Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips

Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips // A Thought For Food

Wait. What? How are we already approaching the end of July? I'm pretty sure it was May yesterday. And didn't we just have snow on the ground? Can we just slow things down a bit? Maybe there's been a bit too much running around these last few weeks. There was the trip to the Berkshires, followed by some time in New Jersey/New York, which went directly into a couple days on the Cape. All good, fun stuff, but, at the same time, it's all a little exhausting. Our lives slow down a bit over the next few weeks. There are plenty of projects to work on, but not as much travel. Just some Cape-time, reading, swimming, boating. Simple, quiet activities.

Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips // A Thought For Food

Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips // A Thought For Food

Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips // A Thought For Food

Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips // A Thought For Food

After all the back and forth, it was great to get into the kitchen and work on some recipes I've had in my head for quite a while. Corn is my summer obsession. Even more than tomatoes or asparagus or berries, I can't get enough corn. The thing is that I really don't like eating it on the cob and would much rather shave the kernels into a salad. The inspiration for this salsa came from my father-in-law. With my adaptation, I gave it the summer treatment by charring the corn, giving it some added flavor and texture. A good amount of spice comes from the habanero Tabasco. This stuff doesn't just have a kick... it burns. But in a good way. It's something to think about as your seasoning the salsa.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Tabasco. Over the course of the year, I will be creating recipes featuring the Tabasco Family of Flavors and this is the first of those posts. All opinions expressed on my site are my own.

You can check out my recap from my trip to visiting Tabasco here and my recipes for Smokey Shrimp Burgers and a Watermelon Shrub Spritzer.

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Charred Corn and Mango Salsa + Plantain Chips

Notes The corn can also be prepared on a grill by removing the husk and grilling the corn kernels until charred.

Yield
Serves 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients
For the salsa
4 ears corn
1 mango, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes
Olive oil
1 teaspoon habanero Tabasco (or more depending on desired amount of spice)
1/8 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
Salt

For the plantain chips
3 plantains, peeled and sliced 1/16" lengthwise (using a vegetable peeler or a mandoline) Vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)
Salt

Directions

For the salsa
1. Preheat a large caste iron skillet (or pan) on the stove over medium-high heat for three minutes. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Once heated, add the corn kernels and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels have charred. Remove from heat.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together habanero Tabasco, cilantro, and lime juice. Add corn, mango, and red onion. Season with salt.

For the plantain chips
1. Pour vegetable oil in a large, deep saucepan so it comes up 2 inches. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.

2. Cook the plantain slices in batches, carefully lowering the plantain into the oil. Cook until crispy, approximately 1 minutes. Line a plate with two layers of paper towels. Transfer plantain chips to the paper towel and season with salt. Serve with corn and mango salsa

Beet Dip with Hazelnuts + Goat Cheese

There was a palpable energy on Friday night as we headed into the city for dinner. I suspect it's because most people, like Eric and I, have been stuck inside for the last month. It was cold... brutallycold. So cold that it was dangerous to be outside for more than ten minutes. But that didn't stop folks from going out. Boston businesses have been suffering, so seeing packed bars and restaurants was a nice sight.

This was a very social weekend for the two of us. There was dinner and drinks on Friday. On Saturday, we were invited over to our neighbors for "'ninis and 'tinis" (that's panini and martinis). I got inspired to make some potato chips for the occasion, along with a bowl of cucumber salad. Six hours later and more than a few martinis in and we were all feeling pretty good.

Sunday was equally enjoyable (and, thankfully, warmer than it's been recently).  We prepared brunch for some friends and then had more over to watch the Academy Awards. I put together a spread of baked brie, beet dip, and a large pot of wild rice and mushroom soup. We sat and ate and drank and laughed and said snarky things during the show. Is there anything better?

Going back to this beet dip. It's an Ottolenghi creation and, therefore, it's perfect. I first had it at a holiday party a few years back and have been anxious to make it ever since. And, so, now I have. Twice. In two days. It was that good. Minor adjustments have been made because, well, I'm not sure how many folks have za'atar in their spice cabinet. Of course, you can play around with this recipe as much as you'd like. The pepper certainly gives it some nice kick, but a little more couldn't hurt. I also can't get enough of the color. It's striking and really brightens up a table. Just be aware that it'll stain anything it touches, so keep it away from carpets and couches... and small children who might be likely to get it all over the place.

Beet Dip with Hazelnuts + Goat Cheese

Source Slightly adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe via Food and Wine

Ingredients 6 medium beets (1 1/2 pounds), trimmed 2 small garlic cloves, minced 1 small red chile, seeded and minced 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika Salt 1/4 cup roasted skinned hazelnuts, chopped 2 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley, for garnish Warm bread, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Put the beets in a small roasting pan and add 1/4 cup of water. Cover with foil and bake for about 1 hour, until tender. Let cool slightly.

2. Peel the beets, cut into wedges and transfer to a food processor. Add the garlic, chile and yogurt and pulse until blended. Add the olive oil, honey, cumin, ground ginger and smoked paprika and puree. Season with salt. Scrape into a wide, shallow bowl. Scatter the hazelnuts, goat cheese and chopped parsley on top and serve with bread.

Miso-Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms

Do you hear that sound? It's me sobbing after yet another trip to shovel out our driveway. Yes, we live in New England and we expect to get snow here. That's fine. But this... this is getting to be ridiculous. The worst part is that there's nowhere to put these massive piles! It's just packed in front of our house... and on our sidewalk... and around our driveway. It's everywhere. I know I'm not the only one who was thinking, just a few weeks ago, that this winter hasn't been that bad. It wasn't! Really. Maybe an inch or two. That's nothing! Well, Mother Nature is obviously pissed off about something. 72 inches in 17 days. It's too much.

On these snowy days, cocktail hour comes early. After shoveling for the millionth time, we hunker down for bourbon and nibbles. We ran out of cheese (I know, sad day) and, so, I got a little creative with our appetizer with these roasted potatoes and mushrooms. I'm new to the miso craze (ok, maybe it's not a craze... but I feel like I've been seeing it used more and more). It makes for a wonderful glaze on fish or vegetables, especially when some brown sugar is whisked in.

Miso Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms

Yields: approx. 4-6 servings as a side

Ingredients

1 lb small new potatoes, quartered 8 oz white button mushrooms 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tsps minced ginger 3 tbsps white miso 2 tbsps brown sugar 2 tbsp sesame oil 2 tsps chopped parsley 1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the miso, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Add potatoes and mushrooms to the bowl and toss to coat in mixture.

3. Transfer potatoes and mushrooms to an oven-safe skillet. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes, giving them a stir about half way through.

4. Transfer roasted potatoes and mushrooms to a serving bowl. Sprinkle fresh parsley and sesame seeds on top.