steak and Horseradish Potato Salad in the August issue of Bon Appetit, I immediately added it to the must-try list (this issue’s must try post is coming shortly!). After all, what’s not to love? Skirt steak’s my favorite cut of meat and super-easy to cook, potatoes are my all-time-favorite food, and we’ll both take any excuse to eat more horseradish!

The best part of this salad? It was delicious and so easy was to put together.

First step in this recipe is making the horseradish dressing:

Every single time I make a fresh dressing for a salad I marvel at how much better made-from-scratch dressing is compared to bottled. We didn’t eat many salads growing up (Latin family = lots of rice and fried stuff, very little salad!) but when we did it was either dressed with just oil and vinegar or lemon, or we had dressing out of a bottle. Now don’t get me wrong, I like bottled dressing just fine and still eat it, but there is no comparing it to the fresh stuff. No matter which recipe I try, I’m continuously amazed at how good the dressing tastes!

Some dressings have been more successful than others, though. This particular dressing calls for a lot of shallots to be mixed in:

And I mean a lot. 2 cups worth!

I don’t know if my shallots were particularly spicy or what, but I used less than called for and it was still too much for us! Next time I’ll cut the shallot amount in half, which I think will be exactly right for us. This is one of the few recipes I’ve come across that actually gives a standard measurement for the amount of shallots, so I can’t even blame this problem on a non-standard measurement! Which you probably already know is one of my peeves when it comes to recipes . . .

Anyway after the dressing was mixed, the next thing I did was set the potatoes to steam:

While they steamed, I heated my grill pan with some oil and started the steaks:

If you sometimes cook meat on the stove top and don’t own one of these yet, run, don’t walk, to get one! The one I own is similar to this inexpensive grill pan from Calphalon, and it’s definitely a contender for one of my favorite cooking tools. I don’t use it that often since I don’t cook meat that much, but it’s totally worth it for the gorgeous way it cooks steaks.

Just look at those “grill” marks!

As you probably know the secret to getting nice marks like these is to not touch the meat. Just plop it down and let it sit there for 3-4 minutes, then flip it once and let it sit again for 3-4 minutes. It’s so hard to do this because you really want to peek and poke and prod. I know, I get it, I do too! But trust me, don’t do it. Be patient and wait to flip it, you’ll be glad you did!

After you take the steaks off the heat, you definitely need to let them rest. I think mine would have benefited from a slightly longer rest given how much came out of them when I sliced them up, but I was hungry! I think these rested for about 5 minutes before I cut them, but maybe it should have been more like 10 minutes.

During that 5 minute rest I quickly tossed the potatoes and tomatoes with the dressing:

It was at this point that I realized I hadn’t bought the snap peas called for in the recipe! By this point it was much too late to run out and buy them (remember, I was hungry!) so I decided to just do without. I think they really do add something both visually and nutritionally to this recipe though, so I definitely encourage you to include them if you try this!

We ate this salad with all the ingredients (well except for the watercress) still warm, and it was absolutely delicious. It’s a bit weird to think of a warm potato salad, but in this particular case I think it is better warm than it would have been cold or even at room temperature.

The classic combination of steak and horseradish was wonderful as always, and the creamy potatoes covered in dressing went with them perfectly. The nice juicy tomatoes were a great fresh counterpoint to the richness of everything else (as the peas would have been, too!). Like I said, the only thing I would change next time is the amount of shallots — we found them overwhelming and ended up picking around them after the first few bites!

Part 2 of Fast Times in Elissa’s Kitchen also works well with the Meatless Monday theme!  The combination of Feta cheese and fresh tomatoes is one of my favorites.  My wonderful boyfriend Tom loves it on top of pizza.  Here is a much healthier option – make it a salad.

Start off with some fresh tomatoes.  I picked Campari, because they’re not as tart as grape tomatoes and they’re not as juicy as beefsteaks.  Given that it’s July and pretty much tomato season, these were especially delicious.  Don’t they look gorgeous?

Campari tomatoes - sweet, juicy, bright, and delicious!

