Leslie K. here, pleased to welcome to the Kitchen Wendy Eckel, author of the Rosalie Hart Culinary Mystery Series, with a scrumptious summer salad--and a GIVEAWAY. Take it away, Wendy!
In Mystery at Windswept Farm, the third book in the Rosalie Hart Culinary Mystery Series, Rosalie hosts a five-day cooking class with Marco Giovanelli, a renowned Tuscan chef at her beloved restaurant, The Day Lily Café. Along with the fun and mayhem of the classes, Rosalie and her good friend, Glenn Breckinridge, are solving the mystery of who killed Ronnie Kline, the owner of the farm next to Rosalie’s who was about to crop dust his winter wheat which would have compromised her farm’s organic certification soil test.
Rosalie provisions The Day Lily Café with the organic produce, goat cheese, and herbs from her farm, Barclay Meadow. On the top of the chalkboard listing the day’s specials is the following:
Welcome to the Day Lily Café
A gathering place offering simplicity and
freshness, with a focus on locally sourced ingredients
My favorite recipe from this book, The Palumbo Family Secret Sunday Red Sauce (which can be found on my website, here), I cajoled out of my dear friend Carla Palumbo while plying her with champagne on a beach in Ft. Lauderdale. Once she decided to share the recipe with me, she went back to her kitchen in Rochester and spent fourteen hours writing down the ingredients and calculating the correct measurements. It had only been passed through the generations orally. This sauce is delicious, but it takes pretty much all day to cook.
Instead, since we are in the middle of July, I am sharing a recipe from the series that is perfect for using the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies available at farmers’ markets and roadside stands. In my small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the strawberries are so sweet and delicious right now they are irresistible to put in every dish I can.
I came up with the following recipe after dining in a local restaurant that served a salad with a ricotta base. Whipped ricotta with lemon and lemon zest is one of my favorite dishes. I often serve it as an appetizer with crudités and small toasts.
This salad is really good with or without the lemon delight but adding it to any dish—salads, seafood, veggies—can elevate a dish to a whole new level. Just swipe each forkful through a small amount and wow, the dish pops with flavor.
Whipped Ricotta Salad with Strawberries, Parmesan Crisp Croutons, and a Lemon Delight Garnish
Ingredients
(makes 4 -6 delicious salads)
16 oz high quality ricotta
1 T lemon juice
2 t lemon zest
Chopped arugula and/or micro greens (I like to snip off the longer stems of arugula)
2 T rosé balsamic vinegar (should be a little sweet)
4 T high quality extra virgin olive oil
2 t minced shallot
Salt and pepper
2 cups of season-ripe chopped fresh strawberries
4 cups grated parmesan
1 cup sugar
11/4 teaspoon agar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions for Parmesan Crisps
Preheat oven to 350º
Pile mounds of 1 T each of grated parmesan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (Foil doesn’t work, I learned the hard way.)
Bake until melted and bubbly, about 5 - 10 minutes. Watch carefully! They go quickly. Let cool and remove from parchment.
Directions for Salad
Whip the ricotta, lemon juice, and zest until ricotta is smooth and fluffy.
Chop arugula.
Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, shallot, salt and pepper and toss with greens.
If strawberries aren’t at their sweetest as they are in Maryland in June and early July, you can macerate them. Just combine 2 T lemon juice and 1 T sugar and coat strawberries. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Directions for Lemon Delight
Make a simple syrup by heating 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water over medium heat. Whisk until sugar dissolves.
Add 1 1/4 teaspoon agar and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk until agar is dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and remove from heat. Cool and then chill in the refrigerator until it sets, about 20 - 30 minutes. Spoon into a reusable condiment squeeze bottle and keep refrigerated when not using.
Plating
Spread a healthy portion of the ricotta onto a salad plate. Top with greens, then strawberries. Add parmesan crisps. Squeeze four drops of lemon delight around the edges of the plate.
GIVEAWAY: For a chance be one of two winners of a bundle of all three books in the series in paperback: Murder at Barclay Meadow, Death at the Day Lily Café, and Mystery at Windswept Farm, answer this question in the comments: What’s your favorite heart-of-the-summer dish?
