Corn and Cilantro Fritters.

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The Midwestern US is known for our amazing summer sweet corn. Every year my family and I look forward to corn’s seasonal grocery store debut, and anytime we’re driving around rural Illinois and Iowa in the summer, we can’t help but stop at the roadside sweet corn stands to pick up an ear or twenty. Despite the awful drought we’ve had here this summer, my local farmers market had a lot of sweet corn this weekend, and for cheap too! I bought a bag and took it home to make yummy things. Here is one of them!

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk or cream
1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
1/4 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 small ears of corn (1 large ear), cooked, with the kernels cut off
handful chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together flour, egg, milk or cream, oil, baking powder, and salt and pepper.

Add cilantro and corn and stir to combine.

Heat a pan over medium and add a splash of vegetable oil. Spoon batter into pan and cook until the bottoms are golden brown.

Flip and fry until the other side is browned and the middles are cooked through.

Garnish with Greek yogurt and more cilantro and serve immediately. Thank you, farmers of the Midwest!!

Hasselback Potatoes with Jalapeño Leek Scrambled Eggs.

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On Sunday morning, I set my friends Jalapeño and Leek up on a blind date. They’ve never met before, but since they’re so great separately, I thought I’d introduce them and see if they had any chemistry. It was a little risky, because they tend to roll in pretty different circles: hot and bold Jalapeño usually hangs out with Onion, while Leek has a more mellow friend in Bell Pepper. But I was hoping to play off a bit of an opposites-attract dynamic to see if this odd couple would get along. And while I’m not sure they’ll be going steady any time soon, it’s safe to say they had a Casablanca moment: I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

INGREDIENTS:

2 small potatoes, washed and sliced accordion-style (lots of little slits, without cutting all the way through the base)
olive oil
paprika, salt, pepper, parmesan to taste
1 leek, sliced and washed
1 jalapeño, minced
1 egg
1 tbsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
parsley, chopped, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Rub the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Bake until browned on the outsides and completely softened on the insides.

Just before the potatoes are finished cooking, heat a bit of olive oil and a bit of butter in a pan over medium low. Add the leeks, stir, and cook 1 minutes. Then stir in the jalapeño. Cook until softened and just starting to turn a bit golden. Set aside.

Crack your egg into a ramekin and add cream/half and half/milk and more salt and pepper. Scramble.

Then add a bit more butter and olive oil to your pan and pour in the egg. Sprinkle over your grated cheese, if you’re using it, and give it about 45 seconds.

Then add the jalapeño and leeks back to the pan and stir into the eggs. Cook until done.

Garnish with parsley and serve! Of all the plates in all the kitchens in all the world, I’m glad this dish walked into on mine.

Cilantro Chipotle Chicken.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen3 Comments

This is another dish born of necessity. Last night, my fridge contained (among other things) a bunch of cilantro and a few chipotle chiles that were about to go bad. So I made up this recipe and had a fabulous dinner! I served it with a caramelized onion and pea couscous, but it would also make a great fajita filling. Or, even better, shred it and make chicken quesadillas. I’m a total quesadilla fiend, so I think I’ve just inspired myself for a future recipe: cilantro chipotle chicken quesadillas with corn salsa. Mmmmm. But back to the oven-baked original of today’s post—it’s juicy, really flavorful, and has a nice spicy kick to it. Feel free to use less chipotle/adobo sauce if you’re a spice whimp, or to add another chipotle if you’re extra brave!

INGREDIENTS

2 whole chicken legs (you could definitely use breasts too…I just like dark meat)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp honey
juice of 1 lime
2 canned chipotle chiles, chopped, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce

DIRECTIONS

Add all ingredients to a plastic bag. Seal the bag and rub the marinade all over the chicken. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if you’re patient (I am not).

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a pan with foil and lay the chicken in it, skin side up.

Bake the chicken until it’s done, around 25-35 minutes.

That’s it! Don’t you just love an easy yet tasty recipe for a weeknight dinner?

