Mexican Corn

In my neighborhood there is no shortage of yummy, buttery, mayonnaise-y, cheesy grilled corn on the cob. It seemed easy enough to make, so I attempted to recreate a lesser-evil version of my own at home. Also, as an "Ode to Nolita" before I leave this A+mazing New York weather behind, I thought it appropriate to sneak in an extra post today as my bon voyage to you all, as well as to my beloved 'hood. I'll be back soon enough, with some new Parisian inspirations. But, until then....peace out cub scouts.

Ingredients:

For the corn:
4 roasted corn, in husk
2 tbsp. light mayo
2 tbsp. part-skim cotija cheese
1 tsp. sriracha chili sauce
1 lime, cut into 4

Salad components:
4 cups mixed greens and spinach salad mixture
1 tomato
1 cucumber
1/2 small red onion
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/3 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds

Balsamic dressing:
2 oz. balsamic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. garlic mustard aioli
1 tsp. honey
1/2 shallot, minced
salt & pepper, to taste

Procedure:


Preheat the oven to 375. Soak the corn with the husks in water for about 20 minutes, then pat dry. Peel back the husks, but do not remove them, simply place them back to cover the corn. Place the corn on a tray (or if you happen to have a grill- grill away!) and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

While the corn is roasting, cut the lime into 4 quarters, mix the light mayo with the chili sauce in a separate bowl, and grate/crumble the cotija cheese on a separate plate.

Also, I used this time to prepare a salad to pair with the corn. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing; balsamic vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic, shallot, honey, salt & pepper, in a salad dressing emulsifier or a blender to thicken the dressing. Place the dressing in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then, chop the red onion, cucumber, tomato and mix those with the salad greens and top with roasted sunflower seeds and quinoa. When ready to serve, dress the salad.

When the corn is finished cooking, remove the husks and clean the corn. Spread the mayonnaise, roll in the cheese and finish by squeezing a quarter of lime on each piece of corn. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Oven-Baked Cajun Tilapia

On Sunday a few friends and I headed to Madison Square Mark't Eats, which is going on until June 3rd. If you have not had a chance to check it out, I would highly recommend you visit this awesome food mecca, plus the cuuute workers (especially at Roberta's) aren't too hard on the eyes. Some friends of mine are running a cookie stand called Cookie Panache, so if you do end up visiting make sure to show them some support...the coconut caramel cookie was our favorite!

Anyway, I brought this all up because one of the stands "Spice and Tease" (yeah, they definitely got me with their name) had a huuuge selection of spices that my fellow foodie friends and I could not resist. I bought some spices and since the owner loved us so much he decided to throw in free samples- funny enough he happened to throw in "Herbs de Provence"- yes! another reference to my upcoming trip to France (woooo!). Thus, I was inspired by our spice trip to make a simple piece of baked fish to showcase the wonderful flavors the spices had to offer.

Ingredients:

2 pieces Tilapia filet
2-3 tbsp. Cajun spice
2 tbsp. Herbs de Provence
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper (If available to you, use lemon peppercorns from Trader Joe's)
1 lemon, sliced horizontally

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Blot fish with a paper towel to wipe off any excess water. Then, rub in the Cajun spice and Herbs de Provence on both sides of the fish, use amounts generous enough to cover both sides. Sprinkle both sides with some garlic powder, salt and pepper (Here, I used Lemon Peppercorns from Trader Joe's). Then, drizzle the olive oil on top of the fish, cover with lemon slices and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping the fish after 10 minutes. This deliciously juicy fish would be great over a salad, in a sandwich or even eaten plain...it is really melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

As seen below, I paired my fish with a toasted quinoa salad that I made with ingredients I already had in my refrigerator- roasted corn, avocado, and sauteed red onion.

Serves 2. Enjoy!

Havarati Dill Grilled Cheese

Listen it's finals time, I need quick and I need good.

