July 4th

What a beautiful butt!

Watermelon Chaat

We had our annual July 4^th dinner and viewing. This year the weather really cooperated. It was a warm night and there was no breeze. The viewing of the fireworks was spectacular. They seemed to last longer than usual. Everyone loved it!

The food was a replay of our traditional July 4^th Bar-b-Que. Once again we made Bo Ssam. You can get the recipe on our blog of: May 27, 2016. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made an interesting Pakistani Watermelon Chaat. It was quite flavorful and everyone liked it.

We had Ribs and Brisket from Bludso’s like we do have every year. This time the Brisket was unbelievably tender. Over the next few days I had many wonderful sandwiches for lunch!

We had many additional dishes. Robert and Darrel brought both Dessert and Mac n’ Cheese.

Doshi and Michael also brought contributions.

It was a memorable night!

Watermelon Chaat

New York Times

This recipe for watermelon chaat, a savory fruit salad dressed in toasted cumin and dried mango powder, comes from Malika Ameen, a cookbook author whose Pakistani-American family in Chicago makes infinite variations on fruit chaat in the summer. You could swap out the watermelon for a mix of what's in season, whether it's stone fruit, berries or cubed apple and pear. It's an ideal dish to break the fast during Ramadan, full of flavor and hydrating, and quick to put together.

Ingredients

2       pounds watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes

¾      teaspoon whole cumin seeds

¼      teaspoon sweet paprika

¼      teaspoon finely ground black pepper

¼      teaspoon amchur powder (dried green mango)

Pinch of cayenne pepper (a generous pinch if you like heat)

¼      teaspoon fine sea salt

1       orange, clementine or mandarin, juiced to make approximately 1/3 cup juice

½      teaspoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper

3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

Preparation

1.   Place cubed watermelon in a wide platter with sides or in a large baking or serving dish and spread into a single layer.

2.   In a small pan, toast whole cumin seeds on medium heat for 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove and coarsely grind with a mortar and pestle. (You can also grind in a spice grinder, but be sure not to grind to a fine powder as the coarse grains of the spice add a wonderful texture.)

3.   Transfer cumin to a small bowl and add all remaining spices and salt. Add citrus juice, jalapeño and mint and mix well. Pour dressing over cubed watermelon and mix to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 1 to 6 hours. Serve chilled the same day.

Kung Pao Shirmp

We invited Tom and Scott over for Kung Pao Shirmp. This was another recipe from our new go to cookbook: Lucky Peach. We started with a Nectarine Salad with Speck and Burrata Cheese. The Kung Pao Shrimp was excellent. We purchased them from McCall’s Meat and Fish. I had to shell and devein them but they were beautiful. I liked the recipe (like all of the ones that we have tried from Lucky Peach Cookbook). It was a warm night and we ate outside. Ice Cream and Cookie for dessert, followed by a Scotch. We even had some July 3^rd fireworks to watch.

Kung Pao Shrimp

Lucky Peach

Peter Meehan

Sauce

2T     water

1T     soy sauce

1T     Shaoxing wine

1T     Chinkiang vinegar

1T     sugar

1t      sesame oil

1t      cornstarch

+       pinch of white pepper

Stir-fry

3 T    neutral oil

10     small dried red chilies

1t      Sichuan peppercorns

2t      minced garlic

2t      minced fresh ginger

½      red bell pepper, cut into ½” pieces

½      green bell pepper, cut into ½” pieces

2       celery stalks, cut into 1” pieces

1lb    large shrimp, shelled and deveined

+       kosher salt

2       scallions, cut into 1” pieces

½C    roasted unsalted peanuts

+       cooked rice, for serving

1.   Make the sauce: Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.

2.   Make the stir-fry: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok over high heat Add the chilies and peppercorns and stir-fry until they puff and brown slightly, about 5 seconds. Add the garlic, ginger, and bell peppers arid stir-fry until the peppers are browned in spots and crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture to a plate. Add the celery to the pan and stir-fry until heated through and charred in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the peppers.

3.   Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the wok. Season the shrimp with salt and add to the wok. Stir-fry until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Return the peppers, celery, and spices to the wok. Add the scallions and peanuts and toss to combine everything. Add the sauce and cook, stirring, until it bubbles and thickens. When the sauce is thick and the shrimp are cooked through, remove from the heat Serve with rice.

Rung Pao (or gung bao) dishes are a celebration of texture, a cascade of crunchy, slippery, and crisp that keeps every bite interesting. We've made two tweaks to the classic: We dialed the heat all the way down and swapped out the more common chicken for shrimp. The shrimp substitution we stand by; the chili heat is your call and very easy to ramp up.