Chilled Mexican Corn Salad

The Background

I have been looking for a side dish that will pair well with Tex-Mex, Southwestern and Southern dishes.  The catering jobs that we take on typically involve either barbeque or tacos.  This side dish pairs well with both and it is equally tasty served warm or cold.  If served with barbeque, the corn salad gives a great alternative to the typical potato salad or coleslaw. 

If you have ever been to a Mexican festival or celebration, you may have stumbled on a booth or food truck selling grilled corn on the cob.  The corn is usually nicely charred, lathered in a creamy, buttery combination of cheese and chili spices, and finished with a squeeze of lime.  The sweet smell of grilled corn with lime and chiles creates an aroma that will be forever locked in your mind.  You won't be able to think about that festival without remembering that aroma, and anytime you pass a vendor selling grilled corn, your ears will immediately perk and your head will swivel to find the source!

We have tried to recreate that experience in a bowl.  I love to serve this dish as a cold side.  The sweet corn and creaminess cools down the palate perfectly after something spicy.  And the bright, fresh citrus keeps the flavors light.  It's a new favorite of mine, and I get great comments when we serve it at our events.

 

The Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
3 cups corn (about 4 ears, fresh OR 2 cans)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, grated (or approximately 1 teaspoon of minced garlic)
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juice
2 tablespoons Cotija cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chili powder to taste
2 teaspoons onion salt

 

Making It Work

1. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  A cast iron skillet works great, if you have one.
2. Add the corn, toss it quickly to coat as much of the corn with the butter as you can.  Once the corn is coated in butter, leave it alone to char, about 6-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, garlic, lime juice, onion salt, and chili powder to make a smooth dressing.
4. Mix the corn into the dressing, until the corn is well coated.  Once the corn and dressing are mixed, stir in the chopped cilantro and Cotija cheese.
5. To serve, garnish with some hand-torn cilantro, and an additional sprinkle of cheese and chili powder.  This is a great dish to make a day ahead or the morning of the event.  The flavors will deepen as it chills in the refrigerator for a few hours. 

Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad

The Background

I was searching recently for a new cold salad to add to a fajita buffet dinner.  I knew I wanted something that would be both "cool" and just a little bit spicy.  I ran across several cucumber salads and combined what I thought were the best ideas into this recipe.  I really liked the way it turned out.  It is cool and bright, spicy and sweet, salty and tangy all in one dish.

The Ingredients 

• 4 large cucumbers, seeded and diced, peel if desired  
• 1 medium white onion, chopped 
• 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lime pepper (coarse ground black pepper will work fine, but I definitely recommend this Lime Pepper I found at Texas Spice Company!)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced 

Making it Work  

1. Place cucumbers, onion and jalapenos in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients; pour over cucumber mixture and toss well to coat.
3. Chill at least 3 hours before serving.

 

Syrupy Banana-Nut Overnight French Toast

 The Background

Okay, I don’t typically re-post recipes exactly as they are written.  I confess to being one of “those” people who has to try something, dabble with it, fidget with it, fix it, forget it, re-fix it and then… post it.  Typically, if I am searching for inspiration I will hit tons of recipe sites, peruse countless recipes.  I will discredit some poor guy or gal I never met, scoffing at whatever process or ingredient they are using, then find another similar dish and apply recipe one’s thought, to recipe two’s ingredients and combine it with something I think I dreamt up, but was probably bastardized from yet another source.
Not today.  Today, maybe it’s because I was appalled at how long it has been since I posted a recipe, or perhaps because we had this for Mother’s Day brunch and it was “lick the pan” delicious exactly how it was written, I proudly repost… Syrupy Banana-Nut Overnight French Toast.  And I would like to thank the fine folks at Good Housekeeping for awesome recipe.  Oh, I can’t wait to try other fruit variations with this recipe
. 

The Ingredients

6 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine

1 1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar

5 large ripe bananas, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 (12-ounce) long loaf French or Italian bread, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices (I used Challah – and loved it!)

6 large eggs

2 cup(s) milk

2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon

1/2 cup(s) sliced almonds or coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
Read more: Syrupy Banana-Nut Overnight French Toast - Good Housekeeping

 

Making It Work

In microwave-safe small bowl, heat butter in microwave oven on High 1 minute or until melted. Stir sugar into butter until moistened. With fingertips, press sugar mixture onto bottom of 13-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish. (It's okay if mixture does not cover bottom.) Spread fresh or dried fruit over sugar mixture; top with bread slices, cut sides down.

In medium bowl, with whisk, beat eggs; whisk in milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Slowly pour milk mixture over bread; press bread down to absorb egg mixture. Sprinkle with nuts. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. (My wife is not a fan of nuts, so we toasted pecans to sprinkle on top rather than baking them into the French toast)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap from baking dish. Bake, uncovered, 45 to 50 minutes or until bread is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Note: If you don't have bananas, substitute 3 to 4 very ripe pears or peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced; or 1 cup dried cherries, cranberries, or raisins.
Read more: Syrupy Banana-Nut Overnight French Toast - Good Housekeeping

Texas Fried Turkey with Cinnamon Chile Rub

The Background

I take no credit for this recipe, this incredibly delicious, insanely flavorful, and down right amazing recipe. I have however used it very successfully for several years now and take great pride in cooking up a great bird whenever the opportunity arises. I got the recipe from Texas Monthly a couple of years ago, who got it from Grady Spears, a chef at Reata, and published in the Wild Turkey edition of Texas Monthly in 1998. So with proper credit given, let's cook!

