Like last year, my plan this month is to feature a new recipe each Friday. The goal, of course, is to arm my fellow watermelon lovers with ideas for dishes to create on Thanksgiving (whether you’re a host or a guest). Today’s recipe is an appetizer, which is one of my favorite parts of the Turkey Day menu.

My in-laws make legendary Thanksgiving appetizers. So legendary, in fact, that I practically fill up on the apps before the meal is served. But I’m a trooper, and I manage to find my second wind in time for turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. If they served this appetizer, though, I’d probably polish off the entire thing and have to skip right to dessert.

WATERMELON CHECKERS

INGREDIENTS

• Seedless watermelon
• Your favorite cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cut equal size 1/2-inch-thick square shapes from watermelon and your favorite cheese. Arrange as a checkerboard on a serving tray. Cut small circles of the watermelon and cheese as the “checkers.” Enjoy, and try to resist the temptation to yell “King me!” every time you eat a piece from the last row.

When I saw the name of this recipe, I knew I’d love it. The only thing I love more than watermelon is lasagna, and I’ve also been known to indulge in breakfast from time to time, so that makes this creation a culinary dream come true for me.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board website describes this recipe as “an easy breakfast in 1-2-3,” which is good because my morning often allows only enough time for coffee.

WATERMELON BREAKFAST LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups cornflakes
• 2 cups minced watermelon
• 2 cups fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries
• 2 cups vanilla yogurt

DIRECTIONS

Place 1/3 of the cornflakes in an even layer in the bottom of an 8 X 8 serving dish. Mix together the watermelon, blueberries and yogurt and spoon half of it over the cornflake layer evenly. Sprinkle another layer of the cornflakes over the yogurt and then layer the remaining yogurt over that. Sprinkle the remaining cornflakes evenly over the top.

It’s hot out there, people, which is why both recipes featured here on What About Watermelon this month will be ice cold and refreshing. Let me repeat – ice cold and refreshing. As if watermelon isn’t refreshing enough, right?

WATERMELON ICE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups pureed watermelon
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

In blender, process chunks of seeded watermelon until liquefied. In large shallow pan, stir all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved; place pan in freezer. Stir watermelon mixture every 20 minutes until frozen, about 2 hours. Cover; store in freezer. To serve, break mixture up with fork.

UP NEXT: Last call for watermelon carvings!

I love pancakes. That’s actually an understatement. I can’t get enough of them. When I make pancakes – usually on a Saturday or Sunday morning, though sometimes for dinner during the week – I almost always make way too many of them.

I’ve also been known to experiment by throwing random ingredients into the batter, such as bananas, apples and cinnamon, chocolate chips or, on one adventurous morning, a certain fruity pebble-like cereal (it was pretty good!). The recipe below is next on my flapjack to-do list.

WATERMELON-STACKED BREAKFAST PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon butter
3 6-inch hot pancakes
1 1/2 cups minced seedless watermelon

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the maple syrup with the butter until the butter melts. Place a hot pancake on a warmed plate and top with 1/3 of the syrup and one third of the watermelon.  Continue the process with the second and third pancake. Enjoy. (Is there any other option?!)

Looking for the perfect way to cool down this summer? Of course you are. So am I. Which is what led me to this cool recipe (as if watermelon wasn’t cool enough). This sweet watermelon ice is pretty easy to make, which, if you know me by now, is a priority for me in the kitchen. Seriously, it’s harder to make coffee than it is to make this drink, so you have no excuse not to try it.

SWEET WATERMELON ICE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups fresh watermelon juice
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the watermelon juice into a shallow glass baking dish. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir well. Place the dish in the freezer and chill.

Remove the pan every 1/2 hour and stir. The juice will form light, grainy ice crystals as it freezes. Repeat this process until the juice is fully frozen, about 4 hours, depending on the temperature of your freezer. You can also use an ice cream machine, following the manufacturer’s directions.

Serve immediately, or store in the freezer in a covered container up to several weeks.

Yes, you read that right. Chicken IN a watermelon. And sure, it doesn’t look as appetizing as the watermelon steak I wrote about last month, but it’s watermelon and chicken: two of my favorite summertime foods. A whole roasted chicken cooked inside a sweet watermelon. Who can deny that?

The whole chicken is stuffed inside a hollowed-out watermelon (save those pieces for dessert – if you can last five whole hours without eating it!) and mixed with a five-spice powder. There isn’t much watermelon taste, but you do get a hint of sweetness. The best part is how juicy and tender the watermelon makes the chicken. I could pull it apart with my fingers. Now that’s finger-licking good!

The recipe is courtesy of the Buckaroo Banzai DVD, and the photo, although it might look a little strange to see a chicken IN a watermelon, is from John on Wine.

CHICKEN IN A WATERMELON

INGREDIENTS

1 very large watermelon
1 roaster chicken, about 5 to 6 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 lemon
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons chilled butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut a 1/4-inch-thick horizontal slice off bottom of watermelon, so it won’t roll. Discard. Cut off the top third of the melon horizontally, then scoop out seeds and enough of the pulp from both remain parts to make room for the chicken.
2. Season cavity of chicken with salt and pepper. Insert lemon pricked with fork, along with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Brush outside of chicken with remaining soy sauce, and sprinkle with five-spice powder,
3. Place chicken in the larger part of the melon and position the other piece of melon on top, securing with long skewers.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 2 hours. Then reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 2 1/2 hours longer.
5. Place watermelon on a tray and show it to guests. Return it to kitchen: remove chicken and carve. With a ladle, remove juices from watermelon and reduce in skillet until thickened; whisk in cold butter and spoon over chicken before serving.

