Super Sexy Summer Recipe

Ok....so I'm all about bright vibrant colours, give me some lime, give me some fruit, give me some tang, I'm ready to party.  As a kid I was attracted to beverage flavours like 'blue' and 'neon green.'  My love for these exciting, technicolours have transpired into an adult appreciation.  So last night, I decided to tackle some sexy summer colours and flavours (you will note, I add the word sexy to many of my recipes)  My favourite little guide, the LCBO food and drink guide, assisted me in this undertaking.  Now we are lucky enough to have this fantastic market right by our apartment, called the St Lawrence Market (http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/), it was recently voted one of the best markets in the world , and I pompously chortle at the tourists while they meander around, as I frequent the market at least 4 times a week.

So this recipe is lengthy and took about two hours to prepare and make, with my girlfriend reluctantly chipping in.  It cost roughly $20, and I already had a few of the ingredients.  Now what is this super sexy summer dish?  

Pretty Colours

Recipe:

BBQ Chicken (On the George Foreman) marinated in home-made BBQ sauce

Fried Corn Cakes with Avocado Tartar Sauce

Mango Apple Slaw

Ingredients and Preperation:

BBQ Chicken:

2 boneless skinless breasts which will marinate in the sauce

BBQ Sauce:

2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons salt

dash ground cayenne pepper 

half a cup of hot sauce like franks

tbsp of super hot sauce, I used a scotch bonnet lime sauce

1. Boil all of the above ingredients for 30 minutes then cover the chicken in a bowl with the sauce and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.  Place remaining sauce in a separate bowl  Take out of fridge and bake at 425 degrees for ten minutes a side...put aside, it will be finished on the foreman

Corn Cakes:

3 ears of corn on the cob

1tbsp finely chopped jalapeño

1 green onion-thinly sliced

3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda, baking powder, salt

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

canola oil for frying

Avocado Tartar Sauce:

1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle

1 tbsp capers, drained

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 small avocado

Lime juice

pinch of salt

chives for garnish

1. For Cakes boil corn 6-8 minutes, slice kernels from cob into a bowl, stir in jalapeño and green onion  (to note: I bought about 150 jalapeños at the market a few months back for $3, now they sit in my freezer, I like me some jalapeños.)

2. In a large bowl, use fork to stir flour with sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl whisk egg.  Whisk in buttermilk (to note: I had no buttermilk and my chef friend, informed me if you add about a teaspoon of vinegar to 1% milk and wait ten minutes, buttermilk will emerge victorious!)  then whisk in vanilla and melted butter.  Whisk into flour mixture and then into corn mixture. 

3. Pour a decent amount of oil into a pan and heat on medium, when oil is hot, scoop up about a teaspoon of batter, drop in hot oil and press to form a thick flat cake.  Repeat with as many cakes as you can fit into your pan, and golden brown on both sides.  Put cakes aside...(they reheat ok at 400 degrees, but are obviously better fresh out of the pan)

4. Avocado Tatar Sauce:  Place chopped pickle in a bowl, finely chop capers and add along with the mayo. Mush that avocado up and add to the mix.  Add salt and squeeze the shit out of the lime, (I'm a lime whore, so if your not as into this, reduce the juice.)  Refrigerate for an hour, when serving, place a little dollop on the cakes and sprinkle some black pepper and chives.

Apple Mango Slaw:

1 lime

3/4 cup of mayonnaise

1 tsp celery salt

1 jalapeno

1 ripe but firm mango

2 apples

1 red pepper

1 small napa cabbage

1 cup of cilantro (which I vetoed because my girlfriend doesn't like cilantro...tsk, tsk.)

1. Finely grate lime peel into a large salad bowl, squeeze the shit out of the lime juice.  Stir in mayo and celery salt, chop the jalapeno and add.

2. Peel mango, peel apples, julienne into strips the mango, apples, red pepper and cabbage (my girlfriend did this, as I loathe fine motor tasks) add to the bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.

3,. At this point, your pretty much ready to boogie.  Finish chicken on the Forman (I live in an apartment and therfore do not have a bbq, if you are lucky enough to own a house and a bbq, by all means use it!)  I would also do the corn cakes now, or reheat them in the oven.  You can dip chicken in the remaining bbq sauce as well.  Serve it up with some white wine, or a wheat beer and get dirty with these sexy colours and flavours!  This recipe served two, primarily because I'm a huge eater, but could be adapted to serve four.  Enjoy!!  

Yes my plating skills need improvement and I should probably invest in a better camera, but it tasted good!