Balsamic Watermelon with Goat Cheese and Basil.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

Last night, my cousins and aunts and I met for a Girls Night Out at my cousin Colleen’s fabulous apartment. We all brought drinks and apps to share while we danced and chatted, and it was such a nice night! Earlier in the day, we were emailing to decide who was to bring what, and I noticed that there were a lot of carb and cheese bites. When my girlfriends and I lived in Ireland, we ran into the same situation (and we had gluten-allergic gal and a cheese hater!). It’s a real challenge to come up with good apps that aren’t heavy on the bread and cheese. I had a great recipe for mango chutney mini grilled cheeses in mind, but I decided to go with something lighter and fruitier this time. These watermelon bites are fast, adorable, and totally refreshing! I scooped the melon beforehand and then assembled them at my cousin’s place, because they’re not particularly portable.

Thanks for a fun night, girls!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups watermelon, cut into whatever shape you like (I used a melon baller for dome-shaped)
1-2 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature
handful of fresh basil leaves, ripped into bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

There’s really just one step: assembly. Using a small spoon, scoop a bit of goat cheese onto a piece of basil and stick it to the top of a watermelon bite. Pierce it through the center with a toothpick and dip the bottom of the watermelon into the balsamic vinegar. Then arrange them on a platter and you’re all set. Yum.

Stuffed Eight Ball Zucchini.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

Recently I feel like I’ve been seeing eight ball zucchini everywhere! I guess that could be explained by the fact that they’re in season right now…but still. I noticed that a bunch of bloggers had interesting stuffed zucchini recipes to offer; then these pudgy little guys appeared on my roommate’s dad’s wedding menu 2 weeks ago, and (as if it weren’t a sign from the universe that I should give them a try myself), they were at my farmers market on Saturday. So I picked up a few. First of all, they’re adorable. Second, they’re so versatile! I love how they leave so much room for food-creativity. I just kind of made this dish up as I went along, and you can can do the same–just prepare them using whatever you’ve got hanging around your kitchen and these will come out beautifully!

INGREDIENTS

1 chorizo sausage, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 eight ball zucchini
salt and pepper to taste
5 leaves fresh basil, julienned
1/4 cup tomato sauce

DIRECTIONS

Heat a pan over medium high and add a splash of oil. When the oil is hot, add the chorizo. Cook until browned on the outside. It’s okay if it’s a bit pink in the middle, because it’s going in the oven in a bit. Set the chorizo aside.

Add the celery, carrot, and onion to the pan with the chorizo juices and cook until soft.

While the veggies cook, cut the tops off your zucchini and set them aside for later, and hollow them out. I used a mellon baller. Roughly chop the insides and set them aside.

Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Then add about 2/3 of the zucchini insides, salt and pepper to taste, and stir.

Cook down the mixture until it shrinks a bit, letting the zucchini liquid cook off.

When the mixture has tightened up a bit and some of the liquid has cooked off, stir in the basil, tomato sauce, and the chorizo, and give it another 3 minutes or so. Then remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F.

When the mixture has cooled a bit, stuff the zucchinis. Place them in a casserole dish or other oven-safe pan and put their little tophats on.

Cover the pan with a sheet of foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and finish them off for another 15-20 minutes, until soft and tender.

That’s it! Take them out and enjoy. I buttered a piece of easy French bread and toasted it in a pan, and it was the perfect simple accompaniment.

Potato and Lentil Curry.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

This weekend, my little sister came down to the city for the night to have a sleepover at my new apartment. We walked around my neighborhood and then had an amazing dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. Indian is one of our favorite types of foods, ever since we first tried it on a trip to London. I’m always meaning to cook it at home more often, because homemade Indian tends to be inexpensive and relatively easy—if you already have all the right spices, that is. This dish was a breeze because the ingredients are really easy to keep around all the time, and it’s a healthy lunch that will travel well to work. Maybe next time my sister comes to spend the night, I’ll save us our $50 and make our own Indian feast!

UPDATE: I tried replacing the potatoes with sweet potatoes and it was just as good. Yum.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 small potatoes (about 2 1/2 cups), scrubbed and cubed
3/4 cup lentils, rinsed
1 1/2 cups stock

DIRECTIONS

In a Dutch oven or other large pot, heat olive oil and add onions. Sweat for 2 minutes, stir in the spices, and cook until onions are softened.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then stir in the potatoes and cook about 5 minutes.

Stir in the lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid on until the lentils are tender and the potatoes are soft.

Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve over rice or with garlic naan and a dollop of sour cream.