Charred Corn & Bacon Guacamole

I spent the majority of last week on the sofa, overcome by a very, very unenjoyable virus.  I like to think I can handle sickness well, but this one beat all willpower out of me.  I really do not enjoy being sick, I hate how it forces life to come to a halt, and as nice as sitting on the couch watching Netflix all day sounds, I tire of laziness after about four hours.  

I forced myself up last Tuesday and made these popsicles in between bouts of sickness, and then crashed for another day and a half. 

The moment I could stomach normal food again, there was only one thing on my mind - bacon. 

I feel that it is necessary for me to provide some sort of disclaimer.  Bacon is overused, overdone, and overrated, in my humble opinion.  I roll my eyes when I walk into stores and see shelf upon shelf of bacon merchandise.  Apparently, Americans will buy and consume anything that either contains bacon, or some manner of sketchy bacon derivative. 

With that being said, bacon - true, quality bacon, is a thing of beauty.  It’s like butter, but in animal form.  Weird?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Absolutely! 

AND, it adds a deliciously rich, crispy texture to the otherwise mushy texture of guacamole. 

As with most edible things in this world, avocados are a hit or miss for me.  I go through seasons where I cannot get enough of their green, butter-like flesh, and then I hate them for six months.  This confuses my fiancé, and my mom, and pretty much everyone aside from my grandmother who understands because I get this perpetual-fickleness from her. 

Right now, I think I am slowly re-entering the infatuation stage.  For whatever reason, I was possessed to make guacamole, so here we are.  A big bowl of delightfully trashed up avocados just waiting to be smashed and slathered unto an obscene number of corn chips.

Are you a yellow corn or white corn chip kind of person?  Or are you my sister who insists that blue corn is best?  

I’ll always go for the yellow corn - all the way, all the time. 

Is it strange that we are loading up corn chips with more corn?  Nah, I’ll put corn on anything this time of year, even atop more corn.  

When it comes to guacamole-making, there are few secrets, but if there ever was one it would be this: you can never, ever, ever have too much lemon/lime juice.  

Avocados beg for acid.  It brightens up their flavor and cuts through the fattiness, so please do not skimp on the lemon juice.

I know lime juice is traditional, but I like changing things up.

I am a texture person.  When it comes to guacamole, I prefer a partially smooth/chunky (I do not like that word) texture. 

The corn to avocado ratio is nearly even, but in my mind that's just perfect.  If you do not love grilled corn as much as I do, you could back off a little.  I just really love the sweet bursts of flavor and texture that they bring to this chip and dip party. 

My sister has been begging me to throw a taco party, so I figured this was a start.  Next, I'm going to conquer the drink.  I am dreaming up some sort of salted watermelon and lime situation... More to come. 

This is my "get back into life" food.  It's salty and creamy and crunchy and there's bacon.  

All good vibes here.  

I can't believe I just wrote that.  Ugh, what is happening to me?  

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Charred Corn & Bacon Guacamole

- 3 ears fresh sweet corn 

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 4 rashers good quality bacon, diced 

- 3 medium ripe Hass avocados

- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice (you may want to increase this amount if you like your guacamole on the more acidic side)

- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt 

- corn chips, for serving  

Set grill to medium high heat.  

Brush corn with olive oil and place on the grill.  Grill for 5-7 minutes, turning often, until all sides of the ears are evenly charred.  Allow the corn to cool while you cook the bacon. 

Place bacon in a nonstick frying pan and set over medium heat.  Cook until crisp and remove from heat. 

Cut avocados into cubes and place in a medium serving bowl.  Season with lemon juice and salt.  Use a whisk or potato masher to roughly mash the avocados. 

With a sharp knife, strip the corn kernels from the ears.  Add the corn and bacon*, along with the grease, to the mashed avocados; stir to combine. 

Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste.  Serve alongside corn chips.  Enjoy!! 

*You can make this guacamole in advance, but I suggest adding the bacon just before you plan on serving it so that it will stay crisp.  

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Grilled Garlic Pizza with Flank Steak and Bursts Cherry Tomatoes [ Me + Cost Plus World Market ]

Grilling fever took hold in the beginning on April and I knew exactly what I wanted to make - pizza. 

Pizza is such a fantastic Summer food because you can pile on whatever fresh vegetables and cheese you have on hand.  And, if you are doing it on the grill it only takes a couple minutes, so it's totally doable on a weeknight.  If you are in a huge hurry you can even buy pre-made pizza crust to speed up the process.  It's almost Summer, so shortcuts are okay here and there.

