Street Corn

Ok, I've never had "Street Corn" and I don't even know if there is such a thing, but if there were, this is what I'd imagine it to be. I love going to fairs and seeing everyone walking around with a big 'ole corn on the cob and I've always wanted to try it. But I think this version takes my food imagination to a whole new level.

**Update: My brother has informed me that street vendors in Mexico serve street corn that is rolled in cojita cheese and fresh lime juice. So there you go. There's your street corn lesson for the day. You're welcome. :)

I usually boil the corn when I make corn on the cob, but this time I baked it and it's SO much better. This version of corn only takes a few minutes longer to make, but it's so worth it. While the corn is baking, prep the sauce and grate the cheese. You can also prep the sauce ahead of time also. This is my new favorite way to eat corn on the cob. And for some reason knowing that Greek yogurt is in the sauce makes me feel less guilty for eating seconds. I guess it is *slightly* better than eating corn on the cob with just butter and salt. (Hey, it gives it some protein to all of you nay-sayers!) :)

Here's what you need:

-(6) ears of corn, husk intact

Sauce:
-4 TBS Greek Yogurt
-2 TBS mayo (can use fat-free)
-1 tsp. chili powder
-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
-1/2 tsp. salt
-zest of one lime
-juice of one lime

Garnish:
-lime wedges
-finely grated Asiago cheese

1. Place corn on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (You can also grill the corn for a few minutes on each side after it's baked so that you get grill marks and it will also slightly roast the corn. It just adds to the flavor, but it's not necessary.)

2. Prep sauce: combine all ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.

3. Once corn is baked, remove from oven and allow to cool 2-3 minutes. Pull husk down from corn but don't remove as this makes a natural handle to hold on to. Take a butter knife and coat the outside of the corn with the sauce. Sprinkle or roll corn in grated cheese. Serve with a fresh lime wedge, squeeze fresh juice on right before eating and enjoy while hot.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Here's the printable recipe.

Mini Caprese Kabobs with a Balsamic Reduction

Oh my goodness! This Summer has been busy, but we've had some great time traveling and spending time as a family. I'm sorry that I haven't posted in forever. I've got a quick, easy, delicious and fresh recipe for you.

I love Summer because of all the fresh product readily available. My parents have grown a huge garden every year since the time I was little. I loved going out and picking fresh veggies, especially tomatoes. I'm not sure what else is better than a perfectly red, delicious vine-ripened tomato from your own garden. We started our own garden this year and we planted several varieties of tomatoes. We also planted basil, so I've been in heaven.

I love Caprese Salad and this is a little twist that makes a perfect appetizer or light lunch. You only need 4 ingredients: tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinegar. You need to use fresh mozzarella---not the hard, brick kind that you would grate for pizza. Fresh mozzarella is usually sold in a ball and the texture is really soft. The fresh stuff is a more expensive so I usually buy it at Costco in their specialty cheese section. I also love the Kirkland brand Balsamic vinegar too. I like using a balsamic reduction rather than just straight balsamic vinegar because it sticks to the tomatoes better, it doesn't absorb into the cheese, it tastes a little sweeter and that acidic "bite" is mellowed. And it makes for a gorgeous presentation. You can make the balsamic reduction while you assemble the skewers, so it really doesn't take extra time. You can make the kabobs a day or 2 ahead of time, but the tomatoes taste better if not refrigerated so I like to make mine the day I want to serve them.

Here's what you need: This made about 30 mini skewers.
-1.5 lbs. of cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes)
-1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into cubes
-12 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
-1 small pkg toothpicks (I like to use the ones with the wispy stuff on the tip)
-1/2 C balsamic vinegar

1. Put balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 10 minutes, OR until the mixture starts to thicken to a honey-like consistency. If you accidentally simmer it too long (molasses-like consistency), you can add a little extra balsamic vinegar and then simmer it again to the desired consistency. Remove pan from heat and set to the side.

2. Use 2 cherry tomatoes and 2 cubes of cheese for each toothpick kabob. I alternated every other one on the toothpick. Continue doing this until you have made the desired amounts of kabobs. Place them on a plate or serving platter.

3. Right before serving, drizzle the balsamic reduction over the kabobs and sprinkle a little coarse sea salt over them. You will not use all of the reduction, so you can save leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week. Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Here's the printable recipe.

Giant S'more Cake

I love planning and putting together birthday parties for my kids. We have a tradition to invite our whole immediate families to our children's first birthday. Since my daughter was born in the summer, I thought it would be perfect to throw an outdoor/camping themed party. I haven't had a chance to blog about the whole party, so stay tuned.

I wanted to have a s'more bar, so I thought it would be perfect to make a giant s'more for her birthday cake. I found the original idea on the Not Just a Housewife blog. I took those concepts and created my version of the S'more cake. I loved her idea for making the homemade graham cracker. The dough was so good and it was perfect being made in advance. It's a really great recipe and worked nicely for the cake.

I made (2) 9-in round chocolate cakes since we were going to be serving a lot of people. Although the giant graham crackers are so cute and even taste delicious, I didn't think people would want a big hunk of cracker with their cake, so I opted for a graham cracker cream filling. I have to tell you, the filling was to die for. I'm not usually a big graham cracker fan, but it totally worked with this cake. I wanted the cake to look like a real S'more, so I opted for marshmallow frosting (AKA "7 Minute Frosting") that could be toasted with a kitchen torch (thanks to my awesome friend, Missy, for that great idea). I also wanted the chocolate to look melted, so I thought chocolate ganache would be a perfect addition for that. 

