[1] Watermelon and zucchini with grilled halloumi cheese. [2] Watermelon and strawberry salad with fresh goat cheese. [3] Fresh stone salad with feta. Photos courtesy Murray’s Cheese.

Make fruit salad even more delicious: Serve it with cheese.

Fruit and cheese are an ancient tradition. Today’s tip is for fruit salad with fresh cheese.
 
WHAT IS FRESH CHEESE?
 
Fresh cheese is aged for a few days or not at all. Ranging from creamy and spreadable (fromage blanc, ricotta), to soft and pliable (halloumi) to crumbly (goat cheese), if has no rind, which develops during the aging process.

During the cheesemaking process, the milk for fresh cheese is “ripened” with starter cultures, bacteria that convert the milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. This enables the milk to thicken.

Rennet is then added to further thicken the milk and create curds, rennet is then added . Once curds form, the liquid (whey) is drained away and what remains is turned into cheese.
Some suggestions from Murray’s Cheese, our favorite purveyor of great cheeses from the U.S. and around the world:

Fresh cheeses include:

 
We’ll add two slightly aged cheeses to the mix:

 
The difference between cheese and other cultured milk products like sour cream and yogurt is rennet.

Cheese is defined as made from curds, and rennet precipitates the curds from milk.

Thus, while products like fromage blanc, quark and queso fresco look like sour cream and yogurt, the former are made with rennet. You may not be able to see the curds, but they’re there.

Any fruits will do, but pick the best of summer: berries, melons, stone fruits and/or tropical fruits.

Pick up whatever looks best at the market, make fruit salad and serve it with a fresh cheese.

Even better: Provide a plate of different cheeses and let guests add whatever they like.

Whether for dessert, snack, or other course, consider serving the fruit salad and cheese with:

Here’s some food fun for National Filet Mignon Day, August 13th:

Instead of serving the meat flat on the plate, create a filet mignon “sculpture”: a commemoration of the tenderest cut of beef.

In this example from Rue 57 restaurant in New York City, the filet is set against a mound of mashed potatoes, and surrounded by:

 
Two croutons (toasted baguette or ficelle slices) garnish the dish, but you can crown the mashed potatoes with sprig of chive, rosemary or thyme instead.

You can tailor the dish any way you like. For example:

 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT BEEF CUTS IN OUR BEEF GLOSSARY.
 
WHAT IS JUS?
Jus, pronounced ZHOO, is the French word for juice. With meat or poultry, it refers to a thin gravy or sauce made from the meat juices.

The fat is skimmed from the pan juices and the remaining stock is boiled into a sauce, adding water as desired.

Some cooks use additional ingredients to add flavor; for example, brown or white sugar, garlic, herbs, onion, salt and pepper, soy sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce. Our mother was fond of Gravy Master.

In France, it would be argued that such additions are not jus, but a more complex sauce.

[1] Honor filet mignon on its national holiday, August 13th (photo courtesy Rue 57). [2] The French Dip sandwich, roast beef on baguette with a side of jus for dipping. Here’s the recipe from One Perfect Bite.

In the U.S., jus is served as a side in a small bowl, with a French dip sandwich: a roast beef sandwich on a hero roll or baguette.

Here’s how the French Dip originated: another happy accident.
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT SANDWICH TYPES IN OUR SANDWICH GLOSSARY.

Through Election Day (November 8th), you can drink to your political party with Snapple TEAcision 2016.

The new limited-edition flavors from Snapple include:

 
These “political” flavors follow on the heels of of the “patriotic” July 4th special edition, Oh Say Can You Tea, a black tea with strawberry flavor and a hint of mint.

That flavor had this Snapple Real Fact on the back of the bottle cap: In Massachusetts, it’s illegal to dance to the National Anthem.

What’s under the caps of Snapple TEAcision 2016?

You’ll have to try them to find out!

Stock up for election results-watching.

[1] A Blueberry Lemon Drop vodka cocktail. [2] Fresh highbush blueberries (photos courtesy U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council). [3] Lemon Drop candies (photo LettuceTemptYou | Tumblr).

The Lemon Drop cocktail is a relatively new one, invented in the 1970s at Henry Africa’s bar in San Francisco.

It is named after old-fashioned lemon drop candy: lemon-shaped hard candies sanded (coated) with very fine sugar. No doubt, it’s why the cocktail version is often made with a sugar rim.

A sweet-and-sour vodka-based cocktail, it combines using lemon juice, triple sec, simple syrup and vodka (in this recipe, lower-glycemic* agave syrup replaces the simple syrup).

Variations such as the Blueberry Lemon Drop and the Raspberry Lemon Drop followed.

