Fresh Corn Salad

Found this recipe in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine over vacation in Emerald Isle! Kyle and I tried it, and it was certainly a hit. First of all, what's better than fresh sweet corn off the cob?! I was unsure of the white balsamic vinegar at first, but it was a pleasant surprise - not as strong as the traditional dark balsamic vinegar. This is a great recipe for a picnic or to go alongside a summer meal! It's cool and refreshing for your palate.



Fresh Corn Salad

ingredients
8 ears corn, shucked
6 fresh tomatoes, chopped (I used roma)
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 green onions, chopped (I used a regular onion, made it sweeter)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

directions
1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush corn with a little olive oil. Grill corn until lightly browned, turning often to cook evenly; cool. When cool enough to handle, cut corn from cobs.

2. Toss corn with tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, vinegar, and the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and marinate at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving. Bring to room temperature to serve. Makes 8 servings.

*Cook's Note I steamed the corn instead of grilling, and also want to remind you to use gloves when cutting a jalapeño!






Rosemary Garlic Foccacia Bread

I made this just because last night and it is awesome. I'd use coarse sea salt to sprinkle with instead of table salt. Yum.
 
Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia
Serves 8

Ingredients
  • 1/4 ounce active dry yeast (1 envelope)
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 sprigs rosemary (less if you happen to not have 8 sprigs)
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped (more if you love things garlicky)
  • coarse sea salt
Method
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl and let stand 10 minutes, then add 2 tbsp. of the oil. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Strip and chop leaves from 5 of the rosemary branches and stir into flour with chopped garlic. Add yeast mixture and 1 1/4 cups water and stir until dough becomes too stiff to stir. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape dough into a ball, transfer to a large oiled bowl, and cover with a damp cloth. Allow dough to rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.

Transfer dough to lightly oiled baking sheet . Knead dough down and press with oiled hands into baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400°. Whisk together remaining 3 tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp. water in small bowl. Remove cloth from dough and dimple dough with your fingertips, then brush with oil-and-water emulsion. Arrange small springs of rosemary from remaining 3 branches over dough and sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Cornbread

So, I stumbled across this recipe. Haven't tried it but the lady that posted it talked it up so much that I figured it must be good?? Let me know if you try it!

World’s Best Honey Cornbread

* 2/3 cup sugar (I used turbinado.)
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 4 eggs
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1 1/3 cups milk
* 2 1/3 cups flour
* 1 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 cup corn meal
* 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream sugar and butter. Add in eggs, honey and milk and mix well.

Mix together flour, baking powder, corn meal and salt. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients carefully. Do not overmix. Batter will be lumpy.

Pour batter in greased 11×14-inch baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.