queso fresco

July 24, 2008

my favorite grilled corn salad

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites cilantro, corn, grill, lime, queso fresco

my favorite grilled corn salad

You know that grilled Mexican-style corn that’s slathered in mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, hemorrhoids lime and chili powder? It’s just delicious. All tangy, sweet and spicy. But have you ever tried to eat it in front of other people? Mayonnaise on your chin, mayonnaise on your lips, and sometimes, mayonnaise on your forehead. At times, this is just fine. Other times, you’d prefer to eat a bit more civilly.

This grilled corn salad has all of the flavor of your mayo/parm/lime/chili corn on the cob without all the napkins, furious face-wiping and embarrassing teeth picking. This is a salad you could safely eat on a date, in front of co-workers, and even in front of Flickr-loving food bloggers.

There are so many reasons why this is my favorite corn salad. Grilling the corn lets you cook with one hand on the tongs, one hand on your beer. It goes with pretty much anything, and especially with grilled burgers or sausages. The ingredients are easy to find and I usually have them in my fridge. But really, it just tastes so good. Corn’s beautiful and plentiful right now and this salad is a perfect way to eat it.

March 18, 2008

simple pot beans

mel entree, recipe beans, cilantro, queso fresco, vegetarian

pot beans

Tom thought I was insane when he opened my order from Rancho Gordo. He pulled bag after bag of heirloom beans from the DHL box, website laughing the entire time. He lined them all up on the counter, salve poked fun at me and took a picture. That was before he tasted them and admitted they were the best beans he’s ever had. So there.

rancho gordo

On Sunday morning, I left some Anasazi beans soaking while I went to the beach. Unlike the beans you buy at the grocery store, Rancho Gordo beans are really fresh and start to plump up right away. I let them simmer for a few hours and simply added some salt, raw garlic and sauteed onions. The raw garlic is my grandmother’s secret to amazing beans. She always crushed them in a mortar and pestle until the cloves turned into a paste. If you just mince the garlic, it won’t melt into the liquid and if you sautee the garlic with the onions, the beans will take on a slightly bitter flavor. Her beans are legendary among the family.

The Anasazis made an excellent “pot liquor” and I served them simply with a squeeze of lime, cilantro leaves and queso fresco. They were so meaty and satisfying that I almost forgot I hadn’t added ham or chorizo as is the tradition with most Cuban and Spanish bean dishes.

I imagine these would make a fantastic base for rice and beans or tacos. I’ve got 7 other varieties stacked neatly in my pantry that I can’t wait to get into!