Watermelon and Cucumber Salad for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is another salad designed to feed a crowd. Like the green bean salad that was featured yesterday, this one uses the rag-tag ends of summer produce to make a salad whose savory and sweet elements are combined to make an unusual salad that will be new to many. It's a personal favorite of mine. The combination of watermelon and crunchy cucumbers provides a sweetness and texture that I love. It takes about 15 minutes to make this almost effortless salad, but I do have one caution to share with you. Don't assemble this salad too far ahead of serving time. Think of this as a goop alert. For maximum flavor, all salad ingredients should be icy cold before they are combined, and if you want your salad to look as good as it tastes, don't let it sit for more than 2 hours once the ingredients have been combined. This is a dish that can be made by young cooks, so if you are lucky enough to have one eager to help in the kitchen let them chop away. This salad is always well received and, fortunately, I've never had to worry about handling leftovers. If you have never tried this salad I urge you to do so. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the flavor punch this unusual combination of ingredients packs. Here is how the salad is made.

Fresh Green Bean Salad for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...For many, this weekend marks the end of summer and the start of a new school year. When I was in grammar school this was an exciting time. I'd spend the weekend checking my pencil box to make sure it complied with regulations and carefully walk around the house with heavy socks over my new school shoes. The object was to break them in without scratching the leather, so that on the first day of school my appearance would be unblemished.  French braids would replace the wild mane of summer and a carefully chosen outfit that smelled store new was neatly hung and hooked over the door knob where it could be easily reached. Accessories on that first day of school would include color coordinated ribbons and socks, the fanciest barrettes my allowance could buy and, my pride and joy, a Lone Ranger lunch box that predated the unisex movement by decades. Years later, I'd watch my own children go through a similar ritual, all of us excited that the summer was coming to an end and almost grateful that routine would again direct our days. Labor Day weekend, then and now, was a busy time for us and while we'd have a barbecue it was not elaborate. I know that many of you will have company this weekend. I wanted to share some simple salad recipes with you. The recipes are scaled to feed a gang and take advantage of the rag-tag late summer produce that's now in markets. The first is a tasty bean salad that's paired with tomatoes and cheese and so colorful that it will please the eyes as well as the palate. It's super simple to make and it will feed 16. Here is how it is made.