It's officially over. Summer is dead. But instead of slipping straight into butternut squash and roasted meat, why not watch Summer die in style? Throw it a wake! Here are some ideas for sending off summer in style:
Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs with Fresh Cucumber Fennel Relish
Could there be anything more satisfying than satiating a crave a good hotdog? And boy, does Sue Moore, the meat forager for Alice Water's Chez Panisse, know how to make a good hotdog! Sue's brainchild is Let's Be Frank, delicious organic hotdogs sold from an adorable cart next to Helms Bakery in Culver City. You can get a dog right there or buy a four pack. The all-beef franks are made from 100% grass-fed beef and natural spices. Like the lady says: "No fillers. No hormones or antibiotics. Dairy Free, Gluten Free, No added Nitrates or Nitrites. No junk." So to compensate for all that "health," I wrapped mine in bacon.
Ultimate Hotdogs:
8 hotdogs
8 slices of bacon
1 maui onion (or yellow) roughly chopped.
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon pepper
Fresh Cucumber Fennel Relish
For the relish:
1 small fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb finely chopped
1 lb seedless cucumbers halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (you don't have to skin them if you choose a cucumber with a delicate skin, such as lemon cucumbers, or persian cucumbers)
4 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Mix it all together and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can make it a day ahead, but it loses some of the bright color.
For a delicious dog:
Sweet white corn is one of the stars of late summer, and luckily, is still in season. This salad pairs well with anything barbequed or grilled.
For 8
12 white corn cobs
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped Thai Basil (this strain of basil is a lovely purple color, with a spicier, less sweet flavor, though mint and basil are lovely substitutes)
3 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce (this is a Thai ingredient that is available in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
Drizzle the olive oil over the corn, rolling the cobbs to completely coat. Then grill for about 5-7 minutes over high heat, getting some nice browning all over. (this can be done on a barbeque, on the stove with a grill pan, or par boil the corn for 3 minutes and finish over a flame on the stove top)
Finely chop the red onion, and squeeze half a lemon over it. This blunts the sharpness of the onion, letting it be spicy without being overpowering. Cut the kernals off of the cobs, and combine the onion and corn in a large bowl. Chop up the basil leaves (I usually make a pile of the leaves, roll them up, slice finely, and then chop over it. This is known as the julianne method and gets a consistent size of basil throughout the dish) and toss through the mixture as well.
In a separate bowl, mix the sweet chili sauce, honey, and remaining lemon. Pour over the corn mixture, tossing to coat. Taste and adjust. Salt and pepper to taste, I use a ton of pepper, just to counter the sweetness, and voila!
Dad's Guacamole
"I usually do this:
6 ripe Haas avocados
1/2 red onion (Mom likes it finely chopped, I prefer it coarser)
1/2+ bunch of cilantro (Mom likes this finely chopped, I prefer it coarsely chopped)
Pico Pica hot sauce--add to taste (I like more, Mom likes less)
salt liberally
cracked pepper
add 1/2 lemon juice--this keeps it green, as well as adding the taste."
Tequila Strawberry Lemonade
This drink is dangerous, with the tequila and lemon adding a pucker to the sweet strawberries, disguising the alcohol almost completely.
Ingredients:
3 pints fresh strawberries (I used the seascape variety for their deep berry flavor)
This drink is dangerous, with the tequila and lemon adding a pucker to the sweet strawberries, disguising the alcohol almost completely.
Ingredients:
3 pints fresh strawberries (I used the seascape variety for their deep berry flavor)
1/2 cup strawberry jam
½ cup sugar
15 lemons (you want about 5 cups lemon juice)
¼ cup Grand Marnier
1 ½ cups Tequila (sounds like a lot, but really, it's only 1 oz for 12 people, also, because it's going in a mixed drink, there's no need to use the fancy stuff. That's for sipping.)
Directions:
Halve the strawberries and cover with the sugar, jam and juice of one lemon. Let macerate overnight. This will create a syrup-like mixture to sweeten the lemonade.
Next day, pour the strawberry mixture into a blender and blitz until pureed. Add 3 cups of the lemon juice and mix again. Taste to assure the sweetness is to your liking. It's best to keep it on the sweet side at this point, because the addition of tequila/grand marnier neutralizes the sugar. But if it feels saccharine, keep adding lemon juice. Add booze and you're good to go!
½ cup sugar
15 lemons (you want about 5 cups lemon juice)
¼ cup Grand Marnier
1 ½ cups Tequila (sounds like a lot, but really, it's only 1 oz for 12 people, also, because it's going in a mixed drink, there's no need to use the fancy stuff. That's for sipping.)
Directions:
Halve the strawberries and cover with the sugar, jam and juice of one lemon. Let macerate overnight. This will create a syrup-like mixture to sweeten the lemonade.
