Spicy Frito Corn Salad

I once met a person who didn’t like Fritos; we couldn’t be friends. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but in my mind, there’s absolutely no reason not to love them. When I found this recipe on the Cookies & Cups website, the fact that a salad contained Fritos intrigued me, so I had to make it. Let me just say that with or without the Fritos it is delicious; with the Fritos it is over the top. It is colorful, fun, spicy, super tasty, and a must for summer parties, picnics, or barbecues.

Spicy Frito Corn Salad

Slightly adapted from cookiesandcups.com

Dressing:

3 T. Adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)

2 T. fresh lime juice

¼ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

¼ t. cumin

½ t. kosher salt

½ t. fresh ground black pepper

 Salad:

2 15.25-oz. cans corn, drained

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

¾ c. diced Melissa’s roasted red peppers

1/3 c. diced green bell peppers

1 small Melissa’s pickled jalapeño, diced

¼ c. diced red onion

1 c. chopped cilantro

¼ c. crumbled cotija cheese, plus more for garnish

2 c. coarsely crushed chili cheese Fritos

 In a small mixing bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients; set aside.

 In a medium/large mixing bowl, toss together all salad ingredients EXCEPT Fritos. Fold in dressing to coat. Refrigerate for at least one hour, more is better. When ready to serve, toss with additional cotija cheese and the crushed Fritos. Serve immediately. Don’t allow those Fritos to become soggy!

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Bacon Pea Salad

I love party food, and by “party food” I mean something that I wouldn’t fix on a normal day. I’m talking canapés, cheese dip, little weenies wrapped in bacon, deviled eggs, and, in this case, pea salad. There is something that just says summer about pea salad. This one is crunchy, fresh, and flavorful, and needs to be made ahead of time, something I always find to be a good thing.

Bacon Pea Salad

4 slices thick cut bacon
¾ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
1 T. real maple syrup
1 T. granulated sugar
1 T. grated onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 20-oz. pkg. frozen peas
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 ribs celery, chopped
½ c. cubed cheddar cheese, white or yellow
1/3 c. chopped red onion

Cook bacon until crispy in a medium/large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain bacon on paper towel-lined plate; chop. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease.

Whisk together mayonnaise, reserved bacon grease, maple syrup, sugar, grated onion, salt, and pepper, in a bowl until combined.

Stir in bacon, peas, parsley, celery, cheddar cheese, and red onion until coated. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

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Cauliflower Salad

You may recall my mentioning a couple of weeks ago how I tend to over buy on vegetables. Yep, still doing it. I have a particular liking for cruciferous vegetables, and when I see a sale on broccoli or cauliflower, I simply cannot resist. On the plus side, it gives me a chance to revisit some favorites like these Cauliflower Butter Bowls. Other times it gives me the opportunity to try recipes that I’ve never attempted before, like this one.

 I was amazed at how good this is. I did not miss the potatoes at all, and could have eaten this entire bowlful as a meal. (As an aside, I will tell you that I cut this recipe in half so as not to be overwhelmed.) My guess is that you can customize it any way that you like. I generally add celery to potato salad but I didn’t here. I think I may just do that the next time. I may also add a pinch of paprika for color. Try this out and let me know what you think.

Cauliflower Salad

As seen on allrecipes.com

1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets
¾ c. Duke's mayonnaise
1 T. mustard
1 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
¾ c. frozen green peas, thawed
¼ c. dill pickles, chopped
3 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled

Place cauliflower in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until just fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

 
In a large bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower, eggs, onion, peas, dill pickles, and bacon to the dressing and stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. The longer the cauliflower salad chills, the better the flavor.

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Broccoli, Corn, and Bacon Salad

For whatever reason, I tend to shop for a family of four. I’m not sure why I do that. The various sales just draw me in, eager to use those sale ingredients in the vast pile of recipes I have stacked up to try. Because of this I tend to over buy on vegetables, and I’m talking BIG time. When you over buy on vegetables, you end up eating a lot of them, often forced to use them in a variety of ways. Hence, the broccoli and corn salad was born. I have to say that this is a delicious combination, so good, in fact, that I ate it as a main dish. Use fresh corn in the summer, grilled if you like, to enjoy it all year round.

Broccoli, Corn, and Bacon Salad

1 lg. head broccoli, chopped

1 lg. carrot, shredded

2 c. frozen corn, thawed

½ c. golden raisins

½ c. pecans, toasted, roughly chopped

1 T. fresh chives, minced

½ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ t. Frank’s Hot Sauce

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

¼  - ½ c. favorite Ranch Dressing

 Combine all ingredients, toss to coat with dressing, and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to two days.

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Red Potato Salad

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 ​Ask people what they like in potato salad, and you are going to get as many different answers as there are people. I like a potato salad with potatoes that are cooked to perfection and not mealy or mushy. I want a crunch of vegetables, and great flavor, without that flavor leaning heavily in any direction. Essentially, I want a basic potato salad that is so versatile it can become absolutely anything I want.

