1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, stemmed and washed
1/4 cup DeLallo extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
DIRECTIONS
Place the basil, water, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes in a mini-food processor and pulse a few times. Add the olive oil and blend until you have smooth sauce.
Use immediately or refrigerate. Flavors are even more intense the next day. Refrigerate for up to 2 to 3 days.
★★★★★ Quick & Easy, Summer, TRIED & TRUE, Vegetable Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 10 min Difficulty: Easy Servings: Yield: 6 to 8 servings Source: foodnetwork.com INGREDIENTS
8 to 10 ears of corn on the cob (yellow or white corn) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper DIRECTIONS
Remove the husks and the silk from the corn and cut the kernels off as close to the husk as possible without removing any of the husk. You should have about 7 cups of kernels.
Melt the butter in a large, heavy saute pan. Add the corn, salt, and pepper and saute uncovered on medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the starchiness in the corn is gone. Taste, for salt and pepper, and serve.
NOTES
The older the corn, the starchier it becomes. When I’ve had corn from the farmer’s market in my fridge for a few days, I make this recipe. As Ina says in the recipe, 8 to 10 minutes over medium low heat cooks off the starch, leaving only sweetness. It’s fantastic.
4 Ingredient Frozen Peach Lemonade 🍑🍋 The most refreshing drink to enjoy poolside or after a hot day in the sun. I love making fun lemonades in the summer.
When garden tomatoes are at their juiciest, this classic eat-it-over-the-sink sandwich—with its mayo-gilded drips—is a must.
★★★★★
Sandwich, TRIED & TRUE
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 5 mins Servings: 1 Source: southernliving.com
INGREDIENTS
2 (1/2-inch-thick) slices beefsteak tomato
1/4 tsp. kosher salt or 1/8 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. freshly, coarsely ground black pepper
2 slices white sandwich bread
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise (homemade or Dukes)
DIRECTIONS
Prepare tomato slices:
Arrange tomato slices on a paper towel; sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Let stand until tops of slices are beaded up with juices, 3 to 5 minutes.
Spread one side of each bread slice with 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise.
Arrange tomato slices on mayo side of one bread slice; top with other bread slice, mayo slice down. Enjoy immediately.
It’s probably safe to say that most Southerners with tomatoes in their garden (or with generous friends who grow tomatoes) mark the official beginning of summer with their first tomato sandwich. It’s a delicious kickoff to a season of produce goodness, a ritual enjoyed often and with great enthusiasm while tomatoes are at their peak. It’s one of the simplest sandwiches you can make, and to enjoy a true taste of summer in the South, you really do need to keep it simple.
Of course, there are embellishments you can add if you want (more about that later), but the basic formula of soft white bread, mayonnaise, tomatoes, salt, and pepper produces a Southern ideal. The bread soaks up the yummy tomato juices, which mingle with the creamy mayo, but it doesn’t get soggy because you eat this yumminess right away, and quickly. The tomato sandwich is so irresistible, you might just gobble down two in a row. It’s shockingly easy to do.
What Kind of Tomato Is Best for a Tomato Sandwich?
The most important thing for a good tomato sandwich is that you start with a fresh beefsteak tomato from the garden or the farmers’ market. You’re not going to get the same sort of intense joy from a grocery store tomato, which typically lacks the same level of juiciness, sweetness, and flavor complexity.
Beefsteak tomatoes are the big guys, the ones you might sometimes call slicer tomatoes; a slice of this kind of tomato should cover a piece of sandwich bread or a hamburger bun. You can go with heirloom or conventional tomatoes; either type will be delicious.
What Kind of Bread Is Best for a Tomato Sandwich?
Soft white bread is what you want here. Baguettes and artisanal boules are beautiful loaves, and whole-grain bread is downright delicious, but they’re not right for this a tomato sandwich. Squishy white bread from the bread aisle, not the bakery section, is the right choice. The softness marries perfectly with the juicy-meaty texture of the tomatoes, so preferably leave the bread untoasted.
Note that some white sandwich bread is very sweet (from lots of added sugar), so for the best flavor—bread that truly complements the tomatoes—look for brands such as Sara Lee, which contains just two grams of added sugar per serving.
What Is the Best Mayonnaise for a Tomato Sandwich?
