Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with Basil

The best thing about summer is the abundance of fresh corn.  Last year I found a recipe online, tweaked it a little bit and now it is my go to for a refreshing summer salad and it goes with almost anything.  Oh, did I mention that it is super easy and quick?!

Ingredients;
1 shallot, minced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped into cubes
3 ears of corn
8 large basil leaves, julienned
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a large pan, about half full.  Once the water is boiling, drop the corn in the pan and add a cover.  Boil 3 minutes on each side, with a total time of 6 minutes.

Remove the corn from the water and set aside to cool.  In the meantime, chop the shallot, tomato and basil.

After the corn has cooled for a few minutes, cut the corn off the cob.  The easiest way to do this is lean the tip of the cob against the cutting board and run your knife down each side, trimming the kernels off the cob.

 Add all the ingredients into a medium bowl, mix and serve.... Thyme 2 Taste..

Serves 4

TIP:  If you do not have shallots, you can use red onion.  I don't always have a lime handy either, so sometimes I leave out the lime.  Try making your own version.  Enjoy!

Grilled Artichokes with Remoulade

Every time I go to Houston's, I always keep my fingers crossed that they have grilled artichokes.  After missing the artichokes a few times, I decided since the artichokes looked pretty good at the grocery store, why not just try to make them myself?  The hardest part about re-making something is if it comes with a dipping sauce.  I did some research online and found a few recipes for the sauce, so here is how I made them.

Ingredients;
Sauce (Remoulade)
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 Tbsp relish
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
4 drops Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh chives
1 green onion, sliced using only the green part
1 sprig of thyme
1/2 tsp capers (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Artichokes:
2 artichokes
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cloves minced garlic

I made the sauce first so you can let it sit in the fridge and let the flavors incorporate into the sauce.  For the sauce, add the first 9 ingredients in a small bowl.

Stir all the ingredients together, cover the bowl and store in the fridge.

 For the artichokes, trim the tips of the artichokes using scissors.  Also trim the top of the artichoke.

Cut the artichoke in half, and cut out the fuzzies.... squeeze lemon onto the artichokes so they do not turn brown.  One you have cleaned out the artichokes, place them into a bowl of water with some lemon juice in the water (to prevent them from going brown) while you clean the other artichoke.

Once you have cleaned the artichokes, bring a big pot of water to boil.  Drop the artichokes into the boiling water.

Cover the pot and allow the artichokes to boil for about 15-20 minutes.  If you have smaller artichokes, you should boil them for about 15 minutes.  While the artichokes are boiling, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. 
Drain the boiling water and set the artichokes face up on the plate.  Brush the artichokes with the oil mixture.

Place the artichokes face down on the grill.  Flip after 5-6 minutes, charring the outside tips, slightly.  Leave on the grill another 5 minutes, brushing with the olive oil mixture, keeping the artichokes covered in the oil, making sure they do not dry out.

Serve with the dipping sauce, immediately..... thyme to taste!

Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa

After making the fish tacos this weekend, I had some leftover mango salsa.  I remembered that I bought some crab meat the other day, so I immediately thought of crab cakes with the mango salsa.  A nice, light dinner that is perfect for the summer time or great as an appetizer.  I also love accompanying a filet steak with a crab cake and do a play on a surf and turf.  Either way, let's get started!

 Ingredients;
1 pound crab meat
4 scallions, minced (green part only)
1 Tbsp chives
1 Tbsp thyme
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2-3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1/4 c mayonaise
1 egg, beaten

Salsa;
Check out my recipe in my previous post,  here

In a medium size bowl, add all the ingredients above.  Gently fold in the ingredients, adding more breadcrumbs if needed.  You do not want to add too many breadcrumbs, as it will make it dry.

Mold the crab cakes, into small cakes (depending on the size you would like them).  You can use a circular cookie cutter as a mold, if needed.

Drudge the cakes lightly in flour.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil to a large frying pan, on medium high heat.  You want to get a good sear on the outside of the crab cake, so medium high heat at first is good, then turn down the heat (to medium) to allow the cake to cook through.

Depending on the size of your crab cake, cook about 5-7 minutes on each side or until the cake is a nice golden brown.

Once you remove your crab cake, you can serve as you wish... I have 2 examples of how they can be served below... thyme 2 taste!

1lb of crab meat makes about 8 medium size crab cakes.