Ingredients:

1/4 avo
2 slices tomato
1 tsp. cajun spice
1/2 persian cucumber, sliced
2 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes
2 oz. dill havarati cheese (found it in TJ's)
a shake of salt and a few shakes of pepper

1 tsp. butter
1 tbsp. balsamic reduction
1/4 shallot, minced

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 375.

Spread the avocado onto one slice of multigrain bread, top it with the cajun seasoning. Then, layer the sun- dried tomatoes, slices of cucumber, then the havarati dill cheese, top with sliced tomato some salt and pepper.

Now comes the "hard" part. Mix together 1 tsp. of softened butter (in small amounts butter is fine, contrary to popular belief, but if the butter scares you too much, by all means use smart/earth balance) with the shallot and balsamic reduction (see my post about eggplant seitan Parmesan where there is an explanation- I had some already made) or sub for regular balsamic vinegar. Then spread that on the top piece of bread, close the sandwich. Spray the top and bottom with cooking spray or rub a small amount of olive oil on each side, this helps get the bread extra crunchy. Put it in the oven and toast for about 5-10 minutes.

The havarati cheese melts soo well into major ooey gooey cheesy satisfaction.

Plus, these plates make me so happy during finals.

Serves 1. Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato & Haricot Vert Salad

Being that haricot vert were 20% off in Whole Foods, I had to grab myself a bag of these babies. Also, it seemed very fitting buying a french bean this week since I will be leaving to Paris very soon!!!!! (Woooo!) Surprisingly enough, haricot vert are a low calorie (25 calories per half cup!) source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants- you would not have thought that huh? I usually prepare them simply by sauteing with onion and garlic and adding in some vinegar, but I decided to get a tad more creative being that it's Spring time (I'm just going to completely ignore the miserable rain). I added some heirloom tomatoes for color and some frisee for an added fun texture. With all the different textures and colors included in the salad, there truly was a party in my mouth...and this time you are all invited!

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag haricot vert (french green beans)
8 oz. mini Heirloom tomatoes, cut in half
1 large shallot
1 bunch frisee lettuce, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste

For the dressing;
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 tbsp. sriracha chili sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne
salt & pepper
pinch of sugar

Procedure:


Boil a pot of water over a high-heat. When the water is boiling add in the haricot vert and boil for aprroximately 3 minutes. Prepare an ice bath for the beans, or run the string beans under cold water in order to stop the cooking. This procedure is know as "blanch & shock."

In another pan, saute the shallot in the olive oil for about 3 minutes, then add in the garlic along with some salt and pepper and continue to saute for another minute or two. Next, toss the stringbeans into the saute mixture. Set aside.

Chop the frisee. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the part-skim ricotta, juice & zest of 1 lemon, sriracha chili sauce, oregano, and cayenne.


Toss together the haricot vert/saute mixture, the frisee and the dressing, and add some salt & pepper as necessary. Serves 4-6. Enjoy!!

Eggplant not-so Parmigiana

Cheesy goodness not your thing? Then no need to read on. Does anyone else find that eggplant parmigiana can kind of get mundane after a while? After constant personal look-overs on restaurant menus and at events, I had to address the situation. So as I thought of what I could do to mix things up, I was inspired by the one and only Raquel who used honey goat cheese in a recent dish (yummy quinoa salad with black beans, fire roasted corn, and honey goat cheese...mmmm!). Cracking it out a bit more by adding caramelized onions to the mix, a scrumptious final product was made. When I made this for dinner, we had it together with brown basmati rice and chickpeas. Highly recommended combo.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1/3 cup olive oil
cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano, salt & pepper
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I always get the tomato basil flavor)
1/4 cup honey goat cheese
1 onion, caramelized
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 375.


Cut eggplant into 1/2" thick slices, season with 1/2 the requested olive oil, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. It isn't all that important how much seasoning you put, but just don't smother the eggplant. Put it on a tray and roast it in the oven for 20 minutes.