If you really want to go for the most luxe, top-notch experience, try making your own homemade Mayo. (It’s easier than you think, and it tastes fantastic.) Short of that, Duke’s gets the gold star for its supreme creaminess and balanced flavor with a hint of tang and loads of savory richness.
Our Top Tip for the Best Southern Tomato Sandwich
With something this simple, quality ingredients are of course key. We’ve already discussed those crucial garden tomatoes, the best bread, and the right mayo. To make all of those elements come together in perfect harmony, you need to season the tomatoes to enhance their flavor and juiciness.
We recommend placing the slices on a paper towel, sprinkling with generous amounts of kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper, and letting them hang out for 3 to 5 minutes. Some of the juices will soak into the paper towel, but don’t worry—there will still be plenty to run down to your elbow as you take a bite. That brief hang time allows the seasonings to permeate the tomato (making it taste like tomato to the 10th degree) and really gets the juices going.
Possible Embellishments for a Tomato Sandwich
Trust us: The simple tomato sandwich recipe below is a thing of beauty, the sandwich you’ll crave all your life.
If you want a little more oomph, however, you can try adding some very thinly sliced Vidalia onion for crunch and additional savory notes. You can even soak that shaved onion in cider vinegar for a minute for a puckery pickled onion effect. Or chop some basil and stir it into your mayo for an herbal punch.
In place of kosher salt, you could try smoked salt, seasoned salt, or garlic salt, and you could replace the black pepper with crushed red pepper flakes.
Cook Time: 50 minutesServings: Prep time 10 minutesSource: tastesoflizzyt.com
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BREAD:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder** (see notes)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups diced strawberries
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
FOR THE GLAZE:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup finely diced strawberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk** (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
In a small bowl, toss together the strawberries and the 2 tablespoons of flour to coat the strawberries. Fold the floured strawberries gently into the batter.
Pour the bread batter into a greased 9″x5″ bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, diced strawberries and extract in a small bowl. Mix until it is smooth.
Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. Slice and serve.
NOTES
*I often add an extra teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the bread batter (along with the wet ingredients) for an extra boost of flavor. I do this especially if I’m not putting the glaze on top. The bread has the most flavor when you add the strawberry glaze!
*We have added up to 2 ½ cups of diced strawberries to the batter. The bread stays together the best when you use about 2 cups.
**We like the strawberry bread as written, but if you’d like a higher rise on the bread, reduce the baking powder to 1 teaspoon and add ½ teaspoon of baking soda. This will change the texture slightly, but some like it a little better.
**We didn’t need any milk or cream to make the glaze spreadable, but it may depend on the juiciness of your strawberries. The glaze will be very thick and look like it is not mixing up, but if you keep mixing, it should create a nice creamy pink glaze as shown below. If it doesn’t, add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time. The glaze will soften as it sits too since the sugar pulls out juices from the strawberries. Keep this in mind when adding milk and don’t add too much!
***Many people find that they can make half of a recipe of glaze and it is plenty. If you don’t like a lot of glaze, halve the ingredients.
****The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 10 pieces (and all of the frosting used), with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Ingredients 3 ripe Dickey Farms peaches, peeled and diced 3/4 cup whole buttermilk 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/4 teaspoon salt Method
Process buttermilk, honey, cream, salt, and 11/2 cups of the peaches in a blender until completely smooth, about 1 minute.
Finely chop remaining 1 cup of peaches; stir into buttermilk mixture. Divide peach mixture among plastic frozen pop molds, leaving some room at the top to allow for expansion. Cover with lids and insert wooden craft sticks.
Freeze until pops are completely firm and sticks are set, approximately 6-8 hours. To remove the pops, run outside of molds under hot water for a few seconds and remove lids. Exjoy!
If you buy fresh corn and realize you didn’t get around to using it – make “creamy” corn chowder – WITHOUT the cream! The texture comes from pureeing part of the corn with the sauteed onions and chicken broth 🌽
Preheat a large heavy saucepan over medium heat for aboutone minute. Spray it twice with the vegetable oil. Saute the onion for about5 minutes, until translucent. Add 4 cups of the corn and saute for4 or 5 minutes, until it softens a bit. Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and cook until the corn can be mashed easily with a fork, about20 minutes.Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the bell pepper, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and the remaining 1 cup chicken stock and 2 cups corn. Stir and cook for about10 minutesmore, until the chowder is thick and creamy.Garnish with chopped basil.
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