[1] Hass avocados have the creamy flesh needed for mashing (photos #1, #2, #3, and #4 © ACC Art Books).

[2] Three avocado toast recipes: something for everyone (or, all three for everyone!).

[3] Caren Rideau’s Terra y Vino Dry Riesling is a perfect match with her avocado toast.

[4] Caren Rideau: Kitchen Designer, Vintner, Entertaining at Home. You can purchase it here.

[5] Sourdough bread is a delicious base for avocado toast (photo © Good Eggs).

What’s for breakfast on National Avocado Day, July 31st? Avocado toast, of course! This take on the popular light meal and snack features three avocado toast recipes from kitchen designer and vintner, Caren Rideau.

Her first book, Caren Rideau: Kitchen Designer, Vintner, Entertaining at Home (photo #4) is an inspiration for anyone looking to revitalize a home. Just published, it is available on Amazon and elsewhere.

The vibrant designs and gorgeous photography make you want to move right in.

In her book, Caren both shares the process and inspiration behind her creative interiors, and offers some of her go-to recipes and wine pairings for easy entertaining (think: summery ceviche with Albariño; butternut squash soup with Grenache; or steak tacos with Syrah).

In addition to enjoying Caren’s avocado toast recipe today, you can also mark:

 
 
HASS AVOCADOS

This recipe uses Hass avocados, which have the creamiest flesh for mashing (other varieties are more fibrous).

The Hass avocado is named after Rudolph Hass, a California postman who planted a seedling in his front yard in the 1920s. He liked the fruit so much that he patented the cultivar in 1935.

When Hass died in 1952 (coincidentally, the year his patent expired), he had no idea that the black-green-skinned avocado with the pebbled flesh would come to comprise 95% of the avocados grown in California and 80% of the avocados eaten worldwide.

> The history of the avocado.

> The history of avocado toast.
 
 
RECIPE: AVOCADO TOAST THREE WAYS

“This is my go-to dish when I have overnight guests,” says Caren, “as everybody loves it! I like spice and acid in my avocado base, so feel free to cut back on the lime juice and spice, if you prefer.”

For a wine pairing, Caren suggests her Dry Riesling (photo #3), “as the acid and aromatic fruit in the Riesling is an unbeatable choice for enhancing all the garnishes.”
 
Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. SCOOP out the flesh of the avocados, place in a large bowl, and mash with a fork, leaving the mixture slightly chunky.

2. ADD the salt, pepper, chili flakes, and lime juice. Taste to adjust the flavors.

3. BRUSH the bread with olive oil and toast it on both sides in the oven or the toaster oven at 450º until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

All avocado toast begins with a hefty amount of the avocado base and then the addition of your favorite toppings.

 
 
MORE AVOCADO TOAST RECIPES

 
Plus:

Our last cheesecake recipe of the day: cheesecake ice cream. You can use it in the Raspberry Cheesecake Float published earlier, or just enjoy a bowl or a cone. For fun, add graham cracker pieces.

At your next outdoor event, try an option like Cheesecake Ice Cream with Fruit Swirls from Milk Means More, from the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

The cream cheese ice cream has a swirl of fruit spread. You can use your favorite fruit flavor.

The recipe is courtesy of Marcia Stanley, MS, RDN, on behalf of Milk Means More. See how easy it is to make in the video below.

Visit MilkMeansMore.org for more delicious dessert ideas.

> July 30th is National Cheesecake Day.

> July is National Ice Cream Month, July 17th is National Ice Cream Day.
 
 
RECIPE: CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM WITH FRUIT SWIRLS

Prep time is just 15 minutes, plus freeze time.

You can substitute jam or preserves for fruit spread, but fruit spread generally has significantly less sugar. The added sugar in the recipe creates sufficient sweetness.
 
Ingredients For 12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed in a large mixer bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the sour cream, half-and-half, vanilla, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and salt.

2. BEAT on low speed until combined, then beat on medium speed until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 2-24 hours, or until cold.

3. POUR the cream cheese mixture into a 1-1/2-quart ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.

4. PREPARE the fruit spread. In a small bowl, stir fruit spread and the remaining lemon juice.

5. SPOON about one-third of ice cream into a 2-quart food storage container. Spoon about half of the fruit spread mixture in dollops over the ice cream. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining ice cream. Cover and freeze for 4-24 hours.

6. TO SERVE, scoop the ice cream into dessert dishes. For optional garnish, you can “crown” the scoop of ice cream with a graham cracker square, or roughly crush graham crackers into a crunchy topping.
 

[1] Cheesecake ice cream with a fruit-of-your-choice swirl (photo © Milk Means More | Family Features).

[2] Cream cheese makes this a “cheesecake” ice cream, as does the fruit swirl in place of fruit-topped cheesecake. For extra fun, add graham crackers (photo © Shvets Production | Pexels).

[3] Bonne Maman fruit spreads have 34% more fruit and 38% less sugar than their conventional preserves (photo © Bonne Maman).

[1] A Raspberry Cheesecake Float for National Cheesecake Day, National Ice Cream Soda Day, or any day in between. The recipe is below

[2] Garnish the float with fresh blackberries—or fresh raspberries, if you prefer (photo © Pretoperola | Dreamstime).

