Elote- Mexican Street Corn

Food flavor profiles and the combination of ingredients can sometimes surprise you.  Something as simple as chocolate dipped potato chips may sound wildly outrageous to a few of you, but in reality, it is delicious. (Who doesn't like that sweet and salty combination?)  Elote is no exception.  The two main ingredients here are corn and good ol' mayonnaise.  I know some of you reading this are cringing at the mere thought of it.

I've never understood why so many people out there absolutely detest mayonnaise.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I love it.  Cream cheese, sour cream, alfredo sauce- if it's white and creamy, chances are I'm a fan, and yes, go ahead and insert your inappropriate joke here.

So while others may be hesitant to give elote- also called Mexican street corn- a try, the idea of corn rubbed in a mixture of mayonnaise, lime juice and smoky spices was something I was immediately drawn to.  I was first introduced to this dish back in September at The Mission, a mexican restaurant located here in Scottsdale, and was instantaneously hooked.  The idea of it was so simple, but it was unlike anything I had ever had.

Cut to February, the weekend before Valentine's day when Jon and I traveled to Sedona to celebrate our 1 year anniversary, and I had my second encounter with this creamy corn that, honestly, I had been thinking about for months now at this point.  I had been trying to sell elote to Jon ever since my first bite at The Mission, and wouldn't you know that Sedona had a restaurant that went by that very name.

Elote (the restaurant that is) doesn't take reservations, and they are only open for dinner.  As per the recommendations listed on Yelp, Jon and I arrived around 4:45 pm and joined the line of about 100 other individuals who had gotten there before us to eagerly await Elote's nightly opening of its doors at 5 pm sharp.

Of course, elote was obviously featured on the menu, their interpretation served off the cob in a bowl mixed with the mayo mixture, but Jon and I also savored their shredded beef empanada, the Colorado lamb shank braised in a spicy adobo sauce and the smoked duck breast with pasilla chiles.  Needless to say, the meal was spectacular.  It's upscale, yet traditional Mexican cuisine layered with complex flavors of spice and smoke.  And while the lamb was nothing short of perfection, wouldn't you know what Jon's favorite part of the meal was- the elote.

Elote

Recipe Inspired by Elote Café

Ingredients:

4 ears of sweet corn, husks on

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I prefer to use reduced fat Hellman's)

2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp + 1/2 tbsp paprika

kosher salt to taste

1/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled (a mexican cheese available at most supermarkets)

1/2 tbsp ancho chile powder (regular chile powder can be substituted)

2 tbsp chopped cilantro 

1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Directions:

1. Soak the corn in cold water for about 30 minutes. Peel back the husks, making sure to leave them intact, and pull off the silk from the corn. Pull the husks back up around the corn.

2. Heat a grill to medium high heat. Place the corn on the grill and cook for about 20-25 minutes, making sure to rotate a few times throughout grilling to ensure the corn is cooked evenly.  Remove from the grill and let cool slightly. 

3. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, pull off the husks and slather each ear with 1/2 tbsp butter. Mix the mayonnaise, lime juice, cayenne, 1/2 tsp paprika and a little salt together in a small bowl and set aside. Mix the ancho chile powder and 1/2 tbsp paprika together in a different small bowl, set aside. 

4. Brush each ear with the mayonnaise mixture, coat with cotija cheese and top with cilantro and a sprinkling of the chile powder mixture. Serve with a lime wedge and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings

Lamb Burgers with Minty-Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Easter is one of those holidays where families come together to celebrate, often around an impressive spread.  Growing up, my family used breakfast time to establish a long running tradition of enjoying Cinnamon Apple Muffins in the morning while hunting down candy colored Easter eggs and combing through the basket the Easter Bunny had left us.  (Remind me to share those muffins with you next Easter, will you?)

So in the spirit of tradition, I wanted to create something for Easter dinner this year, something that Jon and I could enjoy together, something that was rooted in Easter tradition.  Though I've never personally enjoyed leg of lamb or rack of lamb or even lamb chops for Easter dinner, lamb is something I've always associated with this particular holiday.

I considered going the way of leg of lamb, but that seemed a little too fancy, and a lot too gluttonous for just Jon and I.  I thought about perhaps braising some lamb shanks, but I figured those might be too difficult to find (they're not). So what I decided was the best fit for Jon and I, on our first Easter dinner together, was lamb burgers.  It's casual, relatively simple to make and it can be cooked outside on the grill so that Jon and I could simultaneously enjoy the Arizona sunshine and a few cocktails poolside.

I did some research and came up with what I think is one tasty burger.  I paired it with a mint and cucumber yogurt sauce, because, well, what is more traditional than lamb accompanied by mint?  This way, however, it has my own little spin on it.  The burgers are full of flavor and have that unctuous taste that can really only be delivered by lamb- a flavor profile that I am becoming quite obsessed with lately.  So if you're looking to indulge in a casual tradition this Easter Sunday, lamb burgers just might be the way to go.  Serve it along side some freshly grilled, sweet corn and a glass of crisp, white wine. Oh, and some chocolate eggs too.