I have learned that the trick to great pizza at home is the pizza stone. I especially liked World Market's model because it comes with a very handy stand for serving. No more burnt fingers.

Who am I kidding? I'll still find a way to burn myself.

I love throwing a bunch of bright greens atop my pizzas, especially in the summertime. You can find the full recipe for the pizza, along with more pictures on World Market's blog!

I hope you're grilling all the corn and drinking all the pretty drinks this Memorial Day!  

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

This post was sponsored by Cost Plus World Market. Sponsorships not only bring exciting opportunities to work with brands I genuinely love, they help me keep this site going! But as always, all opinions are my own.

The Bestest Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

I do not think I have ever been so excited about a vegetable.  Except maybe my grandmother's lima beans, they are pretty stupendous.  But this corn, (insert the really, really happy emoji with the squinty eyes) is my new favorite Summer side dish.  If I had to pick something to eat from now until September I'd ask for this corn and a bucket of steamed shrimp... Okay, maybe this pasta too; it's my favorite.  And watermelon, but that is all. 

Actually, I'd also like some hot dogs...  I don't like this choosing game after all. 

The point I'm really failing to make here is that this corn is one of the best and easiest things you will make and eat this Summer.  It's really, really, REALLY good.  

Does that sound braggadocious?  I always hesitate slightly before claiming that something my crazy, carb-driven brain came up with is great, because, well, I made it up.  But, I will happily give all credit to the ingredients here.  With extra special thanks going to corn.

Corn, you’re pretty and I like you because you are sweet and starchy, but still pass as a vegetable, and because we both have unruly hair (except mine could never be called "silk") that ends up all over the floor.  Ew.  Moving on. 

Do you like puns?  I really like corn puns.  You would be surprised hominy I can come up with. Heehee. 

This corn has two surprises, the first of which comes in the form of Old Bay.  That pungent orange powder is essentially fairy dust for Summer foods. 

The smell of Old Bay transports me to warm July afternoons spent shelling boiled shrimp and spraying them with “butter” that came out of a bottle.  When I was four that was the coolest thing ever, but now, well… it’s still kind of cool but I’m far too sophisticated to admit it. 

A generous dose of Old Bay is mixed with a bit of olive oil and then slathered onto fresh sweet corn.  

I like to coat the corn before I place it on the grill, and then give it several more coats as it’s cooking.  If the cob is orangey after you take your first bite, you will know that you did enough. It's science.  

While the corn cooks, run inside the kitchen and make some sun-dried tomato butter.  Oh yes, that is the second surprise.  

I will warn you now that this butter is my new favorite thing and it will likely be popping up in A LOT of Summer recipes around here.  I would apologize, but after you taste it you really won’t mind one little bit.  

I bought the olive-oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for this recipe, and I found that I greatly prefer their flavor and texture to the dry ones.  They also have that tomato-saturated oil which adds a little extra flavor to this savory butter. 

Tomatoes, along with a little oil, butter, and kosher salt go into the food processor to spin around, forming a smooth, fluffy butter. 

This lovely orange butter has a very rich tomato flavor that couples impeccably well with the Old Bay-suffused corn.  

I’m really excited about this.

I made this corn for Mother’s Day and my brother compared my mouth to a lawnmower after seeing how quickly I devoured these cobs of wonder.  It was no time to be leisurely, the butter was melting off the sides.  

This is, by far, my new favorite Summer side dish.  I think I may love it even more than watermelon.  

Now would likely be a good time to break out those floss picks.  

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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The Bestest Grilled Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

serves 4

for the butter

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened  

- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil 

- 2 teaspoons oil (taken from the jar of tomatoes) 

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place butter in the work bowl of your food processor and pulse until smooth.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, oil, and kosher salt and pulse until well combined.   

Place the butter in a small dish and cover with plastic.  Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes, or until just set, but not hard.*

While the butter is refrigerating, prepare the corn.  

*The butter will remain in prime condition in the refrigerator for about a week.  Or, you can wrap it in parchment paper and freeze for up to a month. 

for the corn

- 4 ears fresh sweet corn

- 1.5 ounces extra virgin olive oil

- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 

Set grill on high heat.

In a small bowl, whisk to combine olive oil and Old Bay seasoning.  Use a basting brush to coat the corn evenly with the spice and oil mixture.

Place the corn directly onto the hot grill and cook, turning every few minutes, for 7-9 minutes, until the corn is slightly charred. Continue brushing the corn with the olive oil mixture as it cooks.  

Once the corn has cooked, remove from heat and allow to cool just slightly before serving with prepared butter.  

Serve with (very) generous helpings of sun-dried tomato butter.  Enjoy!