[1] This cold (chilled) fresh pea soup recipe can be made with zucchini instead (photo © Gabriel Kreuther).

[2] For an elegant presentation, serve the bowl of chilled soup nestled into a bed of crushed ice. The chef scattered microgreens across the ice, but you can use snipped fresh herbs (photo © Meli Melo Restaurant [permanently closed]).

Chef Bernard Ros of Meli Melo Restaurant in New York City shares his recipe for Chilled Pea Soup With Goat Cheese Crumbles.

You can serve any of your favorite summer soups, from chilled cucumber soup, fresh tomato soup and gazpacho to vichyssoise, on a bed of crushed ice.

The crushed ice, on a small tray, large plate, or charger into which the soup bowl is set, creates an easy at-home presentation of chilled soup that looks like it was served at the finest restaurant.

Since fresh peas are seasonal and by early summer they may be gone, you can make this recipe from frozen peas.

Or skip the freezer and use fresh zucchini or yellow squash.
 
 
RECIPE: COLD PEA SOUP RECIPE or ZUCCHINI SOUP

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. Bring chicken broth to boil. Add peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender (do not overcook).

2. Purée in a food processor or blender. Add diced potatoes a scoop at a time and purée soup to desired consistency.

3. Refrigerate for three hours or overnight. Check prior to serving and adjust salt as needed.

4. Serve cold. To plate, place small bowls into large bowls or on dinner plates or chargers. Surround with crushed ice. Pour soup and add goat cheese and croutons. Garnish with herbs or pea shoots; sprinkle more garnish onto ice. Serve immediately.

After you’ve removed the kernels from corn-on-the-cob for a recipe, don’t throw away those corn cobs: make corn stock. It couldn’t be easier, and the stock is delicious.

CORN STOCK RECIPE

1. Place the corn cobs in a pot and add enough cold water to cover the cobs by an inch.

2. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the liquid tastes like corn.

3. Discard the cobs and strain the liquid. Use the corn stock in place of water or chicken/vegetable broth when making soups or cooking pasta, couscous, even rice. You’ll love the sweet corn flavor it adds to dishes.

Turn your corn cobs into delicious corn
broth. Photo courtesy SXC.

You can turn the corn cobs into a drinkable broth with a few more minutes of work. You’ll need:

Ingredients

• 6 corn cobs
• 1 medium-large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2″ pieces
• 3 stalks celery, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• Fresh-ground black pepper to tastePreparation
  1. Place ingredients in a stock pot and add enough cold water to cover the cobs by an inch.

  2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes or until carrots can be pierced with a fork.

  3. Serve plain, with noodles or rice, or with chicken, seafood, tofu or other protein (a great use for leftovers).

• Find more of our favorite soups, stocks and recipes in our Soups & Stocks Section.

This packet of mix makes a delicious
and addictive salad dressing or dip.
Photo courtesy J & D’s.

J & D’s, makers of Bacon Salt and Baconnaise, keep pumping out bacon-flavored products using natural smoke flavor and other flavors to achieve an approximation of bacon. The line is certified kosher by KOF-K.

Our favorite product in the line is Baconnaise, bacon-flavored mayonnaise (read our review—it’s a Top Pick Of The Week).

Our second favorite product is J & D’s Bacon Ranch Dressing & Dip Mix. Mix a packet with buttermilk (our choice) or sour cream plus mayonnaise. You’ll end up with a thick, creamy, bacon-flavored dip that may not score high with cardiologists, but sure is a crowd-pleaser.

Compensate for the fat by serving the dip with lots of healthy crudités, or dot (not pour) onto salad greens.

• Find more of our favorite dressings and recipes in our Oil, Vinegar & Dressings Section.
• Our favorite dips are in our Salsas & Dips Section.

Star Wars cookie cutters, exclusively at Williams-Sonoma, might be the motivator.

Four cookie cutters that produce Yoda, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper are $19.95. Note that beautiful cookies don’t emerge from the oven: This is a lesson in decorating as well as baking.

There’s also a handsome kid’s Star Wars apron in black cotton twill, available with optional personalization.

If you don’t want to use the cookie cutters as a baking lesson, use them to get the kids to the dinner table. Tell them that Yoda and Darth Vader are coming for dessert.

• Find more of our favorite cookie products and recipes in our Gourmet Cookies Section.

It’s fun to bake with Star Wars cookie
cutters. Photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma.

With this versatile spread, you can
transform an otherwise bland food. Photo
by Emily Chang | THE NIBBLE.

A bit too thin to be viewed as a traditional dip, Sonoma Farm California Asiago & Parmesan Dip is really a sauce. Name aside, we can’t nitpick about the flavor, which is pleasantly pungent with herbs in the finish.

Made from only Parmesan and Asiago cheeses, extra virgin olive oil and spices, it has the consistency of a pesto. You can use it like a pesto too: Top a dish of pasta with a couple of spoonfuls (like pesto, a little goes a long way!) and enjoy.

The label suggests dipping crackers and raw veggies, but we spread it on some thick, crusty bread as well as atop grilled chicken breasts. Then:

• Dress a sandwich by adding some of the dip into a dollop of mayo.
• Baste fish or shrimp.
• Spread atop a steak.
• Spoon some into scrambled eggs.
• Make a white pizza: Substitute the dip for the sauce on pizza and top with veggies such as zucchini, artichoke and eggplant and top with shredded mozzarella.

Here’s a spin on a Caprese sandwich that’s perfect for a summer picnic: Slice a ciabatta roll (or other Italian bread) and spread a tablespoon of Sonoma Farms Asiago & Parmesan Dip onto the top half. Add slices of mozzarella, a few sliced tomatoes and some basil leaves before taking your first delicious bite.

Purchase the dip at SonomaFarm.com. You’ll want to buy extra for gifts and stocking stuffers. At $7.99 per 8-ounce jar, it may seem pricey. But there’s a lot of expensive cheese in each jar, and a little goes a long way.

Check out more great spreads in our Salsa, Dips & Spreads Section.