Welcome Summer!

Summer was definitely welcomed on June 23rd at Amy's house.  When Amy and I found out we would be hosting the first dinner of the summer, we were giddy beyond delight to prepare a burger and fries kinda meal.  With Cassaundra's nudge to make our club a more healthier fare, turkey burgers and sweet potato fries seemed like the natural thing to do!  (Thank you for the beautiful pictures, Ashley!)

The Decor:   

On the Menu: 

Appetizer: Pomegranate Spritzers, Prosciutto & Cantaloupe Bites

Salad: Tomato & Watermelon Salad

Main: Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers with Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney, Sweet Potato Fries with Sour Cream Dipping Sauce, Grilled Corn

Dessert: Blueberry/Plum Crisp with homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Prosciutto - Cantaloupe Bites

recipe courtesy of ijustlovemyapron.blogspot.com

Yield: 8 skewers

Ingredients:

16 cantaloupe cubes

a package sliced prosciutto

1 lime, juice

2 teaspoons extra virgin love oil

pinch of crushed chili flake

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint

Bamboo skewers

Directions:

• Combine lime juice, olive oil, and chili flake, whisk well. Set aside
• Cut prosciutto in half lengthwise. You will get 2 slices out of 1 slice.
• Wrap one cube with presliced prosciutto and secure it on a skewer one at a time. 2 wrapped cantaloupes per skewer.
• Arrange them on a serving plate and drizzle with oil mixture. 
• Sprinkle finely chopped mint when serving

Pomegranate Lemon Spritzer

1/2 cup sugar

peelings from 1 lemon

1 cup water

4 cups fresh pomegranate juice

sparkling water or club soda

Make simple syrup: mix lemon peel & water and boil in saucepan until lemon rind turns clear. Remove lemon peel & add sugar to water and boil. Set aside & let cool.

When syrup is cool add to pomegranate juice in blender & mix. This can keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

To make Spritzers: add 1/2 cup juice mixture to a cup full of ice & top off with sparkling water. Garnish with lemon wedge.

Fills 8-10 glasses.

Tomato & Watermelon Salad

recipe courtesy epicurious.com

Ingredients: 

3 or 4 small to medium heirloom tomatoes, in assorted colors, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1 small English or regular cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 cup 3/4-inch-cubed yellow or red seedless watermelon flesh

1 Hass avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs, in any combination: basil, tarragon, chives, and cilantro (we used tarragon & chives)

1/4 teaspoon coriander seed

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (we used basil infused olive oil)

3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar (we used cranberry/pear balsamic vinegar)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation: 

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon, avocado, and herbs. In a spice grinder, grind the coriander seeds to a fine powder. Add the ground coriander to the tomato mixture and toss gently.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the tomato mixture and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Mar-a-Lago Turkery Burgers

recipe courtesy of Oprah.com

Servings: Serves 8 (but could easily make 12 smaller burgers)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 4 pounds ground turkey breast (about 2 1/2 packages)
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. Tabasco® chipotle pepper sauce
• 1 lemon , juiced and grated zest
• 1/2 bunch parsley , finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney , pureed

Directions

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.

Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side over medium heat for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked to 165 degrees. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with a side of Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney and your favorite toasted bread, pita or hamburger roll.  (We used rolls from The Ranch)

Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney

Servings: Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 Anjour pear , peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups Major Grey's Chutney
• 1/4 cup dried currants or raisins (we used raisins... currants are hard to find!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Toss the diced pears with the cinnamon and salt. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Cool and mix with the chutney and currants or raisins.

Sweet Potato Fries: we just peeled the sweet potatoes and cut them into thick slices using a crinkle cut cutter.  Then we double fried them using canola oil until they were a golden brown.  

Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

¾ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon lime zest

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well to mix through.

Yield: ¾ cup

Grilled Sweet Corn 

recipe courtesy of the Taste of Home Market Fresh Cookbook
Yield: 8 servings


Ingredients: 
8 large ears sweet corn in husks
6 T butter, softened
1 T minced fresh parsley
1-2 t chili powder
1 t garlic salt
1/2-1 t ground cumin


Preparation: 
1. Carefully peel back husks from corn to within 1 in of bottom; remove silk.  Combine remaining ingredients; spread over corn.  Rewrap corn in husks and secure with kitchen string.  Place in a large kettle; cover with cold water.  Soak for 20 minutes; drain. 
2. Grill corn, covered, over medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until tender, turning often.

Blueberry-Plum Crisp

recipe courtesy Anne Burrell

Serves 4

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 pint blueberries
• 2 large ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into thick slices (we used 3 plums instead of nectarines)
• 1/2 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch kosher salt

Topping:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the filling: Toss the blueberries and nectarines in a large bowl with the lemon zest and juice. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Divide the filling evenly among 4 (6-ounce) ramekins.

For the topping: Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor except the water. Pulse until combined, this will take about 30 seconds. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is clumpy but crumbly.

Top each ramekin with the topping. Be sure to loosely sprinkle the topping and not pack it down. The idea is to look very crumbly and craggy.

Place the ramekins on a sheet tray and bake in the oven until the filling is hot and bubbly and the topping is brown and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes.

Sweeten the mascarpone with the sugar. Onto a small sheet pan or plate, neatly spoon 4 small portions of sweetened mascarpone and chill until ready to serve.

Top each crisp with a quenelle of cold mascarpone. Serve the crisps warm.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

7 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

dash of salt

1 vanilla bean

2 cups half & half

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Whisk egg yolks with sugar & salt in large bowl; set aside. Split vanilla bean lengthwise & scrap out seeds. Combine beans, seeds, half & half & heavy cream in large saucepan. Bring just to simmer. Gradually whisk hot cream into egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan & cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens & coats the back of the spoon (do not let boil). Strain into large bowl & refrigerate until fully chilled. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Makes 1 quart.