About Wendy: Wendy Sand Eckel is the award-winning author of the Rosalie Hart Mystery Series. Eckel, who studied criminology and earned a Master’s in Social Work, writes the advice column for the Maryland Writers’ Association newsletter and enjoys mentoring aspiring authors. She lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where she is happiest when cooking for a houseful of family and friends.
Mystery at Windswept Farm, the third in the series, debuted in August, 2022. Look for Killer in a Winter Wonderland, the fourth book in the series, in fall, 2023.
sauteed swiss chard w/ tomatoes
ReplyDeletefruitcrmble AT comcast DOT neg
Wendy here: Wow! I will have to try that. What fruit in the crumble? Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteYour recipe sounds so good! My favorite heart (heat) of the summer dish is grilled peaches. We have a tree in our front yard that has some of the sweetest, juiciest peaches I've eaten. After washing them, cut in half, remove pits and place on grill cut side down. After grilling to desired doneness,, flip and grill on other side. Juices will gather in the cut and caramelize. So good with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream. Thank you for the chance to win.
ReplyDeletemadamhawk at gmail dot com
Wendy here: Peaches and cream. It's the best! Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteI make a cold tri color pasta with Italian dressing. I add shredded carrots and diced cucumbers. Easy and light to eat during these hot days of summer.
ReplyDeleteJess
Maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com
Hi Jess, Wendy here! What's not to like about that? Sounds delish and refreshing. Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteDon't have a favorite. cheetahthecat1982ATgmailDOTcom
ReplyDeleteHi Kim, Wendy here: It's all good, right? Sometimes all you need is a popsicle. I like the all fruit kind. Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteI think my favorite summer dish starts out with my Fresh Peach Delight recipe. The magic of his favorite dessert is that it is versatile for whatever fruit is in season at the time. To change it up with different fruit (strawberries, blueberries or peaches), you just change the flavor or jello or use your own homemade pie filling.
ReplyDeleteHere's the recipe using peaches. It was the original recipe my Mom started using decades ago.
Ingredients for crust
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup butter softened, 1 stick
¼ cups finely ground pecans
Ingredients for creamy layer
1 cup sugar
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
9 ounce tub of cool whip (As you can see old recipe. You can use the small tub or part of big tub. I usually use big tube and add a bit more than half of it.)
Fruit layer
3 cups of fresh, sliced peaches
Top layer ingredients
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 ½ cup of water
1 package of peach flavored jello (3 ounce size)
Directions
Mix crust ingredients until well blended. Spread in 9x13 pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven until light golden brown. Cool.
For creamy layer cream the sugar and cream cheese until smooth and blended. Fold in cool whip. Spread over cooled crust.
Top with the sliced peaches and put in refrigerator
For top layer combine the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Cook until thick. Stir in jello until thoroughly blended. Cool. (I often speed this up by placing pan in sink with water and ice. Constantly moving pan around while stirring so it doesn’t just cool on mixture closest to the pan. You don’t want it to set – only getting thick or it won’t spread properly.) Spoon glaze over peaches covering them completely. If they stick up, take your finger and push them down into the cheese layer. If you don’t, the fruit will turn dark.
Chill until serving.
One variation to this are to use fresh strawberries cut in half (enough to cover the creamy layer) and use strawberry jello.
Another variation is to use a layer of blueberry pie filling instead of the fruit and jello layer. I make my own blueberry pie filling for this using fresh picked fruit.
Blueberry Pie Filling
2 cups sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups water
8 cups of fresh blueberries.
Stir together the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Wisk in the water until smooth. Stir in the blueberries and bring to a boil. Boil stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Thank you for the fabulous chance to win a bundle of all three books in the series! I would love the opportunity to read and review them all.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Wendy here, Thanks for sharing!
DeleteWelcome to the Kitchen, Wendy, and congrats on the new book! Mr. Right calls those crisps or frigos "Parmesan Cookies"!
ReplyDeleteThat's so fun! They are the best. And thanks, you guys are great!
DeleteThe previous comment was me, Wendy. First post and didn't realize it was anonymous. Thanks for you lovely comment!
DeleteWe have a peach, cherry and apple tree. I enjoy eating the fruit sliced in a bowl. I think my favorite summer treat would be grilling the peaches, topped with vanilla ice cream! So good. Thanks for the chance!!
