Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Salsa You'll Want to Put on Everything



There's a simple reason why it's taken me so long to photograph my new favorite salsa: it's too delicious. It's gone before I can set up a good photo. It's a quick recipe, so it gets made while prepping dinner. By the time it's done, it hits the table. Any leftovers are often gobbled up first the the next morning atop someone's potatoes, eggs, or in a breakfast burrito. Besides, even if I were to try to get the shot before we sat down to eat, the light is all wrong. Unlike yours truly, food photographs best in the light of day.

Anyway, this recipe comes from Rick Bayless's awesome cookbook, Mexican Everyday. I had been turning out batch after grubbin' batch throughout the summer. Even though tomato season has passed, this salsa remains doable. Just take care to select some good, red, vine-ripened tomatoes, as I did this week. I allowed them to ripen a few more days on my counter, and made salsa when the tomatoes had that glorious garden-fresh tomato scent on their skins.

Last night we had Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos. Fresh salsa is an absolute must with Fish Tacos. I grilled the Mahi (which I just basted with a wee bit of canola oil, fresh lime juice, salt and pepper before grilling, and an extra shot of lime juice as a board dressing while it rested post-grilling) alongside some late season corn on the cob from Whole Foods, turning the latter into a quick Roasted Corn Salsa. Tonight's dinner will be a tough act to follow.

Here's both recipes:

Fresh Tomato Salsa
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium ripe tomatoes, quartered and cored
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 lime, halved
2 green onions, finely sliced
Salt and fresh pepper

METHOD
In Cuisinart, process or pulse jalapeño until finely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add garlic and process or pulse. Add tomatoes and cilantro and pulse until tomatoes are roughly chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.

Add sliced green onions. Squeeze juice from one half of the lime. Taste for seasoning to determine if you need the other half of the lime. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Roasted Corn Salsa
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
2-3 ears fresh corn
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 lime
2-3 T chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper



METHOD
Preheat grill or broiler. Shuck the corn and remove all the silk. Brush with canola oil. Grill for about 5-7 minutes, rotating halfway thru, or until the corn is browned. Remove from the grill and allow to cool to room temperature.

Prep the remaining ingredients and combine in a small bowl. When the corn has cooled, cut it from the cob and add to the bowl. Add the lime juice and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.

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Monday, October 28, 2013

It's Baaack: The best seasonal addition to your morning coffee

Reprinted from the Pinch archives

Many a coffee purist would shudder the thought of adding eggnog to coffee, but not this one.

I've loved the eggnog latte for years, since my days frequenting Monorail Espresso in the nation's espresso capital. No Portland, not you. Portland doesn't wait for Halloween to dress up as Seattle.

The eggnog latte is probably loaded with as many calories as one of those Dunkin' Donuts muffins I've heard tale of (700 500-plus, if memory serves). I don't want those calories to end up on my tail, so I steer clear of Starbucks this time of year.

But this, this most wonderful lowfat eggnog from the good folks at Horizon, fills the void. The best way to enjoy it is to pour an inch or so into your mug and zap it up in the microwave for 10 seconds or so. Then fill your mug the rest of the way with coffee. Yum. Oh, and don't add sugar - the eggnog is pretty sweet.

2013 Update:  So, where can you buy this wondermous accoutrement? In Chicago, Horizon Eggnog is sold at most Dominick's. I got mine at the one on Fullerton & Sheffield. It seems Whole Foods and Target no longer carry it. I've been frequenting Plum Market this fall, and hope to find it there. I'm hardly ever at Dominick's, and will be even less once Mrs. Greens opens and the Dominick's on Fullerton over by Chuck E Cheese turns into a Albertson's. And I still can't believe the Jekyll and Hyde nightmare that Fox & Obel turned out to be. Wow. I've been in Chicago long enough (a scant eight years) to see some very big changes on the grocery scene.

Eggnog lovers, rejoyce! It's eggnog season!

Happy Halloween.

This post was originally published on October 31, 2008

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