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

Yes, this is my second taco post.  However, it is a completely different taco, so I feel like that's acceptable.  Not to mention, the fresh fish with this mango salsa is the bomb!!
There are many different variations to fish tacos.  I tried about 3 different kinds of fish before I found one that I like best.  The fish I like using for my tacos is Grouper.  It is a nice thick white fish filet but tastes very light and flaky.  I find that Mahi Mahi is too hearty and heavy, while other fish like snapper just doesn't cut it.

My take on fish tacos... hope you enjoy!

Ingredients;
1 pound grouper filet
Old Bay seasoning

Salsa;
1 mango
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1 clove garlic
1 large tomato
1 lime
1 Tbsp chives

*You can also add cilantro tot he salsa.

Start by seasoning the fish with old bay seasoning.  Be generous with the seasoning.

Set the fish aside.  Chop a mango, half a jalapeno, 1 clove of garlic, 1 large tomato and minced chives.  Add into a bowl.

Squeeze the juice from half a lime into the bowl and mix.  Place the salsa in the fridge to chill

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan on medium high heat.  Place the fish in the pan.

Depending on how thick your filet of fish is, the cooking time will vary.  I cooked the fish 8 minutes on each side.  You can split the filet to see if the fish is done.  Do not overcook the fish.  Break the fish into pieces and place on a plate.

Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet and heat up in the oven on broil for a few minutes.  You can also zap them in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Place the tortilla shell on the plate and top with some fish.

Add the mango salsa on top... Thyme 2 Taste...

*Makes about 8 tacos.  I had left over salsa, so there is enough salsa for about 12 tacos.

TIP:  Salsas can be very fun.  Sometimes if I do not have some ingredients, I try adding new ingredients.  I forgot to buy cilantro at the store, so I added some chives.  It came out great.  Don't be intimidated to try different variations of ingredients in the salsa.

Mushroom Ravioli in a Sage Butter Sauce

One of my favorite things to make is fresh pasta.  My friend called me this past week and wanted to cook something together.  I decided to challenge her and see how much work she was willing to put in for a delicious meal... she was up for the challenge.  Mushroom ravioli it is!

The best part about making something new is finding ideas.  I started reading through some recipes and all of the recipes suggested a mushroom cream sauce.  I thought that was going to be a little too heavy, so I decided to make the ravioli in a sage butter sauce.

Let's get started...

Ingredients;
1 cup boiling hot water
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots
2 large cloves of garlic
8 oz Cremini mushrooms
1.2 oz. dried Porcini mushrooms
2 Tbsp fresh chopped chives
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
4 sage leaves
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 c cubed fresh Mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Pasta;
Click to see my fresh pasta recipe here

Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
8 sage leaves

Pour the boiling hot water into a bowl and add the dried Porcini mushrooms into the bowl.  Let the mushrooms soak for about 20 minutes.

Drain the mushrooms after 20 minutes and mince the mushrooms.

Mince the garlic and shallots.  Chop the mushrooms into smaller pieces (I sliced the mushroom and then cut the slices into 3)

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a saute pan on medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic for about 3-4 minutes or until the shallots begin to brown.

Add the Cremini mushrooms and saute for 5-10 minutes, until all the juices are released and evaporated.

Add the chopped Porcini mushrooms, chives, thyme, salt, sage, pepper, red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar.  Remove the mushrooms from the heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Chop the Mozzarella cheese into small cubes

Mix the Mozzarella and mushrooms together.  This will be the filling for the ravioli.

After making the fresh pasta dough, run the pasta dough through the pasta maker until setting number 7.  The sheets should be long and wide enough for your ravioli mold.

Flour the ravioli mold.

Lay the pasta sheet over the ravioli maker and start adding the filling to the ravioli mold.

Fill the raviolis, not too much.  You do not want to tear the pasta dough, but enough so that they will be hearty.  Lay the top sheet over the mold and press down to seal the raviolis.  Slowly remove the raviolis from the mold.  Careful not to tear any of the raviolis when you are removing them from the mold.

This recipe yields about 3 dozen ravioli.

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Drop the ravioli into the boiling water for 5 minutes.  Strain the water.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter, add sage and saute the sage for 1-2 minutes.

Add the ravioli, and saute for about 1-2 minutes just to coat the ravioli in the butter and sage.

Plate your ravioli, shred some Parmesan Romano cheese on top and Thyme 2 Taste....