Tag Archives: mexican cooking

Corn in a Cup

Last weekend was the first country music festival in New York City!  I’m a big fan of country music and there were many great musicians who made it to the big apple to partake in the festivities held on Randall’s Island – from up and coming artists such as the fantastic Striking Matches and Dallas Smith to big name artists such as Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley and Luke Bryan. Three days of great music and some really good food. One of the things that I tried at the festival was corn in a cup. What a yummy treat. Corn in a cup is a traditional Mexican street food, which is made with Queso Fresco crumbled cheese. The version I tasted at the festival used parmesan cheese which was delicious and cheese I always have on hand in my home. I made these little cups in advance and heated in the microwave for 1 minute before serving. I’m planning on serving corn in the cup this holiday weekend!

From by the bay wishing you creamy corn food memories!

Maryann

 

blog corn cups

Corn in a Cup

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 ears sweet corn, husked and silks removed
8 teaspoons Mexican sour cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
Fine sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
optional: chopped chives to garnish

Directions

Using a knife remove all the kernels from the husk and place in a bowl.  Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the corn kernels and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain corn. In a bowl add the butter and top with the strained hot corn. Mix until butter is melted, salt and pepper to taste. Take for glass cups fill each half way with corn, add 1 teaspoon of sour cream and 1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese. Top with corn and add another teaspoon each of sour cream and parmesan cheese. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately or don’t add chives cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Microwave for 1 minute , garnish with chives and serve.

farm

Summer Agua Recipes

I just returned from a vacation visiting San Francisco and the surrounding areas. I highly recommend it! While shopping, I was struck by the number of small shops offering fruit flavored water to their guests. After buying so many bottles of fruit flavored water, I loved the idea of making my own.  When I returned to by the bay on Long Island, I did a little research. I discovered that agua fresca is Mexican in origin, frequently found in the traveling street markets, used to tempt shoppers. One of the most popular agua is made with watermelon. I quickly bought some watermelon and oranges to make my own flavored waters for the weekend. I am using less sugar then usually suggested in these recipes, as it’s my preference to have the water be less sweet and really taste the fruit flavor. The first recipe is for a watermelon agua, you could easily switch out the watermelon for cantaloupe or strawberries. The second recipe is for an orange flavored water. I am thinking to experiment next weekend making fresh ginger with the cantaloupe or cucumber water with mint. There are endless possibilities. Both recipes below are fantastic and it’s a great way to beat the heat!

From by the bay wishing you fruity food memories!
Maryann
blog watermelon water
Watermelon Agua (Water)
 Ingredients
3/4 pound watermelon, diced without the rind
4 cups water
2 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
juice of one lime (optional)
Directions
In a  food processor add the watermelon with 2 cups of water and puree. Strain into a bowl. Add the remaining 2 cups of water , sugar and lime juice. Mix Well. Place in a jar and refrigerate until cold before serving.
blog orange water
Orange Aqua (Water)

Ingredients
1 inch piece of orange zest
2 oranges peeled and quartered
4 cups water
2 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
orange slices
Directions
In a food processor add the oranges and zest with 2 cups of water and puree. Strain into a bowl. Add the remaining 2 cups of water and sugar. Mix well. Place in jar along with orange slices and refrigerate until cold before serving.

Basic Guacamole

Wondering what to make for your Super Bowl Sunday crowd??  I’ve pulled together some of my favorite recipes for entertaining a crowd – start with guacomole, salsa and jalapeno hummus all served with corn chips. Next serve up some great Memphis style ribs baked in the oven along with this great cilantro coleslaw.  Finally, your winning touchdown will be these butterscotch cranberry and oatmeal cookies. Have fun!

From by the bay keeping score with some of the best food memories!
Maryann
 
blog guacamole1
Basic Guacamole
Serves 6

3 Haas avocados, ripe
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt

In a medium bowl add the lime juice and sea salt , let the salt dissolve. Cut and remove flesh from avocado and place into bowl with lime juice /salt along with scallions and mash with fork. Add ingredients listed below depending on the version you are making and mix well. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Make it Classic:
To the base recipe add 1 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, chopped.

Make it Red:
To the base recipe add 1 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, chopped and 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomato

Make it Greek:
Make the base recipe but replace the cilantro with chopped mint and add 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese.

Make it Blue:
Make the base recipe but instead of cilantro add 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese.

 

Roasted Poblano Cream Macaroni and Cheese

One of my “by the bay” family traditions is the birthday dinner night. I like to come up with a food theme and decor that suits the birthday “girl” or “boy” and run with it!  My dining room has been everything from a German beer hall to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For my sister Diane’s birthday last year, I decided to create a Mexican Cantina. Most of the menu was authentic Mexican dishes, but one of Diane’s favorite dishes is Macaroni and Cheese. I went online to see how people have tackled this dish in the past but I was put off by the taco inspiration for most of the recipes.  I was about to figure out another dish when I remembered having roasted poblano crema in a Mexican restaurant. I proceeded to create a roasted poblano cream by considering the bechamel sauce as the crema and infusing it with roasted poblano peppers as the base for the macaroni and cheese. The results were great and the cantina and party were a big success ending with an impromptu musical serenade, it doesn’t get better than that!


From by the bay wishing you tasty mac and cheese food memories!

Maryann


blog mac and cheese pepper


Roasted Poblano Cream Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8


1 pound penne

2 poblano peppers

5 cups whole milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup flour

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup scallions, finely chopped 

5 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese for topping

Cilantro leaves to garnish


Directions


Fill a large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil to be used to cook pasta. Preheat broiler , place whole poblano peppers on baking sheet about 4 inches below a hot broiler . Roast turning several times the pepper until they are softened and start to blacken in spots, approximately 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in a covered bowl. Take a towel and wipe off the skin from the peppers. Remove the stem and seeds. Place peppers into food processor along with the milk and puree. Place milk and pepper mixture into a medium sauce pan and heat until it is about to boil. While the milk is heating, in another sauce pan , heat the butter until melted. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Cook the mixture for about  2-3 minutes until it becomes a golden color. Slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture whisking continuously. Bring to a boil and then cook for another 10 minutes continuing to whisk until the sauce begins to thicken. When the sauce is ready it should stick to the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and whisk in the salt and nutmeg. Add the grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses to the sauce and stir until the cheese has melted. Place cheese sauce aside. Add penne  to the boiling water  and cook al dente according to package directions and strain through colander. Rinse with cool water. Add the cooked penne to the cheese sauce along with the scallions and mix well. Turn the pasta into a 3 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45 minutes until the sauce starts  to bubble. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and serve. Garnish with cilantro leaves.