[3] You can also make cheesecake ice cream to add more flavor to the float. Here’s the recipe.

[4] Or, you can find cheesecake ice cream. With this strawberry cheesecake ice cream, substitute frozen strawberries for the raspberries and enjoy a strawberry cheesecake float (photo © Doordash).

“I’ve yet to meet a cheesecake I didn’t like,” says Deirdre Cox of Kansas City, Missouri, who created this Raspberry Cheesecake Float recipe. “The flavors here of cream cheese and raspberries create an ideal combination. Although ice cream floats are summery, I like this treat so much that I whip it up during the winter, too.”

The recipe is below.

Thanks, Dierdre, and thanks to Taste Of Home for sharing the recipe with us.

And thanks to whoever established National Cheesecake Day, on July 30th (National Ice Cream Soda Day is June 20th).

According to Days Of The Year, the first National Cheesecake Day was celebrated in 1985—a fact that was picked up somewhere and appears on many websites, with no further information as to who or where.

We tried to find out. We discovered that in 1985, Philadelphia Cream Cheese published a Cream Cheesecake Cookbook.

This chocolate chip cheesecake recipe appeared in a Philadelphia Cream Cheese ad in 1985.

Is there a connection to National Cheesecake Day? We’ll keep on looking.

And yet, who established all of these cheesecake holidays [source]?
 
 
CHEESECAKE HOLIDAYS

 
It doesn’t matter who created them. Just mark your calendars and get out your recipe cards (or take a look at our 45+ cheesecake recipes).
 
 
RECIPE: RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE FLOATS
 
Ingredients For 6 Floats

 
For The Garnish

 
Preparation

1. PLACE 1/2 cup of cream soda, the almond extract, cream cheese, raspberries, and 2 cups of ice cream in a blender, Cover and process until smooth.

2. DIVIDE among six tall glasses. Top with the remaining ice cream and cream soda. Garnish with whipped cream and berries. Serve immediately.
 
 
MORE TO ENJOY

> The history of ice cream.

> The history of the ice cream soda (float).

> The history of cheesecake.

> The different types of ice cream and frozen desserts.

July 30th is National Cheesecake Day. It may be our favorite food holiday of the year—not just because we love cheesecake, but because we allow ourselves to have it so rarely.

This recipe that follows is from King Arthur Flour. Check below for many more cheesecake recipes, both savory and sweet. In fact, there are more than enough to make a different cheesecake every week of the year (a cheesecake version of Julie and Julia?).

New York-Style Cheesecake is a dense cream-cheese cheesecake, usually made with two pounds of cream cheese on a graham cracker crust. But what’s a Brooklyn-Style Cheesecake?

According to King Arthur Flour, the Brooklyn style has a vanilla cake crust, a concept that was pioneered by Junior’s Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

If you fancy something different, the 45* cheesecake recipes below have something for everyone.

Cheesecake freezes beautifully, by the way, and it can even be enjoyed frozen (think Cheesecake Pops).

> The history of cheesecake.

> The history of cheesecake.
 
 
RECIPE: BROOKLYN-STYLE CHEESECAKE

Thanks to King Arthur Baking for the recipe. Prep time is 25 minutes to 35 minutes. Bake time is 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes.

Ingredients For One 9″ Cheesecake (About 16 Servings)

For The Crust

 
________________

*Why use cake flour? It has less protein, which makes a finer, lighter, more airy crumb. The more protein, the chewier the texture. Bread flour is 14% to 16% protein, all-purpose flour is 10% to 12% protein, pastry flour is 9% protein, and cake flour is 7%-8% protein. If you don’t have cake flour, use unbleached all-purpose flour, reducing the amount to 7 tablespoons (1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon).
 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ round springform pan. This cake is very tall, and requires an extra-deep pan, at least 2 3/4″ deep. Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with aluminum foil, preferably a single sheet.

2. MAKE the crust: Place the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, butter, and 3 egg yolks into a large mixing bowl. Beat until well combined; the mixture will be stiff and somewhat crumbly.

3. BEAT the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a separate bowl, until they’re frothy. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar gradually, beating continuously, until the mixture is stiff and glossy.

4. MIX the beaten egg whites into the batter, 1/3 at a time. Take care to keep the batter light; mix gently, don’t beat. You may find at the end there are still some tiny lumps in the batter; that’s O.K. Stir in the vanilla.

5. SPOON the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cake has risen, is barely beginning to brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, and immediately loosen the edges with a table knife or thin spatula. Allow it to cool in the pan while you make the filling. It will settle and shrink a bit as it cools; that’s OK. Leave the oven on.

6. MAKE the filling: Place 8 ounces (1 package) of cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar, and the cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until smooth. Add the remaining cream cheese, 8 ounces at a time, beating on low speed until smooth. Slowly beat in the remaining 1-1/3 cups sugar and the vanilla.

7. ADD the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cream, beating just until blended. Spoon the batter over the cake in the pan. The filling will expand and rise, so make sure you don’t fill the pan to the brim.

