the black eyed susan: a not-quite salad for a not-quite fourth of july party

Last night some of my friends held their annual Not-Quite-4th-of-July Party. They made burgers and supplied a few kegs, and everyone brought a side dish. I wasn't sure what to make, but was tempted by a recipe that Giada made a few nights ago (click here). It looked healthy, refreshing and different (not to mention easy as pie - thought I don't find making pie to be very easy, so perhaps easy as a brownie mix or something). Since it was blazing hot yesterday (thought I did squeeze a run in there - score one for Dana!), I decided that an almost-salad that was both easy and refreshing would fit the bill.

1. Purchase a 3 pound watermelon (about a quarter of a large watermelon). Cut off the rind and cut flesh into bite-sized pieces
2. Add 8oz feta cheese, cut up
3. Add about a cup of watercress (if you can't find watercress, arugula will work, and Paula Deen even has a recipe with watermelon and mint here).
4. Add some lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.
(This recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentis)

See how easy that is!! I thought it was yum yum yum, and Tom thought it was "interesting," but sometimes I think his sense of taste is suspect (shhhh don't tell). When we brought it to the party, Tom saw someone take a spoonful of salad and say "oh wow! watermelon salad, and it even has feta!" So thats your third party unbiased opinion.

A word of caution, however. This salad is best served right away (think of the difference between eating crisp cool watermelon and warmish watermelon), so may not be good if its going to be sitting on a picnic table for awhile.

And what are you going to do with all that leftover watercress? That's what I was asking myself, so I need to research some options. But here's a tried-and-true favorite of mine: Toast an everything bagel, and top with cream cheese, turkey lunch meat, and watercress. Yum!!

As for that not-quite-4th-of-july party, it was a blast!!

We had a great band (check them out here)