Cantelope with Ice Cream and Berries

This is a very delicious and simple dessert this time of the year. Be sure to get really good, fresh picked cantalopes. Top a half or quarter with a good vanilla ice cream (Blue Bunny is our favorite, but Coney's custard would also work). It is great just like that, but if you want to kick it up a notch, top it with sweetened blackberries (we crushed them up a bit.)

Another Chocolate Chip Cookie

America's Test Kitchen came up with a response to the New York Times "Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever." Unlike the New York Times recipe you can mix, bake and eat them right away rather than storing the batter three days in the fridge before baking.

Their "secret" is melting some of the butter before mixing.

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ozs) flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 Tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed (5 1/4 ozs) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ozs) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 3/4 cups (7 1/2 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (preferrably Ghiradelli 60% Cocao bittersweet)
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, could be toasted)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and adjust rack to middle. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silpat.

Whisk flour and baking soda together, set aside

Heat 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling the pan constantly until the butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma--1-3 minutes.

Transfer the browned butter to a large heatproof bowl. Add the remaining 4 Tablespoons butter and stir until completely melted.

Add the sugars, salt, and vanilla to the melted butter, whisk until fully incorporated. Add the egg and egg yolk, whisk until the mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds.

LET THE MIXTURE STAND FOR 3 MINUTES, THEN WHISK FOR 30 SECONDS. REPEAT THE PROCESS OF RESTING AND WHISKING TWO MORE TIMES UNTIL THE MIXTURE IS THICK, SMOOTH AND SHINY. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving the dough a final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain.

Divide the dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons, Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake one sheet at a time, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time, until the cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and the edges have begun to set, but the centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes. Trnasfer the baking sheet to a wire rack, cool to room temperature.

(The part in capitol letters is the thing that is unique to this recipe--of course, you can use light brown sugar, but the taste will be lighter, and you can use whatever kind of chocolate chips you like--that is just the kind they like best. If you use salted butter, cut down on the salt in the recipe.)

They were very good, and didn't last long--of course it didn't make many. I overcooked them just a little bit. They have two variations in their recipe book--a thick and chewy, and a thin and crispy--I will try those sometime, and report back.

Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas

This turned out to be surprisingly easy--we made then the day the Stanley's arrived for their summer visit. Bananas were on sale so I bought a lot.

We cut them in thirds, inserted Popsicle sticks, or skewers and froze them on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet.

After a couple of hours we melted 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 3 Tbs. butter. The recipe says to melt them in a double boiler or over low heat in a saucepan, stirring frequently. I did it in the microwave--very carefully, stirring often. In the meantime we prepared chopped peanuts and coconut to roll them in.

Roxcy, Jonah and Colin all helped dip them in the chocolate (sometimes we spooned the chocolate over them) and rolled them in the nuts--some we left plain.

Another hour or so in the freezer and they were ready to eat!

Lemonade

I've never really known how to make lemonade properly--it was always hit and miss. But I followed a recipe this summer and have enjoyed several wonderful glasses of this treat.

For a quart:
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 cups cold water
3/4 cup sugar
Mix together and stir until the sugar dissolves. Chill, serve over ice.
I like to add a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries.

For one glass:
Juice of one lemon
1-2 Tbs sugar
Water and ice and raspberries to fill the glass.

One day Susan Brodine gave me some lemons from her mother's tree in California--they made two extra special glasses of lemonade because those lemons are sweet and juicy--much better than the store bought kind.