Friends Food Family | Quick and Easy Recipes

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad with Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes

Back when I first started blogging in 2009-10, I came across a recipe for a grilled corn and bean salad. Brian Boitano (yes, the ice skater) was hosting a show on the Food Network called "What would Brian Boitano Make? and was making this amazing grilled corn and black bean salad. Jeff and I served the recipe to some friends at a cookout that summer but for some reason I never had a picture of the dish.

Fast forward to April 2013 and I am going through my old food posts and found the recipe for the grilled corn and bean salad in a draft. The recipe was there but had no storyline or photo. I looked over the recipe and thought that as soon as I could get some fresh corn this dish would be on the menu. As I entered the grocery store on Sunday there was a display with the season's first corn on the cob. The cobs were small but I figured I would give it another test run. Summer and cooking on the grill with lots of fresh vegetables from the garden are right around the corner.

On Wednesday night when I decided to make the dish, it was a little chilly outside and I was being lazy, not wanting to walk out to light the grill. I went on-line and searched "roasting corn on the cob" and found an easier way to create the dish. By roasting the corn in the oven it gave me the opportunity to get everything ready without leaving the kitchen. You can bet that I will be grilling the corn especially when our local produce becomes available in late July, but for tonight, roasting was perfect.

I switched the recipe up a little because...isn't that what we do as foodies? Try and mix it up a bit? So as the corn was roasting I was able to get all of the ingredients ready adding more lime and a bit of lime zest (and a bit less corn). Once the corn was cool enough to handle, I removed the kernels and this dish was ready to go. We served our salad on a bed of arugula with some chopped cherry tomatoes, but that wasn't before I was taste testing the results with lime tortilla chips.

What a perfect dish, the sweetness of the roasted corn with black beans, a little bit of heat and a great lime flavor. The pepper flavor of the arugula was a wonderful complement to the salad, it didn't need a dressing. And as for the chip and dip situation, it was perfect as an appetizer, too!

As we begin to enjoy more items from the garden, fresh salsas, salads and dishes will be on the menu. Start testing some recipes so you'll be ready for backyard cook-outs and  gatherings, and definitely add this Roasted (or grilled) Corn and Black Bean Salad to the list.

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad as a salsa served with Tortilla Chips 

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad (Adapted from Brian Boitano's Grilled Corn and Bean Salad)

Ingredients:

Corn Marinade:
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
2 teaspoons of chili powder

Salad Dressing:
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 lime, juiced
zest of 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Corn and Bean Salad:
4 ears corn, shucked
1 red bell pepper, cored and diced into 1 inch pieces
1 medium red onion, diced into 1 inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Additional lime juice, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

12 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 - 8 ounce bag or fresh arugula

1 bag of lime tortilla chips (if you want to use this as a salsa)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Marinade: In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup of the canola oil, cumin and chili powder, and season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Stir to combine.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush each ear of corn liberally with the seasoned oil. Cook for about 12 minutes, giving each ear a quarter turn every 3 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle cut kernels from corn.
NOTE: You can cook the corn on a grill also. Place corn directly on the grill over medium heat and turn corn according to the directions above.
4. Salad Dressing: whisk together the 1/4 cup of canola oil, 1 teaspoon chili powder, the lime juice and zest, garlic, and cilantro. Put aside.
5. In a large bowl, place corn, beans, onions, and peppers. Mix with the salad dressing and allow the dressing to coat the mix.
6. Adjust taste with salt, pepper and additional lime juice. We found that it needed more lime juice for balance.
7. Serve with tortilla chips or as a salad on a bed of arugula with chopped cherry tomatoes.

The BEST Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing

(Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing)

Happy Birthday to Jeff! Here's a Lemon Raspberry Birthday Cake with Lemon Icing for You!

This past week we celebrated Jeff's Birthday. Every year when I make his cake, I always try and find something different. For me, it's chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. For Jeff, it is normally something fruit based. I know he is a fan of berries...blueberries, strawberries, raspberries...you get the idea. So, I looked up a number of cake recipes, had some ideas floating around my head and went to the market to get my supplies. Lemons, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, seedless raspberry jam and buttermilk, an odd combination but stay with me.

