This week on Morning Living’s “Fast and Fancy” weekly segment, we welcomed Sunny Anderson, host of the Food Network show "Cooking For Real."
We challenged Sunny with a classic summer ingredient -- corn. Her "fast" recipe, “Sunny’s Sunset Park Elotes,” pays homage to her Brooklyn roots in that neighborhood and the grilled corn from street vendors there. Her "fancy" is" Sunny’s Grilled to Chill Salad,” which is chock-full of veggies and features a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.
Apart from bringing some delicious recipes on Friday morning, she also brought t-shirts from her new label, "Nontourage." These quirky, food-themed shirts are hilarious, and perfect for children and adults alike. Check them out on Sunny's website!
Sunny’s Sunset Park Elotes
Ingredients:
4 ears sweet corn, husks removed
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
½ cup mayonnaise
6 ounces cotija cheese, crumbled
Cayenne pepper, for dusting
1 lime, quartered
Directions:
1. Preheat a grill pan. Poke dowel or chopstick in large end of corn to hold. Rub corn with oil and place on a grill pan over high heat, turning corn so all sides are charred, about 6 to 10 minutes total.
2. Top the corn. Using a rubber spatula, rub cob all over with mayonnaise. Sprinkle all sides with cheese, sprinkle on cayenne pepper to taste and spritz with a wedge of lime. Repeat for the rest and eat!
*Make into a salad by cutting kernels off the cob after grilling and placing in a large bowl. Toss corn with ¼ cup mayonnaise, 4 ounces cheese, a pinch of cayenne and a spritz lime. Serve warm or cold.
Sunny’s Grilled to Chill Salad
Ingredients:
For the salad:
2 carrots, peeled
4 ears fresh corn, shucked
4 pineapple rings (reserve juice)
2 stalks celery, diced
2 seedless cucumbers, diced
3 scallions, finely chopped
Olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon pineapple juice (reserved from can)
1 tablespoon grained Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Cut the carrots into spears of equal size. Line up the prepared carrots, corn and pineapple slices on a tray and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle all with a pinch or two of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Flip the pineapple rings and repeat the process for them only. Roll and jiggle the rest to fully coat them.
2. Heat the grill or grill pan to medium high. Place the carrots, corn, and pineapple rings directly on the grill. Use tongs to tend to the grill. Roll and flip the vegetables until your personal preference for doneness, pulling each off to a tray when done. The carrots are best when charred, caramelized, and a bit crispy on the ends, about 10-12 minutes. For the corn, just go for color on all sides, about 8 minutes total. The pineapples are best when slightly charred but still juicy, about 6 minutes total, flipping once.
3. When the grilled goods are all cool enough to handle, chop the carrots, pineapples and trim the kernels off the corn. Add to a bowl along with the celery, cucumber and scallions.
4. For the vinaigrett, in a medium bowl add pineapple juice, mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and liquid smoke and whisk until combined. Continue to whisk vigorously while slowly pouring the olive oil into the bowl with your other hand. Taste the vinaigrette and season with a pinch of salt and few grinds of black pepper.
5. Pour the vinaigrette over the saladthen gently toss using tongs. Serve room temperature or chilled.
Yield: 4 servings
1 Sunny Anderson's "Grilled to Chill" corn salad
2 Betsy and Bryan with Sunny Anderson, host of Food Network's "Cooking For Real" in the studio
3 Sunny Anderson's "Grilled to Chill" Salad!
