[2] First, bake a cheesecake.

[3] Next, scoop balls of cheesecake.

[4] Add sticks, and get ready to decorate (photos 2-4 © Safe Eggs | Chantel Arsenault).

You can bake or buy a cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day, July 30th. Or you can turn that cheesecake into cheesecake pops.

Any day of the year, it’s a fun concept for family fun or entertaining.

You can also create a non-party “assembly line” of friends to make a large bunch of pops, where everyone gets to take home their share.

This easy recipe was created by Chantel Arsenault for Safe Eggs.

Decorations (toppings) can vary widely; for example, mini candy hearts for Valentine’s Day, blue and pink sprinkles for baby showers, or silver and gold sprinkles for special occasions.
 
RECIPE: CHEESECAKE POPS

Ingredients For The Cake Pops

 
Toppings

 
Preparation

1. LINE two cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper.

2. SCOOP and form 36 cheesecake balls. Place on the cookie sheets and freeze for at least 10 minutes. When they are frozen…

3. MELT the chocolate. Remove the cheesecake balls from the freezer and insert the sticks. Dip each ball into melted chocolate, and return to the freezer for another 10 minutes.

4. DIP quickly into more chocolate and add your toppings of choice. Let the chocolate candy harden, and they’re ready to serve.
 
ALTERNATIVE TO STICKS

You can adapt this concept to a dessert that is not on a stick. Make the cheesecake balls more like tartufo, the Italian ice cream ball covered in chocolate. Here’s how:

 
 
CHEESECAKE HISTORY

The first cheesecakes date back to ancient Greece, and were savory recipes, not sweet.

The history of modern cheesecake begins in 1872, with the invention of cream cheese—which, by the way, was an accident. It was sold as Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

Over time, the brand’s home economists developed new ways to use the cream cheese, and printed the recipes on the carton. The familiar American-style cheesecake was one of them.

Here are more cheesecake history details.

July 29th is National Chicken Wing Day.

There’s a recipe for America’s favorite chicken wing preparation, below. Wings have become a favorite American snack since their unintentional creation in 1964. We have a number of chicken wing recipes below. But first, a bit of food history.
 
 
1. THE HISTORY OF CHICKEN

Mankind has been eating chicken wings since the first chicken was caught.

Chickens were domesticated from the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), possibly crossed with the Grey Junglefowl. Both are members of the pheasant family.

Back in the day before man settled down to farming and animal husbandry, some 13,000 to 10,000 years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate what they caught.
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The modern domesticated chicken is the subspecies Gallus gallus domesticus. So thanks to everyone who helped to domesticate the chicken. Where would we be without it?

Wild chickens were domesticated in Asia, possibly as far back as 7000 B.C.E. Certainly, the Chinese had domesticated them by about 5000 B.C.E., as had East Asia neighbors such as Thailand and Vietnam.

India, home to such delicious chicken dishes, didn’t domesticate the fowl until about 3000 B.C.E.

Here’s more chicken history.

 
2. BUFFALO WINGS HISTORY

Buffalo wings, America’s favorite wing recipe, were invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. Today’s a good day to enjoy a plate.

Co-owner Teressa Bellissimo fried the wings—a typical preparation. But then, she covered them in her homemade hot sauce and served them with a side of blue cheese and celery—because that’s what she had on hand. Here’s more of the story.

Many popular dishes, including the Caesar salad and the Cobb salad, were invented because “that’s what was in the fridge.”

So the next time you’re faced with putting a dish on the table with a diverse group of ingredients but no recipe: Create it and give it a name.

 
3. MORE CHICKEN WINGS RECIPES

 
Plus:

[2] Asian Chicken Wings (photo © L’Adresse | NYC).

[3] Get creative with a Buffalo Wings Parfait (photo © Hungry Girl).

[2] Stonefire makes delicious naan in a variety of flavors (photo courtesy Stonefire).

[3] A summer panzanella with peaches, tomatoes and prosciutto. Here’s the recipe from Good Eggs.

Most people add these “salad ingredients” to a green salad, but we suggest a different type of salad: panzanella (pon-zon-ELLA), a Tuscan bread salad.

Panzanella isn’t as popular in the U.S. as it should be, and we don’t understand why. It’s easy to make and a great use for day-old or two-day-old bread.

Restaurants, take note: You should have plenty of yesterday’s bread, along with customers eager for some panzanella.

The bread doesn’t have to be stale. You can lightly toast fresh bread, which is what is done in the recipe below.

Panzanella has long been an easy way to make a meal from whatever is in the kitchen or garden. A peasant food, it has crossed over as a treat for foodies. Here’s the history of panzanella.