Lamb Burgers

Recipe by Karlie

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 1/2 lbs ground lamb

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped mint

3 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 fresno chile, minced

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp cumin

1 egg

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 buns or rolls of your choosing (we used onion and poppy seed buns bought individually from the bakery section of our supermarket)

sliced tomato

butter lettuce

pea sprouts

Mint-Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (see recipe below)

Directions:

1. Heat your grill to about medium heat- charcoal or gas, your preference.  Now go inside and heat a medium sized pan over medium high heat.  Add the olive oil and after a minute or two add the onion and sauté until slightly golden, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

2. In a large bowl, add the lamb, cooled onions and the rest of the ingredients, garlic through salt and pepper. With your hands, dig in and mix everything together until it all looks evenly distributed, but be careful not to over mix the meat. Divide the meat into four sections, then shape and flatten into patties.

3. Place the patties on the grill and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, depending on the degree of doneness you prefer your burgers. Slather one side of each bun with the Mint-Cucumber Yogurt Sauce.  Top with a lamb patty, tomato slice, butter lettuce and pea sprouts. Take a big bite and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings

Mint-Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Recipe by Karlie

Ingredients:

1 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt

2 tsp chopped dill

1 tbsp finely chopped mint

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cucumber peeled and chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the greek yogurt in a strainer thats covered with a layer of paper towel and set on top of a bowel. Let the yogurt strain for about 20 minutes.

2. Place the yogurt, dill, mint, garlic and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth and blended. Stir in the cucumber and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Time to discuss healthy eating once again.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm struggling this time around with my battle for weight loss.  Everyone knows that losing weight requires two key elements: diet and exercise.  Unfortunately, I'm having a difficult time sticking with both.  Exercising after work sounds like no fun at all once I've sat through 45 minutes of bumper to bumper traffic and I know I have a million other things to accomplish that evening.  This problem, though easier said than done, should be easy to solve.  It's all about my own personal motivation.  I just have to make myself "do it".  I need to find that will that makes me crawl out of bed at 6 am to go for an early morning run or drive straight to the gym after work instead of going home with the intentions of working out that quickly fade into a thought of "I'll workout tomorrow instead..." Like I said, easier said than done.

Diet is the element of weight loss that I think requires much more planning and proactive commitment.  It's much more difficult to stick with a diet when you're grabbing lunch on the go, fighting mid afternoon hunger pangs with a bag of Gardetto's from the vending machine (as I did yesterday) or eating out for dinner because you didn't have time to go to the grocery store that week.  Being able to enjoy a healthy lunch, afternoon snack and dinner (assuming that each of these have been made in your own kitchen) is much more demanding than it sounds.  It requires plenty of thinking ahead with menu planning, grocery shopping and food prep.

Of course it's always easier to prep tomorrow's breakfast and lunch the night before (that gives me at least 20 extra minutes to hit the snooze button), but I still don't want to spend hours in the kitchen, after a long day at work, slicing and dicing things to get into place for the next day.  I want meals and snacks that can be made in a snap so that I can't give myself an excuse for not hitting the gym after work.

So I'm beginning a search for healthy quick fix foods that will keep me satisfied throughout the day.  These Spicy Roasted Chickpeas are my lasted find, which I discovered via Pinterest. (Side note: are you on Pinterest?  If you're not, you should be! It's definitely my new favorite way to waste time, but it's also fun and, I think, quite useful- especially for people like me who are constantly bookmarking or ripping pages out of magazines for things I want to remember or save for later).  Anyways, these chickpeas are incredibly easy, require very little prep and almost no clean up.  I get bored sitting in front of my computer all day at work, which makes me want to constantly snack.  I don't feel guilty munching on these throughout the day though and the added bonus is that they're actually quite delicious and flavorful.  So, healthy eating...?  I'm getting there.  Now, I just have to start hitting the gym.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Recipe Adapted from Willow Bird Baking

Ingredients:

2, 15 oz cans low sodium garbanzo beans

3 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ancho chili powder

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp lime juice

3/4 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Drain garbanzo beans of their liquid and rinse under cold water in a colander.  Lay out on paper towels to dry completely.  

2. Preheat the oven to 400º F.  Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil.  Spread the garbanzo beans out in a single layer on the foil. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes.

3. While the chickpeas are cooking, combine the chili powders, olive oil, lime juice, sea salt, cumin and cilantro in a small bowl and set aside. After the chickpeas are done cooking, let them cool for a minute, then pour them into a large Ziplock bag. Pour the oil mixture into the bag, seal and then shake to evenly coat the chickpeas. 

4. Pour the chickpeas back onto the baking sheet and continue to bake for 10 minutes longer or until the chickpeas are really crunchy. Enjoy and store in an air tight container.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

I’ve learned that I need to start prepping for certain holidays weeks in advance for the benefit of this blog.  I would love to feature a dish that would shine during a particular time of year.  I’ve attempted this in the past, but failed rather miserably.  My Christmas Croquembouche was posted Christmas Eve, which didn’t allow near enough time for someone to make their own croquembouche for a Christmas festivity, had they wanted to.   I had planned on making rosy pink macarons for Valentine’s Day… which, as I’m sure you can tell, I did not.   Furthermore, this featured ooey gooey, cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Dip was intended for Super Bowl Sunday.   And if I’m not mistaken, I believe it is now March. Only a month past due.