ReplyDeletejarjm1980(at)hotmail(dot)com
This is Wendy: That sounds amazing! Our donut peaches are in at the market and they are delish
DeleteMy favorite beat the heat and heart of the summer dish is a chopped salad. Just so refreshing, healthy, tasty and lovely. Also beautiful and colorful. Cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, and kale and a lemony vinaigrette. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteWendy here: Yes! We have a table at the market with Greek products. They sell a rosé balsamic vinegar that has just the right hint of sweet. I make a vinaigrette with it and some diced shallots. Perfect for summer! Thanks for reaching out!
DeletePeach ice cream! lucylaw13@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteWendy here: Yum!
DeleteHow exciting to meet you, Wendy! I am excited to read your books, and also to make your salad! Our favorite Heart-Of-The-Summer treat is an Avocado Shake! We fell in love with these shakes when we were in the Philippines, as they are just as yummy, but much easier to make than the Avocado Ice Cream that we used to make. All you need is one avocado per person, sweetened, condensed milk, a cup of milk and ice. Just put the pulp from two avocados in a blender, add about 4 Tablespoons of sweetened, condensed milk (or to your taste), the milk and lots of ice. Blend and taste...if too sweet...too bad :-) use less condensed milk next time...If too runny, add more ice...you can play around with the amounts until it is a smooth and delightful summer treat. We have these in place of dinner many summer nights! Thank you for sharing your culinary and writing skills with us eager readers. Luis at ole dot travel
ReplyDeleteWendy here: I'm so trying one of those! Thanks for reaching out.
DeleteThank you!!!!
DeleteWow! Your Sunday sauce recipe sounds so much like the way my grandmother made it! I remember her always removing the onions from the oil. And other than the meatballs, she served the meat as a separate course--sometimes she put some chicken in the sauce. I also think she tied her bracciola with string to keep it together. This brought back a lot of memories. I can see her standing in her kitchen stirring the pot while I got to pick out the shape of macaroni I wanted!
ReplyDeleteWendy here: Yes, so much like Carla's! Taking the onions out surprised me when I first tried it but the flavor is all still there. Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteThis sounds delicious-I love strawberries. When I was young my mom made the most delicious fresh strawberry pie. I enjoy eating lighter meals in the summer. I didn't plant a garden this year-so no fresh salad picked from my yard, which was always a treat. I recently had another salad that was delicious-fresh spinach with sliced peaches, feta cheese, and sunflower kernels. Yumm. Thanks for the chance to win this new to me series.
ReplyDeleteWendy here: I'm with you, fresh fruit and veggies in the summer. My heirloom tomatoes are ripening and I love a little fresh mozz, slivered basil, and olive oil. I also have a huge squash growing in one of my flower beds that I did not plant! Had to have been a bird, but it's fun to have it when I didn't have to dig a hole. Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteGood fresh ricotta is alomost a pudding by itself, so this should be lovely.
ReplyDeletelibbydodd at comcast dot net
Hi LIbby, Wendy here: Yes to fresh ricotta! One of my absolute favorites. Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteAnything with fresh tomatoes--the simpler, the better. Nothing like heirloom tomatoes picked fresh from the vine, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting the Kitchen today, Wendy, and thanks so much for the delicious recipe!
Hi Leslie, Wendy here. Thanks for the opportunity. I just picked two heirlooms this morning and that's exactly what I'm doing. Slivers of basil too! The best.
DeleteI love ricotta and strawberries so this recipe is perfect for me. My favorite summer dish is a simple grape tomato (I use NatureSweet Cherubs) and cucumber tossed with a balsamic vinegarette for a healthy and easy supper salad. Thank you for the chance to win. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteHi April, Wendy here. That sounds delish. And you can always pop it in a blender and have a gazpacho! Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteTomato pie! Lots of fresh from the garden tomotoes, basid, and cheese! Yummy
ReplyDeleteclarksrfun at gmail dot com
Wendy here, um, yes! Tomato pie. My vines are bursting right now so I'll definitely make one of those. Thanks for reaching out!