This recipe is my favorite. Made as is, it is wonderfully delicious and goes with any meal from hot dogs to steak to fish. I have even served it for breakfast to rave reviews. Add a little vinegar, and you have something new. Add a tablespoon of yellow mustard, and you have mustard potato salad. If you want something heartier, add bacon, shredded cheddar, or, to take it really over the top, blue cheese. I have fixed it all of these ways, but the basic recipe is still my favorite. 

Red Potato Salad

1 1.5 lbs. Melissa’s baby red potatoes, halved
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
¼ c. minced parsley
½ c. thinly sliced celery
½ c. thinly sliced green onions
¼ c. sweet pickle relish
1 T. sweet pickle relish juice
1 T. Dijon mustard
¼ t. paprika
¾ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; add a pinch of salt and water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain; refrigerate until cold. Add eggs, parsley, celery, onions, and relish; toss well. Stir in pickle relish juice, mustard, paprika, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Top with additional paprika for color. Refrigerate until serving.

 

Corn and Hatch Chile Relish

With hatch chiles in season, and fresh corn still in abundance, there is no better time to make corn relish than now. If you've never made corn relish before, or have no idea what you do with it, let me educate you. Corn relish is a delicious, fresh, crisp, succulent condiment that can be used on sandwiches, stirred into potato salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, or as a delicious topping on a grilled hotdog. It gives a whole new meaning to the word “corndog.” It's easy to stir together, and just needs a number of hours in the fridge for the flavors to meld. I like it so much, that I could eat it as a side dish, and often do. Last night I tossed a scoopful into a chopped salad, it was wonderful! If you're looking for a way to give every day dishes some extra zing, adding corn relish will do the trick!

 Corn and Hatch Chile Relish

1/2 cup Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Red Bell Peppers, diced
1/4 cup roasted Melissa’s hatch chiles, diced
3 large ears fresh corn, husked and stripped
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon real maple syrup (Grade A)
1 teaspoon Crystal hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil

 In a large bowl toss together red peppers, hatch chiles, fresh corn niblets, and chopped scallions; set aside.

Mix remaining ingredients together in a medium bowl, and whisk until well combined. Pour dressing over vegetables, stirring to coat. Refrigerate for at least one hour (longer is better), and serve as you see fit.

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Sweet Corn and Cucumber Salad

I love salad in the summer, and I like it to be made with the freshest produce available. I happened to pick up some local cucumbers, and a dozen or so ears of the fresh corn that we have had in abundance this season. So, while spending an entire day prepping vegetables for various dishes I was going to make during the week, I decided to combine some ingredients that aren’t always paired in order to make a delicious, crunchy summer salad. This was the end result, and boy, was it fresh and delicious! Even the onion and basil were homegrown as I grew both in pots on the patio. I made the pesto as well (there is just nothing like homemade!), but if you prefer not to, I highly recommend Melissa's pesto. They have both basil and sun-dried tomato, both equally good.

Sweet Corn and Cucumber Salad

4 cups fresh corn kernels
2 cups diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Red Bell Peppers
1/4 cup diced red onion
5 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 large basil leaves, minced (more for garnish)

Salt and cracked pepper, to taste

Dressing
3 tablespoons pesto, homemade or purchased
1 tablespoon Dukes mayonnaise
Pinch garlic salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toss vegetables and basil leaves together in a large mixing bowl, pour the dressing on top, and toss once more. Serve immediately garnish with basil leaves.

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Red Pepper Relish Deviled Eggs

If you love deviled eggs as much as I do, then I am sure that I’m not alone when I get a hankering for them. When I was a kid deviled eggs were only served in the summertime. Why is that? Sure, they make great picnic food, but they are good anytime, and whenever I serve them, no matter the occasion, they disappear in a flash.

I was getting a strong craving the other day, but was tired and didn’t really feel like all of the preparation because my go-to recipe (that you can find here) does involve a bit of prep. Then I remembered the remaining Red Pepper Relish in the fridge, and decided to make things easy for myself by using it. Wow, were these good, and they could not be easier! You really don’t need a recipe for these, but I’ll jot one for you anyway.

Red Pepper Relish Deviled Eggs

3 eggs, hard-boiled, cooled, and peeled

1 heaping tablespoon Red Pepper Relish (or more)

1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise (preferably Duke’s)

½ - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Halve eggs lengthwise; remove yolks from eggs and place yolks into a small food processor, chopper, or similar device (I use a small Ninja blender). Add remaining ingredients and whir until blended. Spoon (or pipe) into egg halves. Garnish as you see fit...or not. Can be doubled, tripled, etc.

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Baked German Potato Salad

As anyone will tell you, "firsts" after losing someone tend to be quite difficult. Fourth of July was the first holiday I would be observing (I won't say "celebrating") without Mr. O-P. I could have just stayed in bed and wallowed in self-pity, binge-watching episodes of "Midsomer Murders," and, actually, did, but then I got up, simmered some beer brats, and made Baked German Potato Salad.

Mr. O-P loved his potato salad. He loved it cold, made with red potatoes sliced into thin slices, hard boiled egg, a bit of celery and onion, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise...and nothing else. I love potato salad of every variety, so tried, over the years, to introduce him to something new, but he just wouldn't have it. So, I had to smile to myself while making this warm, German version. I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Taste of Home website. I halved the amount of potatoes, used scallions instead of the called for onions because it was all I had, and cider vinegar instead of white because I like the extra zing. Next time I'll double the sauce because I tend to like my potato salad a bit saucier.