For more complex flavor, replace the agave with ginger or lavender simple syrup.

The drink is served straight up in a Martini glass or other stemmed glass.

 
RECIPE: BLUEBERRY LEMON DROP COCKTAIL

This recipe was contributed by Erin Rebecca of PlatingsAndPairings.com.

Variations can be made with any muddled blueberries or puréed fruit. Blueberry and raspberry are two popular versions.
 
Ingredients Per Drink

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*A better choice than sugar is agave nectar, a low-glycemic natural sweetener from the agave plant. Agave nectar has a glycemic index (GI) of 32; half that of table sugar (GI 60-65). Honey has a GI of 58, pure maple syrup has a GI of 54.

†If you don’t have superfine sugar, you can pulse regular table sugar in the food processor.
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Preparation

1. MAKE the optional sugar rim by moistening the rim of a Martini glass and twisting it in a shallow dish of superfine* sugar.

2. MUDDLE the blueberries and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Add the vodka and agave and fill the cocktail shaker with ice.

3. SHAKE well and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a rosemary sprig and blueberries.

The lemon drop was the first candy sold commercially in the U.S., in 1806. The hard candy was made in lemon and peppermint flavors by a confectioner in Salem, Massachusetts, and called the Salem Gibralter [sic].

According to Wikipedia, modern lemon drops, like most hard candies we know today, evolved from ancient medicinal lozenges. Eighteenth century advances in sugar technology made hard sugar concoctions possible.

We celebrated with a homemade raspberry tart. It took fewer than 20 minutes. Thanks go to our dear friend Carol, who taught us the too-good-to-be-so-easy recipe below, many years ago.

All you need is a shortbread crust, raspberries and a jar of apple jelly. The jelly is melted into a light coat of glaze, which not only adds shine but keeps the fruit from drying out

Prep time is 15 minutes to make and bake the crust, plus cooling time and 5 more minutes fill the crust with fruit and brush the fruit with melted jelly.

It’s one of our go-to desserts, whenever we need something quick and impressive.
 
WHAT ABOUT TARTLETS?

There’s actually an even faster way to celebrate: Make tartlets (individual tarts). Buy pre-made tart shells and fill them with fruit curd, jam or preserves (the difference).

It’s hard to find buttery shells ready-made. Our favorite is Clearbrook Farms bite-size mini tartlet shells. If you buy a brand that you think isn’t great for dessert, you can fill the shells with chicken salad or other savory food, from scrambled eggs to Seafood Newburg.

But just get out the butter and make your own shell. Show off the fresh fruits as they deserve.
 
USE BERRIES OR STONE FRUITS IN THIS RECIPE

You can make this recipe with soft fruit, such as berries and ripe stone fruits (nectarines, peaches, plums, etc.).

Other fruits, like apples and pears, need to be baked to become soft enough for pastries.

You can mix different fruits together in whatever artistic combinations you like.
 
TART PAN TIPS

 
CHECK OUT THE THE DIFFERENCESBETWEEN PIES & TARTS.
 
RECIPE: EASIEST TART FOR BERRIES & STONE FRUITS

Ingredients

 
For The Crust

 
Optional

[1] An easy raspberry tart from Lottie And Doof. A tart pan has a removable bottom to show off the fluted edges of the crust. [2] Another easy way: make tartlets (individual portions) with fruit curd. You can buy both the shells and the curd, but here’s the recipe from from-scratch recipeSnixyKitchen.com. [3] This tartlet from Ostyeria Morini in New York City is served à la mode. [4] Versatile apple jelly makes a delicious fruit glaze (photo courtesy Smucker’s).

 
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* Because different diameter pans require different amounts of fruit, buy an extra pint or pound “just in case.” You can serve it to guests who avoid baked desserts, or enjoy it yourself tomorrow.

†Combine 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

[1] You can fill tartlets or mini tartlets with jam (photo courtesy King Arthur Flour). [2] Mini tartlets filled with lemon curd (photo courtesy Aida Mollenkamp).

1. WASH the berries and pat dry gently with paper towels; use fresh paper towels to further drain; set aside. If using stone fruit, slice, skin on, and place in a bowl.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Combine the crust ingredients and press the dough into a tart pan. Bake it for 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown (not beige). Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. When it reaches room temperature…

3. FILL the crust. If using an optional base (cream cheese, pastry cream, etc.), use a spatula to fill the bottom of the crust. Then set the fruit in concentric circles or other attractive pattern.

4. MAKE the glaze. Melt the apple jelly and use a pastry brush to brush it over the fruit.
 
TARTS, TARTLETS & MINI TARTS: THE DIFFERENCE