Allisons Magic Mexican Corn

Ingredients

• 6 ears of sweet yellow corn
• extra-virgin olive oil
• unsalted butter
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• jalapeño
• crushed red pepper flakes
• limes (juice and zest)
• Manchego cheese
• chives

Instructions

• Set oven to 450°. Without husking the corn cobs, place them on a baking sheet spaced out just a little bit, then roast them them, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes, until heated through and tender but still a litte crispy.
• While your corn is roasting, prep the other ingredients: measure butter, dice jalaeno, grate cheese, slice chives and zest limes.
• Once the corn is done, let it cool so you can handle the cobs. Then shuck and cut the kernels from cobs.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Saute corn kernels over high heat until for 3–5 minutes. Stir in the butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and add jalapeño, crushed red pepper flakes over. Squeeze lime wedges over, then sprinkle with cheese, chives, and lime zest.
• DO AHEAD: You can roast and slice off the corn kernels a few hours in advance if you need to.

Mexican Roasted Chicken with Mango Salsa

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken, whole, guts removed, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 medium lime, zested
• ½ medium lime juice, fresh squeezed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• ½ tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces beer

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with foil, and top with a baking rack. Place the oven rack on the lower 1/3rd of the oven.
2. Combine ingredients, except chicken, in a medium bowl.
3. Loosen the skin on the breast and take some of the seasoning mixture and spread under the skin onto the breast. Spread the rest of the seasoning over the whole bird and place breast side up on the rack.
4. Pour 1/4 of the bottle of beer on the top, then roast chicken until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees. basting with beer every twenty minutes. Then allow to rest for 20 minutes until the temperature reaches 170 degrees. This takes approximately 20 minutes per pound.

Mango Salsa:

• 2 large mangoes, chopped
• ½ cup red onion, chopped
• 2 large avocado, chopped
• ½ cup roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1 small lime juice, freshly squeezed
• ½ cup cilantro, fresh chopped

Orecchiette with Sausage and Tuscan Kale Pesto

*I haven't actually made this yet.  Just saving it here for later.

Ingredients

• 3 cups (85 g) Tuscan kale, blanched*
• 1 cup (30 g) fresh basil
• 4 garlic cloves, whole
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 1/2 cup (45 g) Pecorino Romano cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound (454 g) orecchiette pasta
• 4 sausage links, casings removed
• 4 tablespoons dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay

Preparation

• Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. Prepare another bowl full of ice for the ice bath.
• Cut off the tough stems from the Tuscan kale. And pick the basil leaves from the stems, discarding any that are damaged.
• When water is boiling, add the Tuscan kale and blanch for 15 seconds. Remove and plunge in the ice bath for 15 seconds and drain in a colander. Roughly chop the kale.
• Next, add the basil leaves in the boiling water for 5 seconds, until wilted. Scoop out and drain in a sieve. When cool enough to handle, squeeze dry and set aside.
• Cut each garlic clove in half and plunge in boiling water for 15 seconds, then transfer to the ice bath to cool.
• Put the kale, basil, nuts, garlic, cheese, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and purée until smooth.
• Transfer into containers for storage. Will keep well in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
• To make pasta, bring a large pot of water to boil and season with salt. Add the orecchiete pasta and cook for about 8 to 11 minutes, or according to package directions.
• Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta.
• Wipe the same pot clean and heat on medium high. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan.
• When oil is hot, add the sausages, crumble with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned all over.
• Add 2 scant cups of the pesto and stir. Immediately add 4 tablespoons of white wine and cook until the alcohol has evaporated, about 1 to 2 minutes. Then, add half the reserved cooking water (about 1/2 cup) to loosen the pesto. Stir well.
• Put the pasta back into the pot and toss until well-combined, adding more pasta water if needed.

So we copied Delfina Pizzeria...

Ingredients

Dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of kosher salt

Topping:

• 7 tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• salt
• olive oil
• fresh basil
• Bocconcini (small mozzarella balls) cut in half

Instructions

Dough:

• Mix olive oil, water, and yeast for 5 minutes (stirring the whole time)
• Mix in flour, knead for 15 minutes on a floured surface
• Let rest 20 minutes in a bowl covered by a warm, damp cloth
• Sprinkle with salt and knead another 10 minutes
• Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for at least 4 hours in a warmish room
• Spread out on floured surface into pizza shape
• Preheat oven and pizza pan to 500 degrees (or 550 if your oven can handle it)
• Cover with toppings and brush crust with olive oil.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

Sauce:

• Chop the tomatoes roughly and chop the garlic pretty finely
• Saute garlic in olive oil for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and cook for at least 30 minutes.  Add salt and oregano to taste.  Add a little olive oil at the end.  The sauce should thicken up a little bit.
• Put sauce on pizza, dot pizza with cheese.  After cooking the pizza, top with sliced up basil.  Add a sprinkle of salt on top of the pizza and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Kale and Chickpeas (use as a side or on pasta!)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 red onion
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• red wine vinegar

Instructions:

• Sautee the chopped red onions in some olive oil.  Add some red pepper flakes at this stage if you want them.
• Pour the chickpeas into the pan.  Add a splash of vinegar and some salt.  Cook for a minute or two.
• Now add the kale.  You may need to add some more vinegar or some other liquid to add some steam to wilt the kale.
• Cook for a few minutes.  Add more vinegar and salt to taste.
• Mix in with pasta or eat alone!

Lentil Tacos

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry lentils (maybe more, I usually guess)
• enough water to cover lentils in a pot
• 1 white onion, chopped
• spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, coriander, cumin, oregano, paprika, garlic powder
• small corn tortillas
• cheese
• non-fat greek yogurt
• pico de gallo

Instructions

• Cook the lentils in the water according to the instructions that came with them.  When they get close to being soft, heat oil in a pan.
• Cook onions in the oil until soft.  When the lentils are ready, put them in the pan with the onions with a little bit of their cooking liquid.
• Stir in seasonings until it tastes like tacos.  It will take a lot of cumin.  A LOT.
• Serve on warm tortillas with pico de gallo and non-fat yogurt.  Cheese if you want.

Black Bean Burgers

This is actually a picture of my own food!  Hooray!

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 handful shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
• chopped cilantro
• 1/4 red onion, chopped real small
• spices to taste: cumin, coriander, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper
• bun
• mayo
• tomato
• lettuce

Instructions

• Mix beans, cheese, cilantro, onion, and spices in a bowl.  Over season just a tiny bit (keep tasting!).  Add the egg and stir well.  Then add breadcrumbs until the mixture is firm enough to form into patties.  If you are brave enough to eat raw egg, taste the mixture again to check the seasoning.
• Heat oil in a pan, and fry the patties for at least 20 minutes.  They should get a little crispy on the outside.
• Broil the buns with a little bit of butter.  Serve with toppings and a margarita.

BONUS RECIPE - The Glenn Savage Margarita

Ingredients

• 1 shot tequila
• 1 shot triple sec
• 1 shot Key West lime juice
• 1 squeeze agave syrup
• ice

Instructions

• figure it out