5 Cooling Watermelon Drinks 4 Summer

Instructions on how to carve a watermelon Birthday Cake

From Denny: Did you know that America ranks as number four in production of watermelons? Bet you didn't know that important factoid. Now you are ready when you see the Trivia Crowd coming your way. You are sure to impress.

Some more fun facts about watermelons from the site National Watermelon Production Board:

* About 200-300 varieties are grown in the U.S. and Mexico
* 50 varieties are very popular
* The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
* Watermelon is 92% water
* Early explorers used watermelons as canteens
* In 1990, Bill Carson of Arrington, TN grew the largest watermelon at 262 pounds (1998 ed. Guinness Book of World Records)

Today - and this past week - the temperatures have been riding high in the 90's, near 100 degrees, making everyone miserable. One sure way to help cool off in this heat is with fresh fruit like watermelon.

Seedless watermelons now make up 60 percent of the crop as they are highly favored among consumers at the grocery store. And don't worry if you prefer not to buy a large melon. You can do like I did this weekend and just purchase a large slice of your favorite watermelon. Sometimes, you just want to enjoy watermelon for a few days not an entire month! :) I like to buy the wedges because I can see how ripe the watermelon is and check out the seed level, if any.

Take a look at these wonderful recipes from the National Watermelon Production Board. They sure have been busy on their site figuring out how to entice people to enjoy their product.

Watermelon Pomegranate Green Tea

From: National Watermelon Promotion Board

Makes: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups watermelon purée
2 cups pomegranate juice
4 cups strong prepared and chilled green tea
1 cup white grape juice
Ice for serving

Directions:

Mix ingredients together in a large container (except ice) and chill well. Stir before serving and serve over ice.

Frozen Watermelon Blackberry Margaritas With Cilantro and Vanilla

From: National Watermelon Promotion Board

Makes: 3 to 4 drinks

Ingredients:

1 cup chilled watermelon purée
1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries
1 tsp. fresh cilantro leaves
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Juice from 1 or 2 fresh limes
1/2 cup chilled tequila or to taste
1 tbl. Triple Sec
2 to 3 cups crushed ice

Directions:

Blend first seven ingredients together until smooth. Add ice and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Note: Rim glasses with sea salt or raw sugar.

Watermelon, Pineapple and Peach Smoothies

From: National Watermelon Promotion Board

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped, seedless watermelon
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
2 cups peach yogurt
Dash of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Blend ingredients together in a blender until smooth and serve immediately.

Watermelon and Grapefruit Shooters

From: National Watermelon Production Board

Serves: Makes about 12 shooters

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
4 ounces strawberry flavored gelatin mix
1 1/2 cups watermelon puree
1 cup pink grapefruit juice
1 1/2 cups Tequila

Directions:

Bring one half cup water to a boil. Place the gelatin in a heatproof container with a spout and pour the water into the gelatin and stir to dissolve. Combine the dissolved gelatin and the watermelon puree. Divide the watermelon mixture among 12 shot glasses or small juice glasses. Cool until thick but not set. Top each glass with the grapefruit juice and tequila.





Pink Watermelon Chardonnay Sparklers

From: National Watermelon Promotion Board

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1/3 glass watermelon purée, chilled
1/3 glass chardonnay, chilled
1/3 glass sparkling water, chilled
1 watermelon ball

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a wine glass and serve immediately.


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Awesome Layered Venison with Bacon, Foie Gras, Apple Fries in Cognac Cream, Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction

From Denny: Louisiana is known as the Sportsman's Paradise. No wonder the food here is so good! Both hunters and fishermen are known as wonderful cooks here; just the average guy cooks well.

This week was a cause for food celebration and those who love to dine well. There was a cooking competition at the American Culinary Federation of Greater Baton Rouge’s 25th annual Culinary Classic and these folks pulled out all the stops on the fancy tasty food.

Today's recipe took the Best in Show top honors for the happy cash prize of $3,000. Scott McCue was the winner; he is the executive sous chef at Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton, Louisiana. He is a native of Arizona and has been working at the casino for thirteen years now. McCue says he "researches trends, tries different sauces and thinks about ingredient combinations in creating new dishes year-round. Competition focuses the effort, and it’s fun as well as challenging.”

Whether you have a hunter in your family or just want to try your hand at cooking low-fat high mineral dense venison this fall this is a gorgeous recipe to try. All of these layer recipes are simple and quick to make. This would make a beautiful Sunday dinner for guests or family.

You could also try this with a good cut of pork chop too. And, if you and your family is like mine and don't care for liver dishes, skip the liver (foie gras) as it would be awesome without it too, reducing the expense of the meal. After all, this was created for a showy competition. Enjoy!

***

Bacon Larded Venison Tenderloin Layered With:

* Seared Foie Gras
* Granny Smith Apple Fries in a Cognac Cream Sauce
* Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction


From: Scott McCue, Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton

Serves: 10

Venison

Ingredients:

10 (6-oz.) venison filets
5 each strips of bacon, frozen and cut into ø–inch strips, 2 inches long
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Use a thin wire to make incisions into the venison large enough to push the frozen bacon strips through, push 6 to 8 pieces of bacon into each filet.

2. Season thee filets with the salt and pepper. Heat oil and sear venison on all sides. Cook in a 350-degree oven until desired doneness.

Foie Gras

Ingredients:

10 (1-1/2–oz.) slices cleaned foie gras
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Directions:

Heat a skillet over high heat; season both sides of the foie gras with salt and pepper and flash sear on both sides.

Granny Smith Apple Fries

Ingredients:

2 whole eggs
2 tbls. cold water
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
Fine-ground Japanese bread crumbs

Directions:

Blend eggs and water, set aside. Coat apples with flour then toss in egg wash and coat with bread crumbs. Fry in 350-degree fryer until golden.

Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pomegranate syrup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced by half

Directions:

Simply combine both ingredients and mix well.

Cognac Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups cognac
3 cups demi-glace
3 cups heavy cream
2 tbls. cracked peppercorns
Salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat the cognac in a medium saucepot and burn off the alcohol, add the demi-glace and heavy cream, let reduce by half, add the peppercorns and season with salt. Reserve warm.