I can’t beat myself up too much, I guess.   I’ve never been one to be punctual- and you can forget expecting me to be ahead of schedule.   I’d also like to mention that I’m superb at procrastinating or pushing things aside.   Nevertheless, I’m determined to get better.  There is always room for improvement and that’s what I like to think of this blog as: my own personal log of self-advancement. It’s a diary for my growth as an individual.  A place where I can share my thoughts and the current events of my life, as well as tracking the progress I’ve made over time.

For instance, wouldn’t you agree that I’ve improved vastly on my photography skills?   You only need compare my current photos from this post or perhaps this one to the posts when I first began this little blog, with Chicken Milanese or Summer Peach Cupcakes.  I’d also like to think my skills in the kitchen have improved as well.  That’s why I sometimes select recipes that might be a little too involved or over complicated.  I think it’s fun challenging myself to learn a new technique.

So maybe in time for Easter this year I will have posted a stunning leg of lamb recipe for you all to try out in time to serve on Easter Sunday.  After all, recognizing the problem is the first step to self-improvement.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup low fat sour cream

1/4 cup light mayonnaise (preferably Hellman's)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup grated parmesan, divided

1 cup jarred pizza sauce

2-3 oz pepperoni slices (I used a mix of regular and mini- the mini slices are just so cute!)

1/4 cup thinly sliced green pepper

2 tbsp sliced black olives

1/4 cup sliced button mushrooms

1 crusty French baguette

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F.  Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan together in a small bowl, and spread it evenly across the bottom of a 9" pie pan.

2. Spread the pizza sauce on top then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Top with the pepperoni slices, green pepper, black olives and mushrooms.

3. Bake until the cheese is melted, bubbling and golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.  Serve with a sliced baguette. Enjoy!

Serves 6-8 (or in my case, just Jon and I :-)

Five Spice Beet Soup- It's Better Than You Think

I've done it again. Neglected the blog. But I do have a good excuse. After 5 months of living in Arizona, I had to buckle down and find myself a solid source of income. And guess what. I did. So now that that headache is out of the way, I figured I'd have so much time to focus on this blogging thing. Well, I have yet again run into another predicament. I don't have all that much time at all. After working 8 hours a day, dragging myself to the gym and returning home from a long day only to find myself inundated with a long list of chores waiting to be done, finding an hour or two to write up a post and upload pictures seems like an impossible task. I've even sat down several nights this week, laptop in lap, fingers gingerly placed upon the keyboard, mind geared up to write a simple post, and the next thing I know is it's 4 in the morning and I have a crick in my neck from sleeping slumped over my computer screen.

So I know what I need to work on. Balance. Balancing work, responsibilities and personal projects. It's so much easier said than done, but it's a good goal to work on. I've always been one of those people who constantly has a list a mile long of Things To Do. I always have projects and goals.

Not to mention, it’s often difficult to get things accomplished when you have mountains in your backyard and it’s 75 degrees outside in the middle of February.

One of these goals: losing weight. I have I mentioned this recently? Perhaps here? Or maybe here? Yeah… this goal is proving to be rather tricky. Jon and I tried out the Food Lover’s Cleanse. A diet meant for foodies, provided by the good people at Bon Apetit, which is where this recipe for Beet Soup came from. Did we stick to the14 day cleanse? Not exactly. We made it to about day 4 before we decided to give it up. The food was good, but it wasn’t practical enough for us. The recipes tended to be a little overly involved for week night meals and the ingredient lists proved to be pretty expensive at the grocery store.

A few good things did come from this short lived diet, however. This beautiful soup for one- I love the pink color of beets- and Jon and I learned that we love lentils. Neither of us had ever had them before, but they sure are tasty! And healthy to boot.

Come to think of it… I’ve made quite a few soups as of late. The Vegetarian Wonton Soup, Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Soup with Collard Greens and now Beet Soup. Which one is your favorite?

Five Spice Beet Soup

Recipe Courtesy of Bon Appètit

Ingredients:

4, 2"-2 1/2"diameter beets, scrubbed, trimmed, unpeeled, each cut into 6 wedges (about 3 1/2 cups)
3 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

1 celery stalk with leaves, stalk chopped, leaves thinly sliced

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

*1/4 tsp (or more to taste) Chinese five-spice powder

2 tbsp low-fat Greek-style yogurt

*Chinese five-spice powder is a spice blend available in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Directions:
1. Place beet wedges in 4-cup glass measuring cup. Add 2 cups broth; cover with paper plate and microwave on high until tender, about 15 minutes. (Beware of this- perhaps try microwaving in increments- mine exploded!)

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and chopped celery stalk; cover and cook until almost tender and translucent, stirring often, about 12 minutes.

3. Add beet mixture and 1 cup broth to onion mixture; cover and simmer 4 minutes. Mix in ginger and 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder. Transfer to blender; cover and puree. Season soup to taste with salt, pepper, and additional five-spice powder, if desired; rewarm if necessary. Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top with yogurt and sliced celery leaves.

Makes 4 servings