As the eggplant is roasting, begin to caramelize the onion. Usually full caramelization takes about 30 minutes, however I was a tad impatient and only did it for the 20 minutes while the eggplant was roasting. Also, I feel like they cook more anyway while in the oven afterward.


Heat up a pan on a medium flame and use the other 1/2 of olive oil. Slice the onion in half, and then into strips. Put that in the heated oil and add 1 tbsp. sea salt. Make sure to cover the onion with the oil, stir it up every 30 seconds or so so that it doesn't brown. After about 5 minutes the onion should stop sweating (looks like steaming- because the water is being cooked out) and after about 10 minutes you should start to see some caramelizing goin on. If you don't plan on paying good attention to the onions at this point lower the flame so they don't burn, either way keep stirring up the onions every so often.


After the onions are caramelized, take out a pyrex and start to layer the eggplant-we're going to make 4 layered piles, so put 4 pieces, then 1/2 the tomato sauce, 1/4 of the caramelized onions on each pile, then 1 tbsp. goat cheese per tower, then another layer of eggplant and cover with the rest of the tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and lastly the Parmesan.

Bake on 375 for about 15-20 minutes and then broil for 2 minutes at the end. Serves 4, enjoy!

Roasted Fennel

Yo yo yo! I apologize for my complete and utter disappearance. I can give you a million and one excuses as to why I haven't blogged, but who really cares? The most important thing is that I am back and ready for some foodie action. PS in the works, thanks to my awesome friend David, is virginecuisine.com! Stay tuned for more info about that...

Now back to the whole cooking thing. Last week I attempted to make Giada's sweet potato gnocchi with whole wheat flour and low-fat ricotta, but to no avail. It was my first complete FAIL in the kitchen, but it's part of the learning process...I guess not all dishes can tastefully be slimmed down. On the bright side, I made some roasted fennel as a side dish and it was definitely a complete WIN!

Ingredients:

1 Fennel bulb, fronds reserved (fronds are the leafy things on top)
1.5 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. orange muscat champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch of hungarian paprika
pinch sugar

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 425.


Cut the fennel bulb into horizontal planks as shown above.

Dress the fennel with olive oil, orange muscat champagne vinegar salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and hungarian paprika. Rub it in well to both sides. Then place fennel on a greased pyrex and sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top.


Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes until tender and slightly browned. Serves 2, enjoy!

Creamy Polenta & Truffled Mushrooms

I've been staring at the leftover bag of cornmeal ever since I made cornmeal crusted tuna a few weeks ago and thus my staring turned into craving polenta and/or cornbread. Then, I went out to dinner one night and polenta was on the menu but no one seemed to want to order it because of its fatty nature. Well, true but false when homemade- polenta can be slimmed down quite easily. Now the issue became what do I cook with the polenta? A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Shirley, came over for dinner and taught me how to make mushrooms with Marsala cooking wine. So, using the leftover Marsala she brought over, I decided to give it a go, tweaking it a bit of course.

Ingredients:

For the polenta;
1 cup cornmeal
4 cups 2% milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt & pepper, to taste

For the mushrooms;
2, 8-0z packs mushrooms (any type you prefer)
2 shallots, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine
2 tbsp. dried thyme (definitely use fresh if it's available to you)
1-2 tablespoons truffle oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Procedure:

For the polenta;

Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring every so often. When you see bubbles start to form around the edges, slowly add in the ground cornmeal. Add a tablespoon of salt and continue stirring on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture heats up again. Reduce to a low heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, paying attention to the polenta and stirring every other minute or so. If your polenta thickens up too much, no worries just add a bit of water to loosen it. Turn off the heat when done, and add in the Parmesan (before serving). If necessary, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the mushrooms;

Heat a saute pan over a medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add in the minced shallots and stir for about 3/4 minutes until the shallots are translucent and a tad browned. Next, add in the mushrooms, thyme, salt, pepper and the Marsala wine. Reduce heat to medium and stir for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid is cooked out. When finished and read to serve, top it off with truffle oil.

Serves 4. Enjoy!