Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Perfect Pairing: Grilled dinner

Last summer I went to a food and wine festival at Lincoln Park in Chicago.  Chris gave me the tickets for my birthday and I was SO excited.  The morning of the festival I woke up feeling gnarly and not at all like going to a food festival, but I persevered because that is my mecca.  I saw demos from some of my favorite chefs like Rick Bayless and Stephanie Izard and tried lots of good food and wine.  Fortunately, I felt better as the day went on and we had a great time!

One of the best bites of food I had all day was a truffled Mexican street corn.  Holy corn Batman, it was delicious.  I may have gone back for seconds… and thirds.  It was a small piece of sweet corn rolled in some glorious mayonnaise mixture then topped with parmesan and shaved truffles.  I just can’t even describe it. 

Last summer my cousin’s wife made an extraordinarily good Mexican Street Corn dip for our annual Lake House Chef’s Challenge.  It was a serious crowd pleaser.  So, ever since the dip and the festival corn I have been wanting to try a variation on Mexican street corn.

Enter Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad!  Grilled corn and grilled scallions are mixed with pasta in a tangy sauce and then combined with cilantro, parmesan and avocado.  It is really tasty. 

If you have not grilled your scallions you are missing out.  It totally changes the flavor.  They are fantastic on tacos.

This salad is so not the typical summer pasta salad and would be a hit at any party.  There is some prep involved so I think it is paired best with a simple grilled entrée like hamburgers or brats. 

I wonder what else you can do with Mexican street corn.  Goals!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Simple Fruit Dip

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Avocado and Strawberry Toast with Feta and Honey

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Salted Peanut Bars

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Fruit Pizza Cookies

Tweet

Un-Recipe Files – Avocado and Strawberry Toast with Feta and Honey

This spring I was lucky enough to go on a girl’s trip to Nashville to celebrate two very special birthdays with 11 other lovely ladies.  We. Had. A. Blast.   I had no idea Nashville was such a fun city!  Of course, this particular group of girls made Nashville extra fun that weekend.  We knew we were off to a good start when we walked into our hotel room and saw the incredible balcony.  It got a lot of use that weekend.

 

If there was a theme to the weekend it was probably something like, look ridiculous and be proud of it.  What started off as a denim only event quickly morphed into creating ridiculous outfits in general.

 

This one had a practical purpose as well.

 

 

You didn’t want to get caught walking alone in case someone thought that is actually how you dressed.  We were much better as an entire unit.

 

Nashville was hopping that weekend because of the Rock n’ Roll marathon and incredible weather.  The bars were all pretty much at capacity!

 

The weekend was in no way gourmet.  There was a lot of junk food consumed.  A lot.  Even though it was 99% bad, there was one meal that shined for me.  The first morning I walked to a nearby coffee shop with some girls to pick up breakfast and iced coffee.  The coffee shop specialized in healthy, local, organic ingredients.  I ordered avocado toast since that is one of my favorite things. They suggested adding strawberries, feta, and honey.  Why not?

 

Oh my goodness, I could not believe how delicious this combination was!  I was immediately obsessed.  It wasn’t long before I tried it at home.

 

There is no real recipe here.  Just mash up a ripe avocado with a pinch of salt, spread on some good quality toast, top with sliced strawberries, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkle of feta.  Perfect for breakfast, a light lunch, or a snack.  It is crazy good.  Thank you Nashville for giving me this great idea and a ridiculously (emphasis on ridiculous) fun weekend.

 

Tweet

Spicy Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

Perfect Pairing:  Tortilla chips, cilantro, onion, and avocado

I am obsessed with this soup.  Not only is it delicious and full of flavor, but it is also really quite healthy.  My version was actually very spicy because I threw in some extra adobo sauce from the canned chipotles.  That stuff has a kick!!  Since it is so spicy you rarely need an entire can.  I wrote a little bit on how to store the extras in the freezer on this Chilaquiles recipe. 

Anyway, if you want to tone down the spice just use less sauce in the soup. This recipe came together really quickly.  You can save yourself some time by using rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  Speaking of chicken, be sure to add the chicken at the very end because the acid in the fresh lime juice can mess with the texture of the chicken.

The soup is great on its own but it is next level fantastic when you add some garnishes to the top.  Top off your soup with crunched up tortilla chips (the thick kind are the best here), cilantro, raw onion, and avocado.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing - Overnight French Toast
Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing - Healthy Pizza

Click "Read more" for the recipe....

Tweet

Un-Recipe Files – Smoked Salmon, Scrambled Eggs, and Avocado Toasts

Admittedly, this is pretty similar to one of my favorite posts, Smoked Salmon Breakfast. 

Smoked salmon is just so tasty and easy.  In Smoked Salmon Breakfast 2.0, I paired it with rye toast, scrambled eggs (made to your personal preference), and mashed avocado.  The only thing I added to the avocado was salt and pepper.

This is a great dish to put together for a big group.  Perfect for the holiday season!

Tweet

Candied Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Perfect Pairing – Summer tomatoes

It is hard to improve on a classic like a BLT, but I think this sandwich knocks the original out of the park. 