I cut my Camparis into fourths, because they’re definitely more than a mouthful.   This seriously takes only about 5 minutes to make and it’s so tasty and a bit refreshing.  Here is the recipe (if you need one).

Feta tomato salad

• 1 package of Campari tomatoes (about ten)
• 1/3 of a cup of chopped red onion
• 1/4 of a cup of crumbled Feta cheese
• a splash of vinegar – Balsamic, red raspberry, red wine work really well.  I used red wine.
• a splash of olive oil
• salt and pepper

Cut the tomatoes into fourths, then add the onion and Feta cheese.  Mix well with the vinegar and oil and top with some salt and pepper.  Done!

This was a part of my lamb and zucchini with minted chimichurri dinner and it was a nice, garlic-free side to the dinner. The dinner overall was fantastic.  It was healthy, light, and delicious.  And of course, it was fast.

In going with my theme for this dinner, here are some tips to help speed things up in the kitchen:

1. If you’re going to do a lot of chopping, just use a food processor, especially if the precision of the chop doesn’t matter.  Even though you’ll have three more things to clean at the end of the dinner, it’s still a time saver.
2. Get your marinades done first, so while your food is marinading, you can do other productive things such as make a Feta tomato salad or minted chimichurri sauce.
3. Set a realistic goal for when you want to eat.  I know that may sound kind of silly, but setting a time goal can make a huge difference in kitchen time management.
4. Sharpen your knives before you start cooking.  A dull knife not only slows you down, but it’s also dangerous.
5. Clear out the clutter from your cooking area before you start cooking.  This allows you to organize all your ingredients and tools on the counter/table/island within reach of your cooking/prep space.  In fact, go over to your kitchen right now and clear the clutter that you can get rid of now.  You’ll feel great!

Those are just some tips for faster times in my kitchen.  Anyone else have any good time saving tips?

This week’s CSA share brought some surprises! See the two little round zucchinis in the lower left-hand corner? They were so cute I almost didn’t want to eat them! I was also happy to see broccoli and beets in this week’s share, in addition to the usual salad ingredients . . . but was confused by the purslane and verdolaga we also got this week. I had no idea what I should do with purslane and verdolaga, and would really appreciate some suggestions!

The beets, on the other hand? I knew exactly what I wanted to make with them: Roasted beets and goat cheese salad from the New York Times article!

What sets this recipe apart from other beet-and-goat-cheese salads is that it calls for cubing the beets before cooking instead of after. I’d never even considered doing that before, but it’s completely brilliant because it shortens the cooking/cooling time and as an added bonus, doesn’t result in stained hands from handling cooked beets.

For my salad I used the dressing from this recipe and the same cheese (in addition to the beets), but I changed everything else. Instead of pistachios, I used toasted pecans because I had them on hand. And I changed the lettuce to red leaf lettuce, again because that’s what I had (from the share). The salad came out delicious and is definitely  up there with one of the most successful salads I’ve ever made.

And now that I know this beet trick, I may never roast beets whole again!

Hello everyone!  My name is Elissa and I’m also a chef’s daughter.  My mother ran her own Chinese restaurant and catering business for 15 years.  I’m also a chef’s granddaughter. My grandfather was a chef who owned restaurants in Vietnam, Laos, and the US.  It’s kind of a dream of mine to one day open my own food business too.  However, right now I just cook at home and now I’m going to start blogging about it with Ivete!

Like Ivete, I also have a small Manhattan kitchen, but I make do with what I have.   I love to cook, having grown up working in my Mom’s restaurant and also just watching her cook almost every night.  She inspires me to do the same.   I try to cook every night as well.  It’s not only fun for me, but it’s a home-cooked meal nice reward at the end of the day.   I don’t know if I’m going to post that often, but I’ll try.

So, for my first post, this is a somewhat typical meal that I would cook.  I’m Chinese and and as a result, the foods I cook have a lot of Asian influence to them.  However, my favorite things to cook are all based on the season and what’s fresh.  Tonight, I’ve cooked up a Thai-influenced dinner.  I made spicy pork tenderloin, salad (kind of like larb, but not really), and sauteed clams.   This took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to make.

