For our first "party food from the garden" post, I want to highlight one of my go-to faves.
"CAbi" Corn Dip!
Just 5 ingredients: Mexi-Corn, Mayo, Cayenne, Lime and Salt and Pepper... ok, six ingredients technically - but Salt and Pepper count as one, don't they?
If you haven't already figured out, I like to keep things simple. Why? A) I have very little time. B) I'm not a whiz in the kitchen (and yes, I know that sounds funny as this is, in part, a food blog; the food genius comes from everyone else, I just make it and report on it), and C) it's addicting and yummy, which is ok because D) it's pretty darn healthy.
And why is it called CAbi Corn Dip?
CAbi is a great clothing company that sells clothes through home parties, and I was really into it for a bit. Along with not being a whiz in the kitchen, I lack major instincts on fashion as well, so CAbi parties were AWESOME for me! I'd get to try on a bunch of clothes, they would tell me what looks good (and what doesn't) - all the while I could drink some wine and eat yummy snacks. WIN-WIN.
Which is where this yummy CAbi Corn Dip comes in. My friend Niki - who is the kitchen genius behind our Jalapeño Jelly - would make this for her parties... and then I started making them at mine... and pretty soon it was an expected and anticipated snack. And so we adopted the name, "CAbi Corn Dip" - and would ask for it by said name.
Now, here's what I'm thinking in terms of garden-fare:
We can garden-ify this recipe really easily. Instead of two cans of "Mexi-Corn" - you take 2 cups of corn (frozen or fresh off the cob), add some chopped red and green peppers (about 1/4 cup total), and a little bit of sugar. That's pretty much what mexi-corn is.
Simple! Delicious! In fact, I'm going to finish up the leftovers right now.
- 2 cans Mexi-Corn, drained
- 1 tablespoon mayo (light mayo works great, too)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup shredded cheese
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- optional: dried hot peppers, for a little kick!
- Open and drain corn
- Mix mayo, lime, cayenne and cheese into corn.
- Add salt/pepper, to taste.
- If you want an additional kick, for the for dried peppers; they add such a rich and delicious heat!