Raw Corn Salad

As I mentioned last week, I had a 'Girls Night' cocktail party August 4th, inviting old and new friends (they mixed a little), and everyone had a really GREAT time.  Tomorrow I'll give you the whole menu, but one dish that was clearly a hit, was a version of a salad my sister recommended that my nephew made with raw corn... so delicious, fresh and crunchy!
This means the corn needs to be really fresh...  buy it that day and preferrably from a local farm stand, but the supermarket will do too.  This salad has three basic ingredients , raw corn, red onion, and avocado, but for this party I added chopped steamed shrimp to make it more of a main attraction at the cocktail party... and boy was it!  It's a great side dish without the shrimp to accompany any summer meal.
So here it is...  Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad... oh, one other thing... I had used all my limes for the Mojitos, so I used lemon juice, either works or both for that matter...

Hot & Frozen Delights

Yesterday afternoon we waited out a nasty rain squall, standing in the MIDDLE of my kitchen fearing a 70 foot tree would land on my house, before heading over to my girlfriends' poolside barbecue with 8 other families.  I made a dish of delicious medium hot buffalo wings with a sauce I picked up at Fairway last week... "Wing-Time", it comes in mild, medium and hot.  The blue cheese-yogurt dipping sauce was a recipe from Bobby Flay...

We were so late for the party due to the storm that I didn't get a photo of my wings which were juicy from grilling with a little olive oil, kosher salt and pepper,  then coated with the spicy orange buffalo sauce...

Speaking of yogurt in the sauce... someone brought delicious frozen yogurt from the South Korean originated chain, Red Mango...

100 calories for half a cup without toppings

Tanger Outlet, one of two locations nearby

I really liked the 'Tangomonium' flavor, which was invented by the company's President and CEO Daniel Kim.  The yogurt is not too sweet and a little sour... unlike Pinkberry, which is a little too sour for my taste... are you a Red Mango or Pinkberry fan... the lines have been drawn!

You'll have to go into NYC for Pinkberry... please share your preference in the yogurt wars!

Spices for Grilling

As my mother used to say, "What's hard, is not the cooking for my family, but coming up with menu ideas every week", so if you also agree with my Mom, here's my tip for the day... check out a terrific blog called,  This Week For Dinner, yes what a great resource... Mom blogger, Jane Maynard gives you weekly meal plans, dinner ideas, and recipes.  You can follow her plan or just use it as inspiration, a way to open up to new ideas...  and she lives in the Bay Area, which for me, having lived in San Francisco for 11 years, I consider Foodie Heaven!

 Janes Homemade Berry Saucy Syrup

Yummy!

Another way to ratchet up your ideas for the weeks menu, now that we're into the grilling season, is to have an arsenal of grilling spices on hand... one way I found to do that is to make a trip to TJ Maxx, where they sell gourmet food items discounted... some of my favorites... gourmet cooking oils, spices, dips, and pasta.

A few weeks ago I purchased both Ginger Citrus Seasoning and this Jalapeno Pepper Flakes from "Victoria Gourmet"... I made hot wings, and a tomato and onion salad, served on a bed of Butter Lettuce with Blue Cheese dressing...

We (except for my husband, who I made wings with another rub) like it hot...

Marinate the wings in Sriracha sauce and the pepper flakes

Coat with a little canola or olive oil and grill

Dressing is olive oil and red wine vinegar

Lettuce in a bag?!... gotta cut some time from my busy day

P.S. By the time we ate it was 7:15pm and we were all so hungry (with 2 boys in puberty) that I forgot to photograph the finished product... and it looked so good layed out on the lettuce!

Oh, and I found a new Blue Cheese dressing made by Marie's, using yogurt, so it has less calories and tastes great too...

National Burger Day!

For my sons' 14th birthday last week we went to a new (new for us) burger joint, 'Cheeburger Cheeburger', and while he was eating his 1/2 pounder with just about another 1/2 pound of toppings, fries and onion rings, I asked my kids to rate three burger joints, including this one...

Our Top Pick...

Fresh, thin, and crispy, serving great fries and cole slaw

American Roadside Burgers

Our #2... If you order a pounder your photo is taken with a giant virtual burger and it goes on the wall!...

Thick and juicy on a kaiser bun, served with ok fries and good greasy onion rings

Cheeburger Cheeburger

Our #3 Pick...

OK, better fries than burgers... the best all you can eat free peanuts you can shell and eat while waiting

Five Guys

May 28th is National Burger Day, so visit a burger joint you've never tried, go to your favorite, or just grill a great one since it is Memorial Day Weekend!

And if you want to find the right burger for you, check out New York Magazines' The Burger Register with 82 Notable Burgers... and "if you can't find it there you won't find it anywhere"... oh sorry, am I being a NY snob, didn't mean to be, just sounded good.

Picky Kid

My 12 year old son is very picky when it comes to salad, he'll only sometimes eat a Caesar salad, and the other 14 year old son loves salads as much as his parents... the only greens the 12 year old likes are string beans, broccoli, peas, cauliflower and zucchini... so I'm thankful for that I guess, since we eat a lot of veggies in our house.   Last night I grilled zucchini and yellow peppers...

 Coat in olive oil before grilling and sprinkle with kosher salt before serving

chicken and hamburgers with dry rubs...

I go to TJMaxx at the start of the grilling season and stock up on different dry rubs for chicken, fish and meats

 and I made this beautiful beet salad, which is so easy and incredibly delicious, great for company too...

Ingredients:
Vacuum packed cooked fresh beets from Trader Joe's
Ripe avocado
Herbed or plain goat cheese
Valencia or Cara Cara orange
Shallot finely chopped
olive oil
Champagne vinegar (I bought at TJMaxx)
Bibb lettuce to serve it on (optional)

Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil,  and a tablespoon of vinegar on the chopped beets and toss. 

Cut up everything separately and combine on individual plates to serve.  I didn't have any Bibb lettuce last night, but it looks pretty with all the ingredients served on a leaf.


My 14 year old ate his and his brothers' portion of the salad too.