I’m going to get my salad ready first.  The salad is based off of Larb, which is a Thai/Laotian salad that usually has lemongrass, mint, and cilantro in it.  I don’t have all of those ingredients in my apartment, so I’m going to wing it a bit.  To start, I take about a pound of ground chicken and seasoned it with some salt, white pepper, and a dash of fish sauce.  I’m cooking this first so the chicken can cool before it gets tossed with the salad greens.

I don’t have any mint or cilantro, but I do have some delicious Thai basil!   Thai basil has slight spicy kick to it compared to Italian basil.  You can easily tell the difference because Thai basil has red stems.  So, as my chicken browns, I’m cutting up the rest of my ingredients and tossing it in my big Halloween candy bowl that doubles as a salad bowl.

After chopping tossing all of my dry ingredients and adding the chicken, I’ve sliced up some limes and squeezed the juice all over the salad.  Adding a little more fish sauce and olive oil, my salad is done!

This being my first post, I realize I probably shouldn’t post all three courses of the meal here, so I’ll save the spicy pork tenderloin and the clams for another day.

Larb-like Thai salad

• 1 pound of ground chicken (or pork)
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
• white pepper and salt
• 2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, deseeded and chopped
• half an onion, chopped
• a large handful (maybe a cup) of Thai basil leaves, torn
• three scallions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar or a packet of Splenda
• 1 lime

Saute the chicken and mix in with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and some white pepper and salt.  Drain and set aside to cool after it’s cooked.

Combine the rest of the dry ingredients in a large salad bowl (or Halloween candy bowl, if you’re me).

After the chicken has cooled, add it to the salad bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the fish sauce, olive oil, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and the juice of one lime.

Toss with the salad.

Looking for something unusual to bring to the 4th of July picnic this year? Well look no further!

There’s no getting around the fact that this salad sounds downright weird, but after you take the first bite you’ll be really glad you took the risk! This recipe is one of many I liked from this month’s particularly-good issue of Food and Wine magazine. When I saw this Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint I immediately knew I had to try it to see if these  ingredients really work together, and I’m happy to tell you that both Adam and I absolutely loved it. It will probably freak out a few of your relatives when they first see it though!

The photo in the magazine presents the salad beautifully by scooping the watermelon into balls with a melon baller. Were I taking this to a party, I would definitely do the scoops too! But for dinner at home, cubes were much faster and easier so that’s what I went with. Watermelons always scream SUMMER! to me, so I was excited to be biting into my first watermelon of the season on a nice sunny day (very welcome after 30 days of rain!). Summer’s here, folks!

We’ve only just started getting watermelon in the stores in New York and as one would expect from any start-of-season fruit, they’re really not that good yet. In my opinion, it would be a shame to use really-good watermelon for something like this salad. The only right way to eat a great watermelon is outdoors, biting into simple wedges and spitting the seeds out on the grass at your feet. Growing up we spent lots of time at our farm in Brazil, where watermelons grew in our orchard; On a crazy-hot Brazilian summer day, nothing beats sitting in the orchard competing to see who can spit out watermelon seeds the farthest! I’d take a strawberry over a watermelon any day, but my sister and dad are huge watermelon fans so I always think of them when I eat it.

And I’ve certainly never eaten it like this before! The recipe feeds 12 but I made it for 2 by using only about a pound of watermelon and about 1/5th of the other ingredients. This dressing is particularly awesome and I’ll certainly be using it in the future on other salads. I love that dash of Tabasco in there!

Oh, and the recipe says that olives are optional but don’t believe them! Unless you, like, hate olives (which I can’t even imagine honestly), you need to use them. The salty brine of the olives perfectly balances everything else and made for a veritable party in my mouth every time I got one in a forkful. All the ingredients work together to make a salad that tastes like more than just a sum of its parts, and that’s the mark of a great salad if you ask me!