Fresh corn cakes are something of a summertime favorite. Corn cakes take me back to the farm when we would sit around the table with a pot of pinto beans and skillet cornbread. These corn cakes are made with fresh corn and paired with a honey butter spiked with cayenne. I took half the batter and added some diced roasted poblano which turned out great. We had fresh corn cakes alongside grilled veggies and sliced ripe tomatoes straight from the farmers market. It was so satisfying!
What to do with the leftover rib rub and barbecue sauce? Here’s one idea, make a barbecued chicken pizza. California Pizza Kitchen made it famous but they aren’t the only ones who can make a tasty pizza. I had leftover flatbreads that would make a yummy pizza topped with barbecue sauce, fresh mozzarella slices, seasoned barbecue chicken, some red onion slices and cilantro thrown over the top just to make it pretty. It doesn’t matter whether you have leftovers from scratch or store bought, you can put this pizza together in no time and it will taste fantastic because you made it.
The most succulent tender ribs come from slow roasting. At least that’s my conclusion based on many attempts to get that tender fall off the bone ribs. I started with a dry rub inspired by Bobby Flay then sealed the ribs in a foil wrap and slow roasted for several hours. I placed the wrap on a broiler pan and filled the bottom pan with water which worked as a steam bath. I made a sauce using the new Rotel tomato sauce and rub seasonings. The sauce had a kick that complimented the ribs perfectly. We had a meal of ribs, roasted corn and tomato salad so there was plenty to eat but I swear we just couldn’t get enough of these ribs. Every time we picked up a rib the tender meat would just fall apart.
Recently I came across two separate recipes that I felt had to go together. One was Paul Prudhomme’s classic Barbecued Shrimp and the other was a Remoulade Slaw straight from the new Cooking Light magazine. Instantly I knew these two would go together to be the perfect Po’ Boy sandwich. But this isn’t your typical Po’ Boy, in that it isn’t deep fried, but lightly seasoned and pan fried in butter for a delicate crisp shrimp that is encased in a french roll with a spicy remoulade slaw and sliced cherry tomatoes. I made this one for Joe who loves the spicy food of Louisiana.
I love these zucchini cupcakes specifically because they contain no oil or butter yet they are incredibly moist and taste heavenly. The secret is to eliminate the oil or butter and add natural unsweetened applesauce. It’s a terrific substitute when using zucchini or carrots in cakes, cupcakes or breads. I’ve been using this recipe from the Southern Living 1993 annual edition for many years which is listed as a Zucchini Carrot Cake. I’ve made it in a bundt pan, a tube pan, a sheet cake, round layered cake and this time as cupcakes. I didn’t have any carrots but doubled the zucchini. The zucchini is plentiful this time of year and this is one way to disguise it in a way that everyone will love. I love zucchini many different ways, but my guys, not so much. However, they do love this recipe and I don’t feel guilty, except maybe for that delicious cream cheese frosting on top!
There’s nothing more New Mexican than having a burrito smothered in green chile sauce. Thick green chile sauce overflowing with melted cheese creates the most savory and mouth watering New Mexican cuisine. It’s just one of those things on my list that I can’t live without. I need to make room to refill my freezer with this year’s crop of Hatch green chile so I’ve been making a lot of favorites lately. This is definitely one of the best.
I’ve always wanted to try Greek Nachos. They look so tempting with the toasted pita triangles piled high with seasoned meat, salty kalamata olives and feta cheese, tomatoes, onions and that yummy tzatziki sauce. I chose to go with ground pork since ground lamb was nowhere to be found on the day I went shopping. Not to worry, it turned out to be a great alternative. And the tzatziki sauce was so good, straight from the blog of Kalyn’s Kitchen.
It’s berry season! For a couple weeks now the berries have been abundant and at a bargain. I always buy more than I need and put up several packages in the freezer for later. I’ve been craving a berry filled crumb cake to start my morning with that first cup of coffee. This cake turned out so good with it’s cream cheese and berry filling and topped with a streusel crumb topping. The only downside was that the topping virtually crumbled at every slice. I’m still picking up crumbs!
These yummy green chile quesadillas come straight from Kat’s kitchen. I was enlightened when one day she pulled out her comal and layered green chile and cheese between tortillas and grilled them. I kept thinking why hadn’t I thought of that! It was so simple but one of the tastiest things on earth. I topped them with some chunky guacamole with sweet corn and flamethrower sauce. You may want to serve these on the side but we had them as our entire meal. Once you start you just can’t stop!
I call this my humble pie. I love pies and I love making pies but I’m still working on my pie dough skills. It’s a work in progress and with trial and error I’m learning something new each time I put a pie together. The first time I ever made a cherry pie with fresh cherries I thought it was the best thing I’d ever ate. I like sweet cherries better than sour but I would not recommend Bing cherries as they tend to be hard and don’t cook down the way other cherries do. The cherries were on sale this week so I picked up a few to bring home just to eat. They had that taste and texture that I knew would make a great pie so I went back and picked up enough to make two.
An Inspired Cook 