The cake I choose was from Ina Garten called Lemon Cake. As I was looking at the ingredients, a few things piqued my interest. First was the amount of lemon zest and lemon juice that was used in the recipe. I knew this would give the cake a nice lemony flavor. The second ingredient was the buttermilk. I love using buttermilk when I bake and slightly tangy taste it adds to a recipe. Between the sugary icings and the sour ingredients, this recipe sounded delicious. 

I decided to make the lemon raspberry cake in cake pans versus loaf pans. I knew the consistency would be similar to a loaf cake or pound cake but I wanted something that looked like a birthday cake. Originally I was going to make the cake in a tube pan and fill the center with a mixture of the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Somewhere between making the cake and baking the cake, I put the batter in cake pans.

Looking back, I'm glad I did. This cake is so good, you really want to appreciate the pure lemoniness of the dessert. I struggle sometimes with doing "too much" to a recipe. As food bloggers, I think we are always trying to "kick it up a notch" when we really don't have to. I decided to make the recipe and add a few basic elements to enhance the cake.

After baking the cake and assembling it with raspberry jam, I knew I had something tasty. The ingredients came together easily, it baked up perfectly and assembled quickly for one of the prettier cakes we have made. It looked and smelled AMAZING! After singing "Happy Birthday", we quickly cut into the cake. With a little bit of berry sherbet, the cake was delicious. Just enough sweet and tangy. Jeff kept saying, "This is probably the BEST lemon raspberry cake I have ever eaten." And you have to remember, we cook and bake all the time!

We have been savouring this cake all week. I have been slicing slivers for breakfast while Jeff has been enjoying it as his nightly dessert. You can now begin to understand how we enjoy our sweets!

Hold on to this Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing recipe, think - a perfect Mother's Day, graduation or cook-out dessert. Your guests won't be disappointed, and neither will you!

Ingredients for the Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing:
1 cup of butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
2 cups of sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp
1/3 cup of grated lemon zest (2-3 lemons)
3 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Lemon Syrup:
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 jar of seedless raspberry jam

For the icing:
2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons of lemon juice, freshly squeezed

For garnish:
fresh raspberries and mint leaves

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour (2) 8 inch cake pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (the mixture is grainy). With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon zest.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter until completely incorporated. Divide the batter between the 2 pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

4. In a small sauce pan, combine the lemon juice and sugar to make the lemon syrup. Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

5. After removing the cakes from the oven, allow the cakes to cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pans and brush the top and sides of the cake with the lemon syrup. Allow cakes to cool completely.

6. Prior to assembling the cake, place 1/2 to 3/4 cup of raspberry jam in a small pan and warm to melt the jam. Remove and cool slightly.

7. For the icing, place the lemon juice and confectioner's sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth. The texture should be thick, white and spreadable, adjust the sugar and lemon juice as needed.

8. To assemble the cake, place the first layer on a plate, spread the raspberry jam over the top of the cake and allow it to drizzle down the sides. Place the second layer on top and spread the icing over the top, again, allowing the frosting to drizzle down the sides.

We garnished the lemon raspberry cake with a few fresh raspberries and mint leaves. Cut and enjoy!

Shortbread Blondies - Blond Butterscotch Brownies with a Chocolate Shortbread Base

At the beginning of 2013, I started looking at food trends for the new year. I came across an article that talked about Blond Brownies being a dessert trend. One blond brownie recipe I love is Bobby Flay's Throwdown Blondies. For the past few months, I have been trying to find a different type of spin on a blond brownie.

As I was looking up a recipe for brownies the other day, I came across a recipe we made about a year ago, Shortbread Brownies. It has a shortbread based crust with a chewy brownie top. They were delicious. I started to think, what if I used a chocolate cookie base and put a blond butterscotch brownie on top? That could be really good. I started my experimentation on Friday night and I can admit that the first attempt was not good.

