For National Watermelon Day, August 3rd, try a salted watermelon milkshake.

Salt with watermelon? Actually, as a pinch of salt helps most foods, it’s an old trick to bring out more flavor (here, sweetness) in the watermelon.

This recipe is courtesy of The Milk Shake Factory in Pittsburgh. It requires watermelon sorbet; but if you can’t find it or don’t want to make it (here’s a watermelon sherbet recipe), substitute strawberry or raspberry sorbet.

Or, make an easy watermelon granita with this watermelon granita recipe, minus the basil. No ice cream maker is used; just watermelon, sugar, water, lemon juice and an ice cube tray.

Prep time for the milkshake is 10 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE: SALTED WATERMELON MILKSHAKE

Ingredients For 1 Large Or 2 Small Servings

Salted watermelon milkshake. Photo courtesy The Milk Shake Factory | Pittsburgh.

1. COMBINE the watermelon sherbet, milk, watermelon slices and a pinch of sea salt in a blender. Blend until the sherbet and watermelon slices break down, approximately 45 seconds. Add the soda water and blend 10 seconds more.

2. POUR the mixture into a 20-ounce drinking glass or two 10-ounce glasses. Garnish with mini chocolate chips and skewer the watermelon wedge, or notch it deeply and anchor it to the rim of the glass. Serve immediately.
  

Ice cream sandwich sundae (photo © Grand Hyatt Hotel | NYC).

We love this ice cream sandwich sundae, served at the New York Central Bar and Kitchen, located in the Grand Hyatt Hotel right above Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.

You can make it at home by adapting New York Central Bar & Kitchen’s recipe with your own favorite flavors.

Theirs combines summery flavors and colors:

 
What’s your preference?
 
 
ICE CREAM SANDWICH HISTORY

According to the New York Times, the American ice cream sandwich was born in the Bowery neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in the early 1899s.

In an article in The New York Tribune in July 1900, the pushcart vendor who was selling the sandwiches was so busy pressing them into a tin mold to order, that he didn’t have time to make change. He insisted that customers pay the exact price of one cent.

The treat was revolutionary: hand-held and portable (the cone had not yet taken hold).

An earlier predecessor, without the wafers, was a slice of vanilla ice cream cut from a larger slab by Italian street vendors in London. It was known as an “okey-pokey,” the English adaptation of the vendors’ Italian phrase, “o che poco,” meaning “oh, how little [money].” The name which gave way to the “Hokey Pokey” song.

The modern ice cream sandwich that we know, a slice of vanilla between two rectangular chocolate wafers, was invented in 1945 by Jerry Newberg, who sold ice cream sandwiches at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

By the time we were kids, Nestlé’s ice cream sandwich was our favorite treat from the corner grocer’s ice cream case. (Our tastes have evolved to more premium goods.)

Who ever thought the ice cream sandwich of childhood would become this elite?

 
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*Source: Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making by Jeri Quinzi.
  

We really like this idea from RA Sushi: A shrimp salad with watermelon cubes, kiwi slices, tangerine segments, baby arugula leaves and microgreens (you can substitute sprouts or herbs).

RA Sushi serves it as an entrée, with a Watermelon Margarita to wash it down (the Margarita recipe is below). The fruit salad dressing recipes below are theirs.

The natural juices from the fruits provide the “dressing,” but you can create a citrus vinaigrette, a honey vinaigrette, or simply toss with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and fresh lime juice (with salt and pepper to taste).

Grilling the shrimp adds another flavor dimension, but boiled shrimp work as well. You can substitute crab, lobster, scallops, seared/grilled fish cubes or for vegetarians, grilled tofu.

The fruit salad has a counterpoint of spicy greens (baby arugula, for example), but you can also add a base of lettuce if you’d like more roughage, and you can add heat as well. Use the recipe template below to customize your ideal salad. Aim to use three different fruits of varying colors, to add interest to the dish. Tropical fruits work very well with seafood.

RECIPE: FRUIT SALAD WITH SHRIMP

Customize your recipe by choosing from these groups:

Shrimp and fruit salad. Photo courtesy RA Sushi Restaurant.

 
RECIPE: CITRUS VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients For 1-1/3 Cups

 
Preparation

1. BRING the citrus juice to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower the heat to a simmer and reduce to 1/3 cup.

2. COMBINE the reduced citrus juice, vinegar, shallot, thyme and zest in a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture while whisking until the emulsion is combined and thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until needed.
 
RECIPE: HONEY-LIME VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients For 1-1/3 Cups

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the lime juice and honey in a blender and mix. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

2. SEASON as desired.

RECIPE: WATERMELON MARGARITA

Ingredients For 2 Large Cocktails

 
Preparation

1. PURÉE the watermelon in a blender. Add the tequila, triple sec and the juice of 1/2 lime.

1. PURÉE 1-1/2 cups cubed, seeded watermelon in a blender.

2. ADD 1 cup tequila, 1/2 cup orange liqueur and 1/2 cup fresh lime juice , plus 3 cups of ice. Blend until desired consistency is reached.