8. PLACE the springform pan into a larger pan, and fill the larger pan with enough hot water to come 1″ up the sides of the springform pan (this is called a bain-marie). Place both pans on a lower-middle rack of your oven.

9. BAKE the cheesecake for 75 to 90 minutes, until the cake is just barely beginning to turn golden around the edges and the top appears set. The center will still look jiggly; that’s O.K. A thermometer inserted into the center should register 160°F to 165°F.

10. REMOVE the cake from the oven, and gently lift it out of the water bath onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool at room temperature, undisturbed, for 2 to 3 hours, until it’s no longer warm to the touch. Refrigerate the cake, covered, until you’re ready to serve it.

11. TO SERVE: Slice with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry. Repeat this step after every slice. This cake is traditionally served without topping; but feel free to add your own favorite, if desired.
 
 
 
 
MORE CHEESECAKE RECIPES: DESSERT CHEESECAKE

 
 
CHEESECAKE BARS, POPS & MORE

 
 
SAVORY CHEESECAKE RECIPES

[1] No food makes us happier than a slice of cheesecake. Or is that, two slices (photos #1 and #2 © King Arthur Baking).

[2] Extra slices freeze beautifully.

[3] Who could say no to chocolate chip cheesecake (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

[4] A simple, elegant garnish (photo © Wilton | Facebook).

[5] Savory cheesecake can be served as a first course, or with a salad course. Here, a goat cheese and basil cheesecake. Check out these savory cheesecake recipes (photo © Love & Olive Oil).

[6] A sour cream top is one of our favorites (photo © Kraft Food Services).

[7] Birthday cheesecake (photo © Carnegie Deli | Facebook).

[8] A super-special cheesecake: chocolate truffles and jam top a plain cheesecake. Here’s the recipe (photo © DeLallo).

[9] This cherry cheesecake puts the cherries in the center and a chocolate glaze on top. In effect, it’s a Black Forest cheesecake. Here’s the recipe (photo © Betty Crocker).

July 29th is National Chicken Wing Day. America loves its chicken wings, but there is a debate over what types are best: bone-in vs. boneless and drumettes vs. the wingettes/flats*.

RTA Outdoor Livingfull survey).

The highlights for National Chicken Wing Day:

 
Now how about some chicken wings? Here’s something a bit different from Smithfield Culinary: Greek-style wings (photo #1).

This recipe is easier than it looks because you purchase pre-smoked, pre-cooked chicken wings (photos #2 and #3, for example).

You could also purchase the tzatziki, but the homemade version below is far superior.

Just note that you have to drain the yogurt for the tzatziki sauce overnight. Opa*!

> Check out 14 more chicken wing recipes below.

> The history of chicken.
 
 
RECIPE: SMOKIN’ GREEK CHICKEN WINGS

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings
 
For The Greek Dry Rub Spice Mix

 
For The Tzatziki Sauce

 
For The Chicken Wings

 
For The Garnish

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the spice mix. Stir all of the ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Set aside.

2. MAKE the tzatziki sauce, mix all ingredients thoroughly until incorporated. Set aside (or make in advance and chill in the fridge).

3. MAKE the wings. If frozen, thaw completely. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

4. COAT the wings in the mix of olive oil, lemon juice, zest, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then coat with the Greek dry spice rub.

5. PLACE the wings in a baking dish and heat in the oven until they are golden brown and heated through (see package instructions). Meanwhile:

6. REMOVE the wings from the oven briefly and lightly toss them with 1 cup of tzatziki sauce. Return to the oven and bake until edges become slightly charred.

7. TO SERVE: Top with the herbs and feta. Serve with the remaining tzatziki on the side.

 
MORE CHICKEN WING RECIPES

 
________________

*Drumettes are the portion of the wing that’s attached to the main part of the chicken. It’s shaped like the larger chicken drumstick, hence the name. There’s one main piece of bone in the middle, but there are some joints and cartilage on both ends. The wingette or flat is the middle part of the wing. The shape is flat with two thin bones that run parallel to each other down the length of the flat. It has tender dark meat and is completely covered with skin. Here’s a larger discussion of these.

†In Greek culture, this is the expression that sometimes accompanied the traditional act of plate smashing. However, it’s also used to express enthusiasm in general: No dishware need be sacrificed. Here’s more on the Greek custom of smashing plates.

[1] Smokin’ Greek chicken wings—the wings are purchased already smoked. The recipe is below (photo © Smithfield Culinary).

[2] Wegman’s smoked chicken wings are ready to heat and eat (photo © Instacart).

[3] Walmart and other stores also sell cooked chicken wings. Here, Walmart’s pecan-smoked chicken wings (photo © Walmart).

Tzatziki[/caption]
[4] Tzatziki, a refreshing cucumber-yogurt dip and sauce (photo © Cava Grill).

[5] Fresh dill (photo Wuestenigel | CC-BY-2.0 License).

[6] Fresh mint (photo © Good Eggs).

[7] Beautiful Essex sheep’s milk feta cheese from De Laurenti, from sheep that graze on the Isle of Lesbos (photo © DeLaurenti).