Baked German Potato Salad 

Adapted from Taste of Home

1-1/2 pounds Melissa's Baby Red Potatoes

5 bacon strips

2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup water, divided

¼ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup sweet pickle juice

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon celery seed

2-1/2 teaspoons flour

In a saucepan, cook potatoes until just tender; drain. Peel and slice into ¼” slices and place in an ungreased 1-qt. baking dish; set aside.

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp; drain bacon, reserving drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Sauté scallions in drippings until translucent. Stir in the brown sugar, ¼ cup water, vinegar, pickle juice, parsley, salt, and celery seed. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine flour and remaining ¼ cup water until smooth; stir into onion mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour over potatoes. Add bacon; gently stir to coat. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4 servings.

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Weekend Potluck

Green Bean Salad

When I was younger I loved going to school; when school wasn't in session I played school. In college I took classes every semester they were offered -- spring semester, winter semester, intersession, summer semester.  If classes were offered, I took them, and, in the doing, I built up a pot-load of credit hours. So much so, in fact, that I defied categorization and, eventually, they asked me if I would just graduate and leave. It was with great reluctance that I did, and I felt set adrift when it came time to sign up for coursework again. Not daring to show my face on the university campus, I grabbed a course catalog from the local community college, and signed up for a couple of extension classes, one of which was Gourmet Barbecue.

Looking back, I can't imagine what possessed me to take this class. I was the only young, single female in a class of, largely, forty-year-old men and their wives. As you can imagine, I was quite popular with the men, not so much with their wives. All's well that ends well, however, once they realized I was actually there to learn, and not shopping for a husband. I ended up learning quite a lot about grilling, and came away with a vast array of recipes. In addition to learning specialty grill recipes, we were also provided with side dishes suitable for whatever main dish we were working on that week. One of my favorites was this green bean salad. Mother loved it as well because the two of us were absolutely ga-ga over green beans, liking them so much that we would often eat them right from the can.

This recipe, a product of the late seventies, calls for canned green beans, but it is so much better when using fresh, and even more fun when using a variety of interesting beans as I have done here using both yellow and purple (they turn green when you cook them -- kids love to watch these) wax beans from Melissa’s Produce. Use whatever you like to make this salad colorful and interesting, and in keeping with your family’s tastes. Serve it chilled or at room temperature. It makes a great addition to picnics, barbecues, salad bars, or serves as an excellent side dish.

Green Bean Salad

1 lb. fresh string or wax beans, trimmed, blanched, and cooled

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

½ red onion, thinly, and I’m talking THINLY, sliced

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Homemade croutons (or store bought, if you must)

Italian Dressing

Toss together beans, tomatoes, onion, and Parmesan cheese, and refrigerate, covered, for an hour, or up to eight hours. When ready to serve, add croutons and dress with your favorite Italian dressing or vinaigrette.  Personally, I use low-fat Italian dressing and love it in this recipe.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Trifles

In my intense determination to turn that sow’s ear of a Kentucky Butter Cake into a silk purse, figuratively speaking, I decided to take the globs of it that had fallen off in chunks during my attempt to extricate it from the pan, and make a couple of individual strawberry trifles. Success!

This is the easiest dessert in the world to prepare for which I have no particular recipe, but will try to do my best in offering one. Essentially, you alternate layers of liqueur-drizzled pound cake (of your own choosing), sweetened strawberries, and pudding.

It must be made ahead in order for everything to become fully saturated with juice from the strawberries, pudding, and to allow the liqueur to settle nicely into the cake. This recipe only makes three servings, because that is how far I could stretch the pudding. If you want to make more, just double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. Imagine what a fun dessert this would be to have stored in the cooler during a summer outing. Just pass the jars and pass the spoons. Delish!

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifles

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

1-2 Tablespoons sugar

Zest of one orange

1 3.4-ounce pkg. Jell-O Instant Cheesecake Pudding

2 cups whole milk

1 pound cake, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/4-1/3 cup Triple Sec (or any orange liqueur)

Spritz of whipped cream for garnish

You will need: 3 clean pint jars with lids

Place sliced strawberries into a medium bowl and add the sugar and zest. Stir to combine, and set aside to allow them to macerate.

Mix together the pudding mix and milk, whisking mightily until the pudding thickens. Place in refrigerator until needed.

Meanwhile, divide half of the pound cake cubes among the three jars. Drizzle the pound cake in each jar with about a tablespoon of Triple Sec, and lightly press down.

Give the strawberries a stir, and add a layer of them on top of the pound cake layer in each jar. Shake jar a bit to settle.

Top the strawberries with a healthy dollop of pudding, turning jar until all of the strawberries are covered.

Repeat the whole pound cake/strawberry/pudding thing one more time.

Put the lids on top of the jars and store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or, ideally, overnight.

Serve topped with a dollop of whipped cream and pinch of orange zest, if desired.

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