As a food blogger/baker/cook, I can appreciate trying to create new recipes, the problem is that we sometimes go overboard. Here, let me explain. I found a chocolate shortbread recipe which I thought would make a perfect base. Once I partially baked the base, I decided to put a thin layer of butterscotch (butterscotch chips) and then added the blond brownie batter. After 35 minutes, I took the brownies from the oven and they looked perfect. I waited for them to cool and couldn't wait to cut them. I cut the first corner and put a piece into my mouth...they were OK. I started cutting into the middle of the pan and realized - 1. They weren't finished cooking...raw in the middle 2. The thin layer of butterscotch was too thick and made the bar too sweet 3. The cookie base was too thick and separated from the bar due to the butterscotch. So, into the trash they went. First attempt - DISASTER. What I learned...don't overly complicate the recipe, I didn't need the butterscotch chips.

During Saturday, I searched for a chocolate shortbread cookie base which didn't have eggs. I was looking for something drier and not as thick. I found a great recipe on Bake or Break that was used to make Coconut Bar with Chocolate Shortbread Crust. I liked the Blond Butterscotch Brownie recipe I used during my first attempt which was through Taste of Home. Back to the kitchen to try this again. The chocolate cookie based baked up nicely and then I added the blond brownie top. I made sure that I toothpick checked the brownies so that they were fully cooked.

I cut into the brownies and tested a piece...PERFECT. They were buttery, chocolate, slightly crunchy, slightly chewy, sweet with a little bit of salt. This recipe combination definitely worked. I brought some into work, and gave one to my regional director as she was leaving for a meeting. She called me 5 minutes later from her car, "You are evil", she said. "Those were so good, I love the sweet and salty taste." I had great responses to these bars and am definitely making them again. I'll be adding this recipe to my next Summer Cook-Out Recipes for 2013. Give them a try, I bet you can't eat just one!  

Chocolate Shortbread Crust (Base) Ingredients:

3/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup of light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 of teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of butter, cold, cut into small pieces

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place all dry ingredients into a small bowl.
3. Add the pieces of butter and blend with a pastry blade or two knives. The mixture will look crumbly.
4. Place mixture in a greased 13 X 9 baking pan. Shake the pan to even the crumbed mixture and then press firmly into place. It will resemble a slightly dried crust.
5. Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Blond Brownie Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of flour
2 cups of brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup of Heath Bar toffee bits

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, whisk melted butter, eggs and vanilla together.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the egg and butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter comes together. The batter will be thick. NOTE: We mixed this for a few minutes to get it well blended.
4. Add the chocolate chips and Heath Bar bits. Mix until combined.
5. Spread over the chocolate shortbread base.
6. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
7. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 2 dozen.

Sugar Dipped Butter Cookies

Sometimes dessert doesn't need to be anything more than a simple butter cookie. During the Easter holiday, I found myself baking a number of cookies to freeze for both the holiday and what I consider a rainy day. I like to have a few dozen cookies in my freezer in case I need to bring a quick dessert to a friend's house or one of the kids are visiting and want to take some homemade goodies back home. 

I opened a box of Land O Lakes Butter and noticed a recipe inside the box that read: Sugar Dipped Butter Cookies. Sometimes, I'm interested in making a dessert that is unexpected and the recipe is right in front of me. I grabbed the butter and set out to make the cookies. The recipe was basic and with 6 ingredients I was ready in less than five minutes. With the batter made, I was ready to roll butter cookies. 

The fascinating part of making these cookies was rolling them in water. For the hundreds of thousands of cookies I have made over the years, I have never rolled cookies in water before coating them with sugar. After I got the first batch in the oven, I couldn't wait to see what they looked like when they were finished baking. The sugar was hardened and crackly and the cookies smelled wonderful.

