Vacation blueberry corn salad

Since I was at the shore and on vacation with family I didn't have much of a chance to cook last week. While at the house all of the families take turns cooking for the days we are there, so apart from some help procuring knives I didn't have much to do in the afternoons and evenings. On the night that my family cooked, I did make one thing that I did I will share with you, and that is this blueberry corn salad that I made. It was easy to make and everyone really enjoyed it.

I will start with the basic recipe, because I expanded it by about 4 times so that I had enough to feed all of the mouths in our house:

• 6 ears of corn
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup red onion (minced)
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6-8 leaves basil
• 1 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Since I had a grill available I did grill the corn, though you could easily boil the corn if that is how you like it. This gives me the opportunity to share a great trick for getting the corn off the cob once you have it cooked and cooled enough to handle. Get a large bowl and invert a small bowl inside of it. Stand the ear of corn up on the bottom of the small bowl and slice down with a good knife. The corn will fall off into the large bowl and not go all over the place as it would if you just did it on a cutting board, and the inverted bowl keeps your hands and knife out of the large mass of corn that is already cut. It may not be super handy for one or two, but when you are cutting down 24 ears of corn like I was it is a necessary trick. 

Once you have the corn cut all that is left is some basic salad assembly. Put the cut corn, onion, and blueberries in a large bowl. Cut the basil into a chiffonade and add to the bowl. Next mix the honey, lime juice, and olive oil in a small bowl and whisk until combined, and pour over the salad to dress, and then salt and pepper to taste. 

If you're not sure about a chiffonade, it sounds fancy but is super easy. Take the basil (or mint or other large leaved herb) and make a small stack - no more than 6-8 leaves. Then take these leaves and roll them longwise into a tight roll, then run your knife through the roll. What you end up with is crosswise cuts of herb that make a great visual component to a salad, and a nice garnish too if you want to use the herb as a garnish. 

Cutting a basil chiffonade

Once you have all of that done all there is left to do is enjoy it! We served this as a salad to accompany our "seafood feast" of fresh fish and other seafood that is cooked by my family. My Dad does a wonderful job directing all of the cooking and everyone always looks forward to our meal each year. There really is nothing like fresh-caught seafood at the beach. What will you serve this salad with? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook!

Night out for Mom and Dad

Tonight I will not post about something I made. However, I will give a huge shout out to one of my favorite places to go out to eat - Iron Hill Brewery.

Iron Hill Media Location
photo from www.ironhillbrewery.com

For those of you who are NOT in the Philadelphia area, I will say that you are absolutely missing out on a treasure. They have twelve locations throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and boast on-site brewing at each of their locations. Their beers have been awarded medals at the World Beer Cup as well as the Great American Beer Festival. And for good reason - this stuff is GOOD. They have a selection of house beers that will appeal to all tastes that are available at every location, and each location houses a master brewer who will create unique beers at each location.

Not only this, but their food is also outstanding, and their atmosphere is very family friendly. We have enjoyed dinners out with just our family and with friends as well, and have never been disappointed in the food, the beer, or the service. If you live in the area and have NOT dined at one of their locations. Do yourself a favor and make a date. You don't have to be a beer lover to enjoy it I promise you. The food alone is worth the trip.

On top of all of this fabulousness, May at Iron Hill is Burger Month. They spend the entire month giving a new burger each day throughout the month, and pairing it with one of their beers. If you are inspired to try them out before the month is over, you can check out the remaining burger schedule HERE. Check them out!

Grandpa Munster Burger

Today I ordered the specialty burger, the Grandpa Munster burger, and paired it with their Vienna Red Lager. The burger came cooked as I ordered, topped with muenster cheese and loaded with apple smoked bacon, cooked onion, and barbecue sauce.

Special thanks to my cousin, who babysat the kids and made this fabulous evening possible.