The Ingredients

Equipment

1 turkey cooker with a propane burner
(also called a catfish cooker or crawfish boiler)
1 36- to 40-quart stockpot and basket
1 large turkey injector with needle
1 deep-fryer thermometer or candy thermometer
elbow-length oven mitts

 Cinnamon-Chile Rub

1/2 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup pasilla or other red chile powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Turkey

4 to 6 gallons peanut oil (depending on size of stockpot and turkey)
3 1/2 cups chicken stock (two 14.5-ounce cans)
1/2 cup Tabasco sauce
1 turkey, 12 to 15 pounds (insides removed)
2 cups cinnamon-chile rub (recipe above)

Making It Work

Place the peanut oil in the stockpot on the turkey cooker and preheat to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the chicken stock and Tabasco. Place the turkey in a shallow pan or bowl. Fill the syringe with stock mixture, inject all parts of the turkey (legs, breast, thighs), and then thoroughly coat the outside of the turkey with the cinnamon-chile rub. When the oil reaches 350 degrees, place the turkey in the basket and, wearing oven mitts, carefully lower it into the stockpot. Cook for 3 1/2 minutes per pound (for example, a 12-pound turkey will be done in 42 minutes). Remove the turkey from the oil and drain well. Place it on your favorite platter and carve away.

Helpful Hints
1. To determine how much oil you need, put the uncooked turkey in the stockpot and cover with water. Measure the water and use the same amount of oil. (The cooks at Reata use a 40-quart stockpot and 6 gallons of oil.)

2. Large containers of peanut oil are available at Sam’s Club, Randalls, Wal-Mart, and Albertson’s.

3. Turkey cookers with pots and propane burners can be bought at large supermarkets, sporting goods stores, restaurant suppliers, building-supply stores, and hardware stores, but availability is unpredictable. A spot-check found them at some Academy Sports and Outdoors stores, Albertson’s food stores, and Builders Square, among others. Injectors are available at cookware stores, department stores, and some of the outlets mentioned above. If you don’t have a cooker and stockpot and don’t want to buy them, they can be rented at party supply stores.

4. The injector is easier to fill if you remove the needle.

5. The oil may be strained to remove food particles and reused. It may also be disposed of with regular garbage.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

The good folks over at America's Test Kitchen created this fantastic version of Chicken Parmesan. It appears in their new Healthy Family Cookbook. We followed this recipe exactly last night and really enjoyed it a lot. We served ours with fresh steamed green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. I have always taken pride in my chicken Parmesan, but this version beats it hands down and delivers great, fresh, light flavor that didn't leave us feeling weighed down.

1 1/2 Cups Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
3 Egg Whites (large)
1 Tablespoon Water
6 Chicken Cutlets (approx. 4oz each)
2 Cups Tomato Sauce (warmed)
1 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil (chopped)
Canola or Vegetable Oil cooking spray

This is a really easy and tasty makeover of a traditionally "hard to do" and decadent dish. Start by prepping the chicken breast, cutting 3 chicken breasts horizontally in half. Pound the breasts to approximately 1/4" thickness and dry with a paper towel.

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 475 degrees. While oven preheats, toast the breadcrumbs in a skillet or sauté pan with the olive oil over medium heat, stirring frequently. This should take approximately 8-10 minutes. Set the breadcrumbs in a pie dish to cool. Once the breadcrumbs have cooled, add the grated parmesan cheese and toss together.

In a separate pie pan, whisk the egg whites and water until well combined.

In a separate pie pan, mix the flour and garlic powder. This will complete your 3 step breading station.

Place a wire cooling rack in a rimmed cookie sheet and spray liberally with cooking spray. This will be the pan we use to bake the chicken.

One at a time, bread each chicken cutlet, starting with the flour mixture, then the egg whites, then the breadcrumbs. Place the breaded chicken cutlets on the baking sheet. Bake the breaded chicken pieces in the oven for approximately 8-10 minutes, until they register 155 - 160 degrees.

Top each cutlet with a couple tablespoons of warmed tomato sauce and a generous sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

Return the chicken cutlets to the oven to bake for another 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. The chicken should now be at 165 degrees internal temperature.

Sprinkle chicken with chopped fresh basil and additional parmesan cheese if desired.

Now booking Catering Opportunities for the Fall and Holiday Season

Planning a party this fall? Do you know someone who is? I would love to hear what you are planning and talk about whether or not S Bar C Catering would be a good fit for your event. Whether it's a Rehearsal Dinner, Family Reunion, Company Picnic or Holiday Party, I am flexible enough to handle it! Whether you just need a few pans of prepared food delivered, or you need someone who can coordinate the whole event, I am confident we can make you happy. Give me a call or shoot me an email.

512-589-5322
sbarccatering@hotmail.com