DeleteThis recipe sounds yummy! I love a good caprese salad in the summer with mini heirloom tomatoes, marinated mozzarella balls, and chopped fresh basil. I marinate all of it in a bit of the oil from the mozzarella. Thanks for the recipe and the giveaway! aut1063(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI'm making a caprese today with tomatoes from my garden. And definitely will top with basil slivers. Sometimes I make a fresh pesto too. Caprese screams summer time! Thanks for reaching out.
DeleteLove a good caprese salad. Sometimes I make it as a simple pasta salad, other times just a simple stack of fresh tomato, mozzarella, and tons of fresh basil on toasted baguette slices, drizzled with an aged balsamic glaze. YUM! Fresh corn salad is another favorite, corn cut off the cob, chopped fresh tomato and sweet peppers, avocado topped with a simple vinaigrette. Thanks for asking! makennedyinaz(at)hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteWendy here, that all sounds so good. I could eat caprese every day. Burrata is fun too! Caprese on baguette slices is perfect if you're having a few friends over for sure. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteI love this fresh and cooling salad.....WATERMELON FETA SALAD
ReplyDeleteRipe watermelon
Feta cheese
Fresh herbs: basil or mint
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
The best part of this concept is you barely need to measure. Cube the watermelon, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with herbs. It’s that easy! Enjoy!!!!
Wendy here: The sweet and salty is divine in this salad. What herbs do you use? Thanks for sharing!
DeleteMy ultimate favorite salad during the summer is an Israeli salad. It combines such delectable ingredients which are simple, bursting with flavor and a wonderful dressing. Tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, parsley and olive oil, lemon juice. On the side I have a baguette with hummus. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteWendy here: Yum. I'll bet that salad would be good with some Israeli couscous, too. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteWelcome to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen! This looks delicious. I love anything strawberry, so I'm sold. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Valerie, Wendy here. Thanks for hosting me. I'm having fun!
DeleteShish kabobs!!
ReplyDeleteWendy here: So good!
DeleteThis dish looks amazing! I'm going to print this recipe and give it a try. Strawberries are one of my favorite things about summer. Strawberry shortcake is my very favorite I also like Strawberries with basalmac vinegar and also Strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar.
ReplyDeletediannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi Dianne, Wendy here. I agree with all of the above. Summer strawberries aren't the same food you get in the grocery store in the winter. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteIce cold watermelon! Crisp and sweet.
ReplyDeletepatdupuy@yahoo.com
Wendy here: Sliced up and ready to go! Screams summer for sure. I love to give it to the grandkids when they are outside. They can just spit the seed in the grass. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFor me, my mom's potato salad makes me feel like it is summer. I made some for our Fourth of July celebration and it brought back fond memories. cherierj(at) yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteHi Cherie, Wendy here. Potato salad is a summer staple. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteI love squash blossoms (stuffed and battered, or topping a quesadilla or pizza), though I haven’t encountered any yet this year…
ReplyDeleteeai at stanfordalumni(dot)org
Fruit salad with pineapple and watermelon!! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteFresh tomatoes, grilled corn, and sautéed squash. Summer dinner.
ReplyDeleteI make a chicken waldorf salad and it is a cool summertime meal. Thank you for the recipe. deborahortega229@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteMush Cakes and Fried Red Tomatoes , Mush cakes are a thin soft cornmeal crepe, Dredge sliced ripe tomatoes in flour, salt and pepper and fry until done. Serve the Fried Tomatoes on the mush cakes and sprinkle with granulated sugar, for breakfast. This is a traditional recipe served by my grandmother on Kent Island, Maryland.
ReplyDeleteI make a broccoli salad that everybody enjoys! Thanks for posting you recipe. tWarner419@aol.com
ReplyDeleteDoes ice cream count?
ReplyDeleteWskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com
My favorite heart of the summer dish is gazpacho!
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Thank you for sharing this Whipped Ricotta Salad with Strawberries. It is yummy!! I love summer because of its warmth, sunny days, and fruits! I indulge myself with cherries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, blueberries, blackberries.. I just put all these fruits together to make a big bowl of fruit salad. Sometimes, we also may like Panera Bread Asian Salad - put these fruits together, toss in some lettuce, and some grilled chicken pieces, add Asian salad dressing - that's it!
ReplyDeletecwkuen(at)yahoo(dot)com