I love Summer because my favorite fruits and vegetables are in season. One of my favorite things to throw on the grill is corn. In the summer, the corn is so sweet you can eat it plain. But I like to dress mine up a bit the way I get it at Cafe Habana in New York City. One of my go-to places whenever I visit NY, Cafe Habana’s Mexican Style Grilled Corn is something I order – every time. While watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network, Tyler Florence divulged the secret recipe – and I was ready with a pen! It’s super easy to make and tastes just like Cafe Habana’s! This is the perfect side dish for any summer barbecue.

Ingredients:
Fresh Corn – shucked, rinsed and patted dry with a towel
Mayonnaise
Cotija Cheese
Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper
Lime

1. Grill the corn – keep turning until cooked and slightly charred.
2. Spread some mayonnaise on the corn. Eyeball it – the mayonnaise acts as an adhesive for the cheese and chili powder. If I had to give an estimate I’d say 1 Tbsp.
3. Sprinkle Cotija Cheese on the corn – It’s a hard cheese so I grate it directly over the corn.
4. Sprinkle with chili powder or cayenne pepper
5. Serve with Lime.

Buon Appetito!

Nothing says summer like a glass of fresh lemonade. Actually, I love lemonade all year long but it tastes more delicious in the summer for some reason. I’m very particular about my lemonade – I only drink the freshly made variety. (Except when I was a kid I drank the powder variety until my sister made me a glass that was literally neon yellow). Like everything, I like my lemonade sweet. Not like candy, but close to candy. I have a quick recipe for fresh lemonade, the most time consuming part of this is squeezing the lemons. Whether or not life gives you lemons, make lemonade

Fresh Lemonade Ingredients
•    1 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (depending on the size and juiciness of the lemons between 3 and 7 lemons)
•    1 Cup of Ice
•    1 Cup of Sugar
•    4 Cups of Water
1.  Put sugar, lemon juice, ice and 1 cup of water in a blender and blend.
2. Pour the mixture in a pitcher, add the remaining 3 cups of water and stir.
That’s it! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- Chocolate cake
- regular sized Nutella
- small heavy whipping cream
- popsicle sticks
- chocolate chips
- sprinkles/chopped nuts for decoration

In a big bowl, crush your pre-baked cake.

Mix the bottle of Nutella with heavy whipped cream until smooth like frosting. Pour nutella in bowl with cake and mix together.

Make 1-2 inch balls and place on waxed paper. Chill for 15 minutes in the freezer.  In a deep bowl, melt chocolate chips. Be careful not to burn. Add a few drops of vegetable oil to make chocolate easier to dip in.

Take out chilled balls of cake. Dip the popsicle sticks in melted chocolate and place in the cake balls. Only insert about 1/3 of the ball or the cake will crumble. Chill again for another 15 minutes.  Dip cake balls in melted chocolate until completely coated. Then dip pops in sprinkles or nuts, whichever you decide.

Enjoy!

Last year I told you about my favorite cooking magazine, Fine Cooking. I have loved every recipe I have tried from that magazine and website. I have a subscription, but they also have special editions that focus on certain topics. So far, I’ve bought the special issues on Grilling, Party Food, Soups & Sandwiches, Real Italian, Chicken, Weeknight Dinner, Fresh & Quick and Breakfast. I haven’t been able to get to most of them but I try to sample new recipes every week. The Grilling and Weeknight Dinner issues have gotten the most use but I can’t wait to make my way through the other issues. Also, if I am just searching for a really good recipe for something particular, then I just hit up FineCooking.com and do a search.

One of my favorite recipes from Fine Cooking: Weeknight Dinners is Mint and Pine Nut Pesto with Gemelli and Asparagus. The Husband and I love it and I’ve already made it a few times. And, since it was in the Weeknight Dinners issue, it’s very quick and easy to make.
Mint and Pine Nut Pesto with Gemelli and Asparagus
Serves four to six.

For the pesto
6 scallions (dark and light green parts only), trimmed and thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup firmly packed fresh mint, chopped
5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pasta
1 lb. gemelli
3/4 lb. asparagus, ends snapped off, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, more to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Make the pesto

Put the scallions, Parmigiano, pine nuts, and mint in a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the processor on, pour the oil down the feed tube in a steady stream, so the mixture thins into a slightly loose paste. Add more oil if needed. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. pepper and pulse once more.
Make the pasta

Bring a large (6-quart) pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender, about 2 minutes less than the package timing. Add the asparagus and cook with the pasta until both are tender, about 2 minutes more. Drain well and toss with the pesto and lemon juice. Add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with black pepper and the Parmigiano.

Buon Appetito!

While conversing with my good friend and hairdresser, we were debating between which was better: Crumbs cupcakes, Sprinkles cupcakes and Cinnabon cupcakes. Then it hit me, a cinnamon roll cupcake would be amazing and so mean to my inner thighs all at the same time. I told my mom about my revelation and so I searched the internet, and found a recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s blog for a recipe and bingo, bango, bongo! I give you, cinnamon roll cupcakes!

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