Laura's Crab or Salmon Salad

I can't remember where Laura got this recipe, so I'll just attribute this variation to her. It's beautiful and summery and I better post it before the thermometer gets too low. Oh, and it's delicious with either crab or salmon (although I don't think they'd be delicious together).

What you need:
*2 Grilled or Broiled Salmon Filets
OR *1 Pound of Crab Meat
*1 Big Red Pepper, chopped
*1 Red Onion, chopped
*2 Ears of Grilled Corn (Okay, you can buy the frozen stuff - it's fine.)
*Basil (20 leaves?)
*15 Grape Tomatoes, halved

What you do:
1. Broil or grill the salmon (or open the crab meat package).
2. Break up the broiled or grilled salmon into lump-crab-sized pieces.
3. Chiffonade the basil.
4. Toss basil, salmon/crab, corn, onion, tomatoes, and pepper together with the dressing and serve it up.

What you need for the dressing:
*Juice of 3 Lemons
*Olive Oil
*Salt & Pepper
*Honey
*Cumin

What you do:
1. Juice the lemons.
2. Emulsify the olive oil into the lemon juice until it gets tasty.
3. Add the salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.
4. Stir in the honey to taste. You can tell when you have enough because it will be delicious.

Enjoy. This is such good food. Yum.

Brussels Sprouts with Red Onions and Balsamic Glaze

A post from our favorite guest contributor and roommate. Here goes:

Don't make that face