My mother-in-law loves traditional style cookies. She loves desserts she can enjoy with her tea. I let her sample the first cookie and she wanted to take a few next door with her to keep for her daily tea. OK, Fan #1 of the butter cookies, let's keep going. Jeff was coming through the kitchen, looking for his evening scoop of ice cream. As he left with a dish of rainbow sherbet, I sat a cookie on the top of his scoop. Five minutes later I got the request, "Trish, can you bring me another one of those cookies?" Fan #2...let's keep going. As I got the last tray of cookies out of the oven, I grabbed a cookie to taste myself. PERFECT! It was buttery and melted in your mouth. The sugar coating was crunchy and added just enough sweetness to the cookie. 

The next morning I decided I would have sugar-dipped butter cookies for breakfast, as Jeff would say, just because I can. They were still amazing. They tasted like little sugary muffins and dipping them in my coffee was HEAVEN! For as much as I am the ultimate chocolate freak, I truly enjoyed these buttery delights.

If you are looking for something a little different, yet traditional, these sugar dipped butter cookies are perfect.

Ingredients for Sugar-Dipped Butter Cookies: (adapted from Land O Lakes)

1 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of butter, softened

1 egg

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 bowl of water and 3/4 cup of sugar for dipping and rolling cookies

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter with the sugar (by hand or mixer), until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the egg and mix well.

4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mix by hand until incorporated.

5. With a tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball, dip in water and then roll in the sugar. Place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. 

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.

Pasta with Lentils and Kale

Do you ever get home and wish there was something easy to cook? And everyone would like it? How about some Pasta with Lentils and Kale?

Back a few weeks ago, Jeff and I saw Gourmet's Pasta 103 Best Loved Recipes at the grocery store. As much as we tell ourselves we aren't going to buy any more magazine (or cookbooks), we always come home with something. I think what caught us was the simplicity of most of the meals. It had great soups, and pastas with cheese, vegetables, sauces, seafood and more. The Pasta with Lentils and Kale was the first dish we flipped to and with two of our (new) favorite ingredients, lentils and kale, we knew this book would be a hit. We always believe that if we buy a magazine or cookbook and make a few of the recipes, it is well worth the purchase. So far, we have made three dishes with another one coming this week. 

After both of us having long days at the office, it was nice to come home and have almost everything completed in less than an hour. This recipe can be made vegetarian style. The original recipe called for the lentils to be cooked in water. We like a bit of flavor with our lentils and cooked them in chicken broth.

The dish was delicious. The onions were caramelized and the lentils and kale were a perfect match for the pasta. Jeff and I were enjoying the dish and both agreed that a few pepper flakes would give this dish a nice kick. My middle son, Brian, was home from University of Missouri and proceeded to eat two bowls of the pasta, even though he was going out to dinner. Hopefully, he'll follow these directions and make this dish for his house mates.

This summer we will be planting kale and onions in our back garden. We can't wait to try this dish again with freshly picked ingredients. It should create an amazing summer favorite.

If you are in search of any easy meal or a side dish try this recipe, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients for Pasta with Lentils and Kale: (Adapted from Gourmet)

1/2 cup of dried green lentils

2 cups of chicken stock

5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

12 ounces of kale, cut and discard center stems, coarsely chop

1 pound of penni, ziti or tubular pasta

1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes (optional)

salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Place lentils and chicken broth in a medium pan and over medium heat, uncovered, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are tender but not falling apart. Remove from heat.

2. In a heavy skillet, over medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, heating until it shimmers. Add onions and saute for 1 minute, adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

3. Reduce heat to low and cover, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and slightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to medium until onions are golden brown about 5-10 minutes. 

4. In an 8 quart pot, bring water to boil with 1 teaspoon of salt and cook pasta according to directions. Seven minutes before the pasta is done, add the kale, boiling uncovered until pasta is al dente. 

5. Stir lentils, including the liquid, into the onions. If there isn't much liquid, add additional chicken stock (we added about 1/3 cup). Mix together for about 2-3 minutes, scrapping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. 

6. Before draining the pasta, save 1 cup of the cooking water. Drain pasta and kale, add to lentil and onions.

7. Stir the pasta and kale into the lentil mixture while cooking over medium heat. Toss to mix, adding 1/3 cup of pasta water (or more if needed). After 1 minute, remove pan from heat.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Serves 4-6 people.