So I didn't do a practice run with this cake before my daughter's birthday, so this was all trial and error. The flavors were so yummy, but there were a few aesthetic hiccups that I had to figure out the day of the party. So fortunately for you, you can learn from my mistakes. The biggest problem is that I made the graham crackers way to big and they were too thin, so they were kinda droopy when the top was placed. I did them a little bit smaller than a standard baking sheet. The next time I make this cake I will make them each about 10"x10". That way they are slightly bigger than the cake, but you won't have to deal with any droopage. :) Also, always always ALWAYS work with frozen cakes when you frost them. That prevents all of those little cake crumbs from getting in your frosting. It's especially important when using the marshmallow frosting. Seriously, frozen cakes are so much easier to work with.

So here's what you need. I'm going to separate it into each component:

Cake:

(2) 9-in round chocolate cakes, baked and frozen

Homemade Graham Crackers: (slightly adapted from Not Just a Housewife)

-1 C butter (2 sticks)

-1 C brown sugar 

-1/2 C dark corn syrup

-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda

-4 C all-purpose flour

-4 TBS cold water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla together in a medium mixing bowl. Add baking soda and flour and mix until incorporated. Add 2 TBS of water and continue stirring. Add a TBS of water at a time until you have a dough-like consistency. My flour was more dry, so I used all 4 TBS of water. 

2. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Do not skip this step or the dough will be super messy to work with. 

3. Take a piece of parchment paper (mine is the size that fits a standard baking sheet) and sprinkle a little flour on op. Take half of chilled dough and begin to roll it out. You want it about 1/4" thick. Roll it out bigger than you need so that you can cut clean, crisp edges. Cut your rolled dough with a pizza cutter into a 10"x10" square. Repeat for the other cracker. 

4. Take a wooden dowel and make an impression in the middle of the dough. Then take the end of the dowel and make the circular impression to resemble a real graham cracker. 

5. Transfer the piece of parchment paper with the rolled out dough on top and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes until cracker is golden brown. If you bake less time then you'll have a softer texture, so make sure to bake enough time to ensure a cracker-like consistency and so that it doesn't fall apart when you assemble your big S'more. Remove from oven and allow the cracker to rest 5-10 minutes before transferring the parchment paper (with the cracker on top) to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before assembling your cake. 

Graham Cracker Filling:

-(1) 8oz. cream cheese, room temp

-3/4 C canned marshmallow cream

-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

-1/2 C prepared marshmallow frosting (the same you are using for the cake)

-2/3 C graham cracker crumbs, finely processed in a blender or food processor

1. In a small mixing bowl combine cream cheese, marshmallow cream and vanilla on medium speed until well-combined. Then add marshmallow frosting and graham cracker crumbs until combine. Refrigerate until you are ready to fill your cake. 

To fill cake: Place one cake layer down on frosting pedestal. Add graham cracker filling in the center of cake. Use a knife or an off-set spreading spatula and spread out the filling in an even layer to the edges of the cake. Place the next layer on top and then proceed to frosting the whole cake with marshmallow frosting.  

Marshmallow Frosting:

-1 1/2 C white sugar

-1/2 C water

-2 egg whites

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. cream of tartar 

-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. In top of a double boiler combine all ingredients. Stir until ingredients are just combine. If you are using pure vanilla extract, your mixture will look brown. Don't worry; after you beat your frosting it will become white and glossy. While water is heating, beat all ingredients with an electric mixer at high speed for about a minute.

2. Place top of double boiler over rapidly boiling water and beat at high speed until mixture forms soft peaks (peak tops fold over). This took me about 3-4 minutes.

3. Remove pan from heat and transfer mixture into a separate mixing bowl. Continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form and mixture becomes glossy and thick enough to spread. This took about 2-3 minutes.

  

4. Frost your filled cake. I like using a rotating cake pedestal for this step. If you aren't an expert at frosting a cake, don't worry because this frosting is forgiving and I think that adds to toasted look of being a marshmallow. In fact, I actually purposefully made the cake have some imperfections in the frosting so that I could get some toasted dimensions on the outside of the cake. 

5. Once you have frosted your cake, take a kitchen torch or a heavy-duty torch on the lowest setting possible to toast the outside. Be careful not to burn the cake. I practiced a few times with a spoonful of frosting before trying to toast the cake. You don't have to toast the top of the cake since it's going to be covered in ganache, but I did anyways so that I would have an even look once the ganache was on. I didn't want to have to battle melting ganache. 

6. Once your cake is toasted, top with cooled ganache and drizzle in on the sides so that it resembles melted chocolate. Make sure the ganache is barely warm or you will melt the frosting. 

Chocolate Ganache:

-4 oz. semi-sweet baking chips

-4 oz. heaving whipping cream

1. Combine baking chips and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir mixture. If chocolate is not melted entirely, continue microwaving on high for another minute, stirring in 15-30 second intervals. 

2. Allow the ganache to cool so that it's barely warm to the touch. If the ganache cools too much it will become thick like frosting. If the ganache cools too much before you need it, just microwave it 10-15 seconds and stir before you drizzle. Make sure cake and ganache are chilled before assembling the cake.

Assembly of Cake:

1. I like using Wilton Cake boards. You probaly want to get a 10" circle or an 11x13 rectangle. I used the latter since my crackers were a lot bigger. You just need something that you can lift when the cake is assembled to transport it to where it will be displayed. 

2. Place one large cracker on the cake board. Carefully lift the cake and place on top of graham cracker. Carefully place the 2nd graham cracker on top. 

Cut, serve and enjoy! I wouldn't taken a picture of a slice of the cake, but it got eaten too fast! :) Here is the cake with the S'more bar.

Happy Baking!

Here's the printable recipe.