Clam Dip

I could feel the clams mocking me. Mocking me for my predictability. They were

right. I was going to make linguine with clam sauce. With canned clams. Thats right.  canned clams.  I can feel your disdain seeping through the computer screen. But I will contend that the canned clams actually work better than fresh for sauce or dip purposes. Each bite gets some of that briny clam taste.  And also, my mom would make me linguine with clam sauce every year for my birthday growing up. So there is the nostalgia factor, and as we all know, that nostalgia factor can be quite powerful. But incidentally, while I can make my mom’s linguine with clam sauce… it never is quite the same. So mom, next time I visit, i need you to make me linguine with clam sauce!  So back to the clams. The canned clams. I decided to throw them a curve ball. I decided to turn them into a dip. Naturally!

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 shallot, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons white wine

6.5 ounce can of chopped or minced clams 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

8 ounce wedge of brie, chopped

6 ounces cream cheese

generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped oregano

Instructions

To prepare the dip: Heat oven to 375.  Heat olive oil and butter over  medium-low and add shallot and garlic.  Saute until shallots are soft.  Add the white wine and increase the heat.  Reduce.  Add the the can of clams, including the juice, as well as the lemon juice and lemon zest.   Add the brie and cream cheese.  Stir in the pepper and oregano.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the top is golden-brown.  Stir and sprinkle more oregano, if desired. 

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salad Recipe

This recipe for Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad is brought to you by the fresh corn, leftover cotija cheese and a can of beans. And that lazy feeling that strikes during the Summer for something delicious yet easy. Like most everyone, I love fresh corn. Eight ears for 2 dollars? Sold! When corn is sweet it's a cinch to prepare. In addition to adding it to a salad, my other favorite ways to prepare it are making corn chowder (I make a different version just about very time) and on the cob, slathered with mayo and dredged in crumbled cheese served with a wedge of lime.

While corn should be cooked soon after picking or purchasing, cotija cheese is the exact opposite. I bought cotija for some recipe or another and found the leftover cheese lasted and lasted. Like other Mexican cheeses, it's inexpensive, and easy to use. Cotija is a crumbly cheese, less salty than feta, but a little goes a long way. The beans in this recipe make the salad feel hearty and substantial. I suppose you could make it with canned or frozen corn all year round, but it really feels like a Summer dish to me. 

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad makes the perfect side dish to go with barbecue chicken, steak, pork chops, you name it. It's a very flexible recipe, you can leave out the cilantro if you like, add more green onions or use red onions instead. Add more tomato or less. Add as much or as little hot sauce as you like. If you don't like spicy food, start with a teaspoon, taste, then add more. I hope you will make this recipe your own! 

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salad

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 ears of corn

1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tomato diced, include the juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 green onions, chopped

1 Tablespoon Habanero Pepper Tabasco Sauce

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/2 cup crumbled Mexican cotija cheese (or feta)

Salt

Instructions

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Strip the corn from the cobs, into the skillet and

cook, stirring, until beginning to brown in spots, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in black beans, tomato and juice, cilantro, green onions, Habanero sauce and lime juice. Fold in the cotija cheese. Taste for seasonings and add salt if needed. 

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I created this recipe on behalf of Tabasco and I was compensated for it. The choice to post it here, was my own.