Every now and then I like to post a kid-friendly recipe here on What About Watermelon under the guise that I’m doing it for all the parents out there who are looking for a fun recipe to make with their kids. Of course, that’s one reason I post recipes like this, but the other reason is that I like to make them too. Watermelon, jelly and cookies… you don’t need to be eight years old to love that!

WATERMELON JELLY LOGS

INGREDIENTS
6 3-inch x 2-inch x 5-inch watermelon rectangles
3 flavors, all-fruit or low-sugar preserves
6 ginger, molasses or  peanut butter cookies

DIRECTIONS
Using a melon baller, cut 3 divots into a long side of each watermelon rectangle. Fill each divot with a different all-fruit or low-sugar preserve. Serve each rectangle with a cookie.

For more recipes like this, check out the National Watermelon Promotion Board website!

Recently, a friend sent me an e-mail with a subject line that read simply “thought you’d like this!”  The body of the e-mail was a link – nothing else. I clicked on the link and what greeted me on the other side was a curious culinary concoction known as the watermelon steak.

The watermelon steak is a simple thing – a slice of watermelon (without rind) pan-seared in sherry, butter, salt and pepper. It’s a big hit at a restaurant outside Boston called 51 Lincoln. At 51 Lincoln, Chef Jeffrey Fournier serves it as a $10 appetizer alongside feta cheese and a cantaloupe and citrus salad. I haven’t eaten at 51 Lincoln, but if I find myself in that neck of the woods anytime soon (unfortunately, I won’t), I’ll make it a point to stop in to sample Chef Fournier’s handiwork.

Below is the recipe for watermelon steak. According to the Boston Globe website where I found  it, the recipe is “adapted from” 51 Lincoln. I don’t know whether  that means it’s the exact recipe, but it looks close. Not that I’d know what a watermelon steak recipe should look like, although I am alarmed that the watermelon has to roast in a pan for two-and-a-half hours at 350 degrees. That seems like a long time, but what do I know?

WATERMELON STEAK
(Adapted from 51 Lincoln recipe)

INGREDIENTS

Vegetable oil (for brushing)
1/4 large watermelon
1/4 bottle cream  sherry
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Feta cheese (served on side)

DIRECTIONS
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have a large roasting pan on hand. Oil a piece of parchment paper about the size of the pan.
2. Discard the rounded end of the watermelon. Cut the watermelon into 4 even slices, each at least 1-inch thick. Remove the rind.
3. Place the slices in the roasting pan. Pour the sherry over them and dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and very lightly with pepper. Cover the watermelon with the parchment paper, then cover the pan tightly with foil. Roast the slices for 2 1/2 hours or until charred around the edges.
4. Place watermelon on a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Strain cooking juices. Serve watermelon with juices spooned over, and feta cheese.

Here it is, the last recipe in our five-week series of game day goodies, and this one brings the football theme to life in a very literal way. It’s the football cake. Actually, it’s not really a cake (good news for those who don’t want to bake). It’s more of a watermelon sculpture. A very simple, yet very cool sculpture.

FOOTBALL CAKE

INGREDIENTS

Large seedless oblong shaped watermelon
2 cups cream cheese frosting
Licorice strips

DIRECTIONS

Slice two of the sides lengthwise down the watermelon to expose a large watermelon surface on both sides. Cut a football shaped marquis out of the watermelon. Place the watermelon cut into a football shape on a platter. Slice into thin slices but leave assembled as a football. Decorate with the frosting and licorice ties to look like a football with stitches. Serves 18 to 24.

So you’re snacking on chips and fire and ice salsa, chowing down on a few dozen watermelon glazed mini barbeque meatballs and you’ve just polished off your second pulled pork and watermelon barbeque sandwich. Chances are, you’re getting thirsty. That’s where this recipe
comes in.

It should be noted that this recipe is very flexible. You can add lots of things to it to give it some extra “punch”… if you know what I mean.

WATERMELON PUNCH

INGREDIENTS

1 large watermelon
6 cups watermelon juice (see directions)
2 cups pineapple juice
1 can (12 ounces) frozen raspberry juice blend
1 small can (6 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 lemon (sliced) (optional)

DIRECTIONS

First, cut a hole in the top of your watermelon, similar to the photo above. Scoop out all the watermelon (you’ll use it to make the juice) and set the watermelon aside to be used as the punch bowl. If you can’t find a whole watermelon, don’t worry. You can use sliced watermelon to make the juice and put the punch in regular (i.e. boring) punch bowl.

To make watermelon juice, process small chunks of watermelon, with seeds removed, in a blender or food processor until they turn to liquid. Make more than you need for this punch, freeze the extra in ice-cube trays, and use the watermelon cubes to chill the punch. Combine all ingredients in a large jar or pitcher and chill. Add watermelon ice cubes immediately prior to serving. Yields 12 to 14 servings.