I replaced the lettuce with mashed avocado.  Be sure to season the avocado generously with salt and pepper.  You may have to test it out on a chip to make sure the seasoning is just right!

I have found that the best way to cook bacon is in the oven.  I line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack.  Using the cooking rack ensures that the bacon is not cooking in grease.  Clean-up is easy, just toss the foil away with the drained grease.   I really love the combination of sweet and salty so instead of regular bacon I used candied bacon.  It sounds fancy but it is really just adding a sprinkle of brown sugar before it goes in the oven. 

Speaking of bacon, apparently an actor is trying it out as a new currency.  Who knows, people do love bacon.  I wonder if the value would go up if he candies it.

The Perfect Pairing for this sandwich is summer’s final tomatoes.  Hopefully you can still find some sun-warmed tomatoes at a farmers market or your neighbor’s garden. 

Tweet

Summer Corn Salad

Perfect Pairing: Slotted spoon

Oh friends, I have a treat for you. 

I am having a hard time coming up with the words to tell you how delicious this salad is. 

I am the daughter of a farmer and during late summer we have many meals that consist of just sweet corn.  It does not get much better than good sweet corn right out of the field. 

It is hard to improve on straight up sweet corn, butter, salt, and pepper, but I think this salad is up to the task.  Adding crispy bacon, grape tomatoes, basil, and avocado definitely does not hurt!

The Perfect Pairing for this salad is a slotted spoon.  There is nothing fancy about a slotted spoon but it is a great tool for this recipe.  You will need to remove the bacon from the grease to drain, and the easiest way to do that is with a slotted spoon.  Same thing with the onions that have been cooked in the bacon grease.  Yep, they are cooked in the bacon grease.  They don’t suck.

Tweet

Lake House Chef's Challenge 2010 – Appetizer Course

Perfect Pairing:  Oak Run Slinger Cocktail

Be sure to read the first post about the Lake House Chef's Challenge here.

The appetizer course of the First Annual Lake House Chef's Challenge 2010 was full of great dishes.  The kitchen was in a flurry and everyone was excited to get their first taste of competition grub.  The required ingredient for this course was avocado, and all competitors had to use their “secret ingredient” as well in the dish.   Here is what happened….

Jon served Bacon Wrapped Shrimp in Hoisin Sauce, served with Bacon Guacamole (recipe below)

Did I mention that we were judged on presentation as well?  Jon’s presentation was impromptu and amazing.

He even put an eye on the shrimp.

I made Jalapeno Bacon Sliders with an Avocado and Cilantro Slaw (recipe below)

Julie served up a Mango and Coconut Avocado Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette (recipe below)

The Perfect Pairing for the appetizer course was an Oak Run Slinger cocktail.  To earn extra points the competitors could provide a drink pairing for one course.  I was in charge of the appetizer course and came up with the Slinger recipe.  It is a combination of orange juice, lime juice, jalapeno simple syrup and tequila.  It was refreshing and had a little spicy kick.

Be sure to check out these recipes.  They were all fantastic!  Definitely competition material.

Stay tuned for the recap of the next two courses as well as the results.  I know you are all on the edge of your seat.

Tweet

Corn and Avocado Salsa

Perfect Pairing:  Danza Kuduro- Don Omar and Lucenzo

I absolutely love summer in Chicago.  I want to soak up every minute of it and I always worry that it is going by too fast and I am missing something.  Everything is in bloom, everyone is friendly and in a good mood.  Summer is the time for barbeques and al fresco dining.  I am trying to take full advantage of the weather by having as many get togethers on my patio as possible. 

This salsa is perfect for any summer party.  The ingredients pair really well together and just taste like summer.  It is different from your standard salsa because there are no tomatoes but I like having the bulk of the dip be corn and avocado.  It reminds me of the corn salsa at Chipotle restaurant.  The corn is sweet and crunchy and the avocados are creamy and rich.  It makes a big batch but would be great leftover on some grilled chicken or fish.

The Perfect Pairing for this salsa is Danza Kuduro by Don Omar and Lucenzo.  I first heard this song at a Zumba class and I was obsessed with figuring out what it was so I could download it.  As soon as this song starts playing I feel like dancing and eating salsa.  I may or may not do the Zumba routine in my living room when it comes on.  It is also great on the treadmill when you need a jumpstart. 

Tweet

Spicy Tomato and Avocado Shrimp Dip

Perfect Pairing: Organized grocery list

I think the original concept for this dip came from a Super Bowl party my mom attended years ago.  I have adapted it through many trials and it is always a hit.  It seems like a big bowl of dip, but there are usually no leftovers. 

I have to admit that the measurements are more of a suggestion than an exact science.  I don’t measure anything; I just toss in what looks good.  It requires multiple tastings throughout the process to adjust the seasonings…. A tough job, but someone needs to do it!   I like the Cajun Chef Hot Sauce but I am sure any Cajun flavored hot sauce would be fine.  The blackening spice can usually be found near the fish counter.  While you are there pick up some pre-cooked shrimp or buy it frozen.  This is one dish that does not really benefit from peeling, deveining (yuck) and cooking your own shrimp.  Serve it up with some salty tortilla chips!

Tweet