I’ve officially turned into one of those women who looooves going to Target. I honestly used to despise going there (it felt too errand-y), but two days ago I went for a very short list of things and then went INSANE! I had to use every ounce of self-control in my body not to spend like $500 on random shiz that I totally felt like I needed/wanted/needed. Throw back Lisa Frank folders were speaking to me. And I mean…the cosmetic section? Wha! Amazing, hello! Their Nate Berkus home stuff? Like, really really cute. And their bathing suits? Not too shabs at all.
Their summer stuff section made me so excited about 4th of July. I may have bought cute s’more skewers, two jumbo bags of marshmallows and a few boxes of graham crackers. Also am pretty stoked on the fact that I have this donut floaty in my possession right this very second. P.S. I should’ve bought a basketball pump because my cheeks hurt from trying to fill this dang thing with air.
I’m Palm Springs bound – it’s estimated to be a cool 115 degrees F today. Wish me luck! I feel like Palm Springs in the summer is like Arizona or Florida in the summer – kinda miserable and only tolerable if you’re just living in your bathing suit, sitting in the shade and/or air conditioning, doing absolutely nothing. I plan on doing just that. Cocktail, maybe a book, maybe watching The Sandlot (the 4th always makes me think of that movie), maybe some bbq-ing-watching…and this salad.
My favorite bbq food is stuff I can make a few hours ahead and then do absolutely nothing. I let other’s “man” the grill. I ain’t got time fo’ dat.
I looooove eloté also known as Mexican street corn. Traditionally eloté is cooked on a grill, charring the corn, and then topped with mayonnaise (enter: sad face), ancho chile powder, a few squeezes of lime and some more cheese.
I don’t mean to turn a simple dish into an annoying one but I sort of don’t like the mayonnaise part. It never does it for me. Instead I love a good créme fraîche‎. It’s tart, rich, creamy…just awesome.
For this salad I made a fun little dressing which included creme fraiche, lime juice, ancho chile powder, some salt and some cayenne, for a kick.
Some red onion, sliced serranos and cilantro give it a nice touch, too.
Oh and I love this trick! I’m not sure if you’re familiar. So, you know when you go to slice the corn off the cob and corn flies everywhere, all over your kitchen? I’m not sure where I picked this up from, but here’s a solution: flip a smaller bowl upside down and set it inside a bigger bowl. Steady the corn on top of the smaller bowl and slice the corn off the cob. All of the corn will fall into the bigger bowl rather than spewing all over your kitchen. Whenever I do this I feel so clever.
What are you doing for the fourth? What are you cooking? What are you drinking? Please spill.
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup créme fraîche
- 1 lime
- 1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Salt
Salad:
- 5 ears of corn
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- 2 serrano peppers optional, thinly sliced
- Salt
- Handful of cilantro
- 2 tablespoons crumbled queso fresco
- 1/4 teaspoon ancho chile pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the créme fraîche, juice from the lime, ancho chile pepper, cayenne pepper and a few pinches of salt. Give it a taste test and adjust flavors according to your liking. Set aside. Note: I personally am obsessed with heat, so I added a few more pinches of cayenne.
- Using your grill, char the corn on all sides, rotating every so often to ensure even charring. Alternatively, you could set the corn on the grates of your gas stove with the flame set to medium-high heat, rotating them every minute or so until charred on all sides.
- Cut the corn off the cobs and transfer them to a bowl. (Or if you used my method pictured, you can simply take out the small bowl and voila! done!) Add the red onion, serrano peppers and a pinch of salt. Add the dressing and toss lightly, being sure the corn is evenly coated. Give it a taste test and add a bit more salt, cayenne pepper or ancho chile pepper, if you like. Garnish with a small handful of cilantro, queso fresco and a few dash of ancho chile pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 1 day.
Yay! Have fun in Palm Springs! I was there a year ago today getting married(eloping). It was perfect. Hot as hades but all you need is a pool and a cocktail! Happy 4th!
Eloping?! That’s awesome.
Oooh, I was in Palm Springs in February and it was incredible! You will love it! Salad sounds yummy!
My drug at Target is the white dishes aisle. Every size, shape, platter, plate, bowl, ahh, can’t have too many. For the 4th there has to be homemade ice cream with fresh strawberries, cole slaw and potato salad at a minimum. My husband’s grandmother loved the 4th and for her it was all about pies. Her specialty was grapefruit pie!
Oooo grapefruit pie. That speaks to me.
Grapefruit pie…. Say what?!?!
I’ve been stalking your blog for a while now and have never posted. A) <3 it! Evertying you post makes me want to eat it and be your friend! B) This sounds especially lovely! I am a fan of lightening up my favorite recipes – I'm thinking of trying this with a drained fat free greek yogurt – can't wait!!
Oh you can do that too! The tang from the yogurt will be super nice.
I have the Target50 Disease… it’s where I enter the store and every time without fail, $50 flies out of my pocket. 🙂 Love this recipe!
Oh I have that disease now!
This. Is. So. Sexy.
I have a serious addiction to elote, especially in salad form like this. We even had it at our wedding, served in little mini martini glasses! LOOOOOVE the idea of using creme fraiche!!
In LOVE. Girl you are all up in that corn salad. I’m drinking and letting everyone else do the cooking too, hell yeah
I love with this! The corn, the dressing, spices! It is all perfect!
This salad SOUNDS delicious, but I can’t say it looks delicious since I still cannot see the pictures. You’ve got to help me out here. I keep reading your blog, but going crazy because I can’t see the pictures. I always read blogs while I’m at work (sshhhh… don’t tell) and my work computer keeps telling me I’m using an outdated version of internet explorer. Do you think that is the problem? Maybe I’ll try to read this from my ipad at home and see if I can see the pics. Although, reading blogs on my own time doesn’t sound near as fun as getting paid for it 🙂
Salad sounds great though…. and that little trick sounds very clever!
I’d recommend updating Internet Explorer and see what happens. Also, you should be able to download Google Chrome for your PC. That should help tremendously. I’d recommend avoiding IE if you can. :/
I second that. Chrome is infinitely better for viewing websites that have the latest resolutions etc. Also, corn salad is gorgeous! All those charred bits made me really happy.
Stella, my browser at work is outdated also and I can’t see the pics. Unfortunately, you have to have “admin” privileges in order to update, so I am out of luck, as you are I suppose. Maybe read the blog at work and then look at pics when you get home? : p
I agree about the getting paid to read blogs part tho!
I’m convince the bullseye logo is actually a way for them to hypnotize us going into the store and just buy everything in sight. I have to really try very, very hard to go in there and came out with one thing and not the entire store. (never works)
Such a pretty salad!
I feel your pain with Target… It’s so hard to go in there and not spend a week’s paycheck! Love this salad… never heard of it before, which means I definitely have to try it!
OMG I can so totally relate to your target episode. I used to think it was so daggy but now its such a great place for bargains! This is the yummiest looking salad 🙂
What a recipe! It seems delicious!