Next day, pour the strawberry mixture into a blender and blitz until pureed. Add 3 cups of the lemon juice and mix again. Taste to assure the sweetness is to your liking. It's best to keep it on the sweet side at this point, because the addition of tequila/grand marnier neutralizes the sugar. But if it feels saccharine, keep adding lemon juice. Add booze and you're good to go!
Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs with Fresh Cucumber Fennel Relish
Could there be anything more satisfying than satiating a crave a good hotdog? And boy, does Sue Moore, the meat forager for Alice Water's Chez Panisse, know how to make a good hotdog! Sue's brainchild is Let's Be Frank, delicious organic hotdogs sold from an adorable cart next to Helms Bakery in Culver City. You can get a dog right there or buy a four pack. The all-beef franks are made from 100% grass-fed beef and natural spices. Like the lady says: "No fillers. No hormones or antibiotics. Dairy Free, Gluten Free, No added Nitrates or Nitrites. No junk." So to compensate for all that "health," I wrapped mine in bacon.
Ultimate Hotdogs:
8 hotdogs
8 slices of bacon
1 maui onion (or yellow) roughly chopped.
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon pepper
Fresh Cucumber Fennel Relish
For the relish:
1 small fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb finely chopped
1 lb seedless cucumbers halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (you don't have to skin them if you choose a cucumber with a delicate skin, such as lemon cucumbers, or persian cucumbers)
4 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Mix it all together and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can make it a day ahead, but it loses some of the bright color.
For a delicious dog:
Wrap a thin slice of bacon around the hotdog and cook on a griddle as usual. In a seperate pan, melt the butter and saute the onion until it loses it's harsh acidic flavor and is just caramelizing. Don't add salt, as this will cause the onions the completely caramelize, turning soft and sweet. Now, this is wonderful for a soup, or maybe a roast beef sandwhich, but for hotdogs I prefer a stronger texture. And be sure to use white buns. I once tried wheat, and while watching it crumble into a soggy mess in my hand, my dad made a good point: "You already wrapped the thing in bacon, why scrimp on the bun?" Indeed, father.
Grilled White corn salad with Thai Basil and Honey Chili Vinagrette
Grilled White corn salad with Thai Basil and Honey Chili Vinagrette
Sweet white corn is one of the stars of late summer, and luckily, is still in season. This salad pairs well with anything barbequed or grilled.
For 8
12 white corn cobs
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped Thai Basil (this strain of basil is a lovely purple color, with a spicier, less sweet flavor, though mint and basil are lovely substitutes)
3 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce (this is a Thai ingredient that is available in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
Drizzle the olive oil over the corn, rolling the cobbs to completely coat. Then grill for about 5-7 minutes over high heat, getting some nice browning all over. (this can be done on a barbeque, on the stove with a grill pan, or par boil the corn for 3 minutes and finish over a flame on the stove top)
Finely chop the red onion, and squeeze half a lemon over it. This blunts the sharpness of the onion, letting it be spicy without being overpowering. Cut the kernals off of the cobs, and combine the onion and corn in a large bowl. Chop up the basil leaves (I usually make a pile of the leaves, roll them up, slice finely, and then chop over it. This is known as the julianne method and gets a consistent size of basil throughout the dish) and toss through the mixture as well.
In a separate bowl, mix the sweet chili sauce, honey, and remaining lemon. Pour over the corn mixture, tossing to coat. Taste and adjust. Salt and pepper to taste, I use a ton of pepper, just to counter the sweetness, and voila!
Dad's Guacamole
My dad wanted me to be very clear: this is Uncle Tracy's recipe. But my dad makes it so often every summer (flecks of green are near-permanent under his fingernails from this), that it's always been "dad's guacamole" in my mind. I am of my dad's school of guacamole thought and prefer lots of cilantro, chunkier red onion, and lots of hot sauce and salt. It doesn't make the guacamole spicy, it just contrasts the bland creaminess of the avocados with a nice smoky, background heat. I asked him to email me the recipe, and I thought the annotations were kind of funny, so I left them in.
"I usually do this:
6 ripe Haas avocados
1/2 red onion (Mom likes it finely chopped, I prefer it coarser)
1/2+ bunch of cilantro (Mom likes this finely chopped, I prefer it coarsely chopped)
Pico Pica hot sauce--add to taste (I like more, Mom likes less)
salt liberally
cracked pepper
add 1/2 lemon juice--this keeps it green, as well as adding the taste."
Halve the avocados and remove the pit. This is done easiest (though not safest) by hitting the sharp edge of your knife into it and pulling back--it usually pops right out. Using a large spoon, remove the creamy content into a large bowl. Then add the onion, cilantro, lemon juice and hot sauce, mixing with a spoon to mash up the avocado. Taste and adjust. Add the salt and pepper liberally, taste and adjust again. Enjoy!
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