The Wonders Of Watermelon

On a hot summer day, what's better than a slice of cold watermelon?

Well, how about a watermelon martini? Or perhaps a nice cool glass of watermelon lemonade?

Louis Osteen, the chef at Louis's Restaurant & Bar in Charleston, S.C., shared a few recipes on CBS This Morning.

Watermelon Lemonade

6 cups watermelon cubes (seeds removed)
1/4 cup raspberries
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
2 cup lemon juice

Place watermelon, raspberries and water in container of electric blender, cover and blend until smooth. Strain through fine mesh strainer into pitcher. Stir in sugar and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Watermelon Martini

Fresh watermelon juice:
Puree approximately 1 cup of diced and seeded watermelon. Strain through fine mesh sieve.

Per Martini:
1/2 oz Absolut Kurant
2 oz watermelon juice
1 tablespoon Triple Sec
1 tablesoon Rose's Lime Juice
1 tablespoon creme de casis
Pickled watermelon rind to garnish

Fill martini shaker with ice. Add all ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled martini glass and garnish with pickled watermelon rind.

Refrigerated Watermelon Rind Pickles
A sweet, spicy pickle; the perfect use for watermelon rind.

4 cups cubed peeled watermelon rind, red removed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vinegar
2 sticks cinnamon (about 3 inches each)
1 teaspoon whole cloves

CBS
Louis Osteen amidst the melons

Harvest Watermelon Pie

3 cups chopped watermelon rind (green peel removed)
1 package (6 ounces) sweetened dried cranberries
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crusts, room temperature
Orange Glaze (below)

Place rind in saucepan; add water to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer until translucent and tender. Remove from heat and drain. Heat oven to 425°F. Stir together cooked rind, cranberries, walnuts, sugar, vinegar, pumpkin pie spice, flour, and salt. Cut one crust into 2-inch-wide strips; arrange strips over filling to make lattice crust. Press ends of strips into edge of bttom crust. Fold edge of bottom crust over strips. Seal and flute edge. Bake until filling bubbles and crust is browned (about 40 minutes). If needed, cover edge with aluminum foil during baking to prevent excessive browning. Remove pie from oven. Spoon Orange Glaze over hot pie.

Orange Glaze: Stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons grated orange peel, and 1 tablespoon orange juice until blended.

Watermelon Ham Wraps

1 tablespoon chive-and-onion spreadable cream cheese
1 large burrito-size low-fat tortilla
1 ounce thinly sliced low-fat ham
1 lettuce leaf
1 seeded watermelon spear, about 1/2 inch thick, 1 inch wide and 9 inches long

Spread cream cheese on tortilla, covering to edges. Place ham across center of tortilla; top with leaf lettuce, making sure edges to be rolled are not covered. Place watermelon spear on lettuce just off center. Roll tortilla over watermelon spear; continue rolling, tucking in ham and lettuce. Cream cheese will help tortilla stay rolled. Fasten with wooden pick if needed.

Makes 1 sandwich
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Per serving: 273 calories
33 g carbohydrate, 12 g protein, 11 g fat, 2g dietary fiber, 667mg sodium, 31mg cholesterol

More Watermelon Wrap Combos:
Strawberry cream cheese with turkey, Bibb lettuce and watermelon.

For more on watermelon, go to watermelon.org.

And, to find out more about Louis's Restaurant & Bar and Chef Osteen, go to www.louiss.com.