Grilled Corn With Chili-Lime Butter

You know it's summer when the farmers market has fresh corn. It's so simple to grill and really needs no embellishment but salt. However, if you're feeling fancy, you can whip up this flavored butter. Enjoy!



Grilled Corn With Chili-Lime Butter
Corn on the cob
Squares of aluminum foil for wrapping corn
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Zest and juice from 1 lime

1. Place 1 ear of corn on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap corn with foil. Repeat with remaining ears of corn and aluminum foil squares.
2. Grill at medium heat for about 10 minutes. (Andy says he can tell it's done when he hears the oil begin to pop inside the foil wrapper.)
3. Meanwhile, combine butter and next 2 ingredients. Spoon onto a sheet of wax paper, and roll up to create a log shape. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Serve hot corn with butter mixture.

Blueberry Pie

Last night we had some friends over for dinner. Another friend had given me some fresh blueberries her mom had picked, so I decided to make this pie for dessert. However, I changed it a bit to make it even easier. The variation is as tasty as the original. I usually buy refrigerated piecrusts, but I forgot to pick one up at the store, so I made a homemade crust instead. Trust me, it was very easy; anyone can do it. In fact, the recipe I used is the one for Fried Apple Pies. I omitted the cinnamon and nutmeg and added lemon zest to complement the berries.

Blueberry Pie
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 pint blueberries
Lemony Piecrust

1. Combine sour cream and next 6 ingredients in a bowl. Pour into prepared crust.
2. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until pie is golden and set. Serve warm with ice cream.

Lemony Piecrust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. butter, cut into cubes and chilled
1/4 cup ice water
1 tsp. lemon zest

1. Combine flour and next 2 ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse sand.
Stir in ice water until mixture comes together. Stir in lemon zest. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.
2. Roll out dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Fit dough into pan, and crimp edges.
3. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes.

Easy Queso

This cheese dip recipe is a variation of this slow-cooker version that ran in the February 2006 issue of SL. I like the original a lot, but when I'm in a hurry I make this variation. It's great with homemade tortilla chips.

Easy Queso
1 lb. white American cheese (Buy this at the deli counter; I ask for it to be sliced without plastic separating the slices.)
1 can lime-and-cilantro Rotel tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup cream or milk
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin

1. Tear cheese into pieces and place in a small saucepan. Add in tomatoes and green chiles and cream. Stir in pepper and cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until cheese is melted and mixture is blended. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Hydrangeas

This isn't related to food, but I wanted to post a picture of the pretty arrangement that is on my dining room table. One of Andy's work houses has three side-by-side hydrangea bushes—one is pink, one is purple, and one is blue. Nothing says summer in South like beautiful hydrangea blooms!

Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

This recipe was inspired from one in the April issue of Bon Appétit. It uses Greek yogurt (it's much thicker than regular yogurt) in place of the more common sour cream. I used a springform pan, which worked very well because it's a fluffy cake. This would be even better with homemade caramel sauce drizzled on top.

Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Beat butter and 1 1/3 cups brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until yellow disappears.
2. Combine 2 cups flour and next 3 ingredients. Gradually add to butter mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans.
3. Pour batter into a lightly greased springform pan. In a separate bowl, stir together 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup flour, and next 2 ingredients. Dollop mixture over top of batter in springform pan.
4. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until done. Let cool in pan 30 minutes; release sides of pan to serve.

Raspberry Shortbread

This recipe is so easy but it tastes amazing! It has a short list of ingredients and a very straightforward preparation. The flavor combination are just right. The original recipe ran in the February 2002 issue of SL. My version is a little different because I didn't follow the directions very well but liked how it turned out. Almond extract is what makes the recipe stand out. It calls for a powdered sugar glaze to be drizzled on top. I omit the glaze because the shortbread is sweet enough already.

Raspberry-Almond Shortbread
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Seedless raspberry jam

1. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixture until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in almond extract.
2. Divide dough into 6 portions. Roll out each portion into a narrow strip (Mine look like Play-Doh snakes.) Flatten each strip; use your thumb to make a shallow indentation down the center of each strip.
3. Heat jam (about half a jar) in microwave for 30 seconds. Spoon jam in center indentation of each strip.
4. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into small pieces.

Grilled Potato Salad

I posted about this potato salad several weeks ago. The recipe is now available on myrecipes.com. You have to make it! I've prepared it several times now and think the following modifications make it even better. Now I slice the potatoes in thin rounds, instead of cubes. This allows them to cook quicker and avoid crunchy centers. I also caramelize the onions separately so that they stay soft and don't become too charred. Tossing it with half the dressing recipe gives a more subtle flavor profile.