Honeydew Peanut Salad with Mint & Thai Basil

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Summer is the season of salads, and as such, I have been making plenty. Lately I have been fixated on melons, honeydew in particular. It’s surprising how well melon pairs with a wide variety of salad ingredients. While paging through The Complete Salad Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen, I ran across a honeydew and peanut salad and decided to put my own spin on it. This is a unique combination of ingredients that works fabulously well together. It has a bit of an Asian bent, so if you’re serving an Asian main dish, this would be the perfect side salad. Cool, refreshing, and flavorful.

Honeydew Peanut Salad with Mint & Thai Basil

1 Melissa’s honeydew melon
1 large Melissa’s shallot
1 Melissa’s pickled jalapeño
2 T. fresh chopped mint
1 T. fresh chopped Thai basil
1/4 c. chopped dry roasted peanuts
Baby spinach
Raspberry vinaigrette (recipe below)

Remove seeds from melon, and cut into small cubes, about 1" x 1". You should have about 4 cups. If you have more than that, set the extra aside for another use. Place in a large bowl. Slice shallot paper thin (I used a mandolin), and scatter on top of melon. Remove stem and seeds from jalapeño, thinly slice, and add to the bowl. Add mint, Thai basil, chopped peanuts, and drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette. Toss and serve on a bed of baby spinach.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. raspberry balsamic vinegar
3 T. granulated sugar
1 t. Dijon mustard
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT oil in a small mixing bowl. Whisk together until blended. Continue to whisk as you slowly pour in the oil. Whisk until emulsified.

 

Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream Sundae

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One of my favorite desserts when I was growing up was vanilla ice cream with marshmallow mint sauce. My mother would tint it pale green, and top the sundae with a bing cherry and sprinkling of colored sugar; to my youthful self, it seemed so elegant! This recipe, from Matty Matheson's new book  Home Style Cookery: A Home Cookbook from Abrams Books has a wonderful Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream Sundae that is absolutely delicious. The brownie base and fudge sauce topping can be made ahead of time, so all you need to do is get out the cherries, scoop up the ice cream, assemble and devour. Perfect for the upcoming holiday season.

Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream Sundae

For the brownies:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

For the hot fudge:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For serving:
1 quart store-bought mint chocolate chip ice cream
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
4 high-quality macerated cherries
Sea salt

Make the brownies: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour an 8” square baking pan.

In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Place over a pot of simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and whisk gently until incorporated. Whisk in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder, and whisk until the mixture comes together. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Pull from the oven and cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut into even squares for the base of the sundaes.

Make the hot fudge: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and cream, and whisk until incorporated. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Add the butter and continue to simmer until the fudge starts to thicken, about five minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and salt. Allow to cool for five minutes before building your sundaes.

To build your sundae, have all the ingredients ready and in front of you. Start by adding one square layer of brownie, then cover with hot fudge, then ice cream, then whipped cream, and hot fudge again. Garnish with cherries and a sprinkle of sea salt. Eat right away.

 

 

After Dinner Mint Pie

Not too long ago reader of this blog contacted me to ask me what happened to my recipe for After Dinner Mint Pie. She said she had seen it on the blog, but couldn’t find it and wondered if I could email it to her. I hadn’t remembered a recipe like that, but with more than 1300 recipes on this blog, it very well could have been there, so I did a search of my own. As I thought, I hadn’t made an After Dinner Mint Pie. But I got to thinking, gosh that sounds pretty darned good. So, I started looking around on the Internet, found a number of different recipes, and then decided to come up with one on my own, a combination of those that I had seen, along with something that I hadn’t, namely a crust made out of mint Oreo cookies.

Coming up with the idea for this crust, I did not do alone. I was talking to my number two son, telling him about this pie. (Saying the word “pie” is certain to get his attention, and trust me, that attention was rapt.) I don’t like making a traditional pie  crust, so that was out of the question, then I wondered aloud, should I do graham cracker? Shortbread cookie? Chocolate cookie? Oreo cookie, or what? 

My son looked at me and said, “You know what you always say mom.” 

What I always say? What do I always say? “Life is short, eat dessert first,” I asked him. 

No, was the reply. 

“Chocolate is not meant to be shared.” He looked at me. 

“Give me chocolate or give me death?” I looked at him hopefully. 

No! I could tell he was getting frustrated. 

“Go big or go home!” he told me. He’s right, I do say that, a lot. 

Okay, MINT Oreo cookies it is.

You are going to love this pie, and so will your guests. The lively green color make it appropriate for both St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas, but don’t wait until those holidays to make this light, refreshingly delicious, pleasingly pastel, boozy dessert; the sooner the better!

After Dinner Mint Pie

1 15.25-ounce package Mint Creme Oreos
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup crème de menthe
1 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream
1-2 drops of peppermint extract, more or less to taste
4 drops green food coloring
2 cups heavy cream, whipped

Place Oreo cookies into the work bowl of a food processor; process until pulverized. Add melted butter, and process until mixed. Press crumbs into the bottom of a 9” pie plate, reserving 1/4 cup for topping. Place pie pan into freezer while you make the filling. Put marshmallow cream into a large mixing bowl, and slowly whisk in crème de menthe. Whisk in extract and food coloring. Carefully fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared pan and return to the freezer. Allow to freeze for at least four hours. It will not freeze firm because of the crème de menthe, making it easy to slice when you’re ready to serve it. Serve sprinkled with remaining cookie crumbs, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a spritz of whipped cream.

PRINT RECIPE

 

If you prefer your after dinner mints in a more portable form, be sure to try this Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Fudge.

This post is linked to:

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Merry Monday

Over the Moon

 Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

Dream, Create, Inspire

Grace at Home

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Ritz Cracker Thin Mint Clones

"Remember, a balanced meal is a cookie in each hand!" - Anonymous

Just before Christmas a friend asked me if I had a good recipe for cookies that tasted like the popular Girl Scout cookie, Thin Mints. My only experience, up until now, was a recipe that Sandra Lee of the Food Network had provided some years ago which was coating vanilla wafers with mint-flavored chocolate.  So, one year I tried this, and put the cookies out on the tray.  My oldest son grabbed one, bit into it and said, "What is this, a Vanilla Wafer covered with chocolate?"  Umm, yes, it was, and it was obvious that it was.

This year, however, my daughter-in-law (different son) told me about a very simple recipe to make an amazing clone of the beloved cookies.  I tried it and am hooked. These are wonderful and the recipe couldn't be simpler.

Girl Scout Thin Mint Clone

1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips

3-4 drops peppermint oil

A sleeve of Ritz Crackers

Melt the chocolate over simmering water in the top of a double boiler.  Add peppermint oil to taste.  Dip crackers, coating well with chocolate, and place onto waxed paper to set.

I made these after midnight the evening before our Boxing Day dinner.  I used 60% cacao Ghirardelli chocolate chips and whatever happened to be left in the bottle of mint extract (my guess is probably 1/4 teaspoon). After letting them set, I decided to give them a more festive look by melting about 1/2 cup of green mint Ghirardelli chips and drizzling this over the top.

Delicious!

I'll never buy a Thin Mint again (but don't worry, Girl Scouts, there are plenty of your other offerings that I will buy!)