Panzanella can be a first course or a main, vegetarian or topped with proteins. Here are some of the recipes we’ve enjoyed in prior seasons:

 
 
TODAY’S RECIPE: FUSION PANZANELLA

Our colleague Hannah Kaminsky has given panzanella the Indian-Middle Eastern fusion treatment, incorporating garlic-flavored naan (available in many supermarkets) and curry powder from India, and chickpeas and tahini from the Middle East (photo #1).

“Salads aren’t just leafy greens and mix-ins like carrots and celery, most commonly associated with the word.

“Once you peel back that initial concept, ‘salad’ is a stunningly diverse universe of culinary possibilities.

“Salads are most frequently thought of as chilled or room-temperature dishes, but they can also be served warm [check out this Caesar salad with grilled romaine; here’s how to char vegetables].

It was only a matter of time before I used one of my favorite breads, garlic naan (photo #2), into a flavorful bread salad that I shoveled into my mouth by the forkful.

“Lightly toasting it to a crisp exterior and bestowing it with a golden curry dressing, this is a combination I could eat on repeat all summer long, and well beyond.

“Feel free to expand upon the vegetable inclusions based on what you have available, or go crazy with your own creative addendum. As we’ve established, a salad is anything you want it to be, if you just believe in it.”

This recipe is vegetarian. You can make add your favorite protein: grilled chicken, fish or tofu; prosciutto or salame; shrimp; or a combination.

Some leftover lamb roast worked great for us, as did some fresh basil from our window herb garden.

The recipe also takes a slight twist. Panzanella originated so the vinaigrette could soften stale bread. Here, the naan is toasted to be crisp, like croutons.
 

Ingredients For 2 Entree Salads Or 4 First Courses

Preparation

1. TOSS the sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with half of the salt. Set aside for about 15 minutes to draw out some of the excess liquid. Drain the extra water they’ve given off. Meanwhile…

2. COMBINE the sliced naan with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and spread the pieces out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Run under the broiler in set to high for 10 to 15 minutes, until toasted golden brown and crisp. (Editor’s note: We used our toaster oven. The consistency is different, but it works.)

3. WHISK together the remaining oil, lime juice, tahini, curry powder, black pepper, and remaining salt to create the dressing. Toss everything into a large bowl, including the drained vegetables, toasted bread, dressing, chickpeas, and cilantro, and mix well to combine. Serve immediately before the naan can get soggy.

________________
*These are the long, slender cucumbers. You can substitute two kirbys.

July 25th is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day (November 11th is National Sundae Day).

How to celebrate? With a DIY hot fudge sundae bar!

Every ice cream flavor works well with fudge sauce, so you can stick with vanilla or offer as many flavors as you like.

You don’t need sundae dishes, although anything glass shows off the dessert better than ceramic bowls.

If you don’t have enough bowls, see if you can borrow some. The bowls can be mixed designs; in fact, trendy restaurants often use mismatched plates, bowls and glasses.

If you don’t have pretty bowls, consider wine glasses. The easiest option is 9-ounce hard plastic party cups.
 
 
The difference between hot fudge and chocolate sauce:

 
> The history of the ice cream sundae.
 
 
HOT FUDGE SUNDAE BAR INGREDIENTS

 
Plus:
 
Garnishes Of Choice

 
Preparation

1. SET out the ingredients plus scoops, spoons, napkins and service plates (to catch drips).

2. SET the fudge sauce over a tea candle or other burner to keep warm and pourable.

3. GET ready to Instagram!
 
 
YOU CAN DO THE SAME THING WITH A WAFFLE BAR

Buy Belgian waffles and set them out on the buffet.

Guests can build their sundaes atop a waffle…or add waffle chunks to their sundae bowls.

[2] Pretty bowls work fine (photo © The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook).

[3] Chocolate on chocolate (photo © Viktor Hanacek | Pic Jumbo).

[2] We use San Pellegrino’s Aranciata Rossa, a sparkling blood orange soft drink (photo courtesy San Pellegrino).

We’re at the height of stone fruit season, so what’s with the apples and pears?

Make a stone fruit sangria, and make it even more summery with rosé as the base wine.

What are stone fruits? Here’s the scoop; some of the most popular are apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums.

The stone fruits season is in the summer. Enjoy them while you can!
 
 
RECIPE: ROSE SANGRIA WITH STONE FRUITS

We adapted this recipe from Saveur. You start by making a spiced syrup to sweeten the drink.

Here’s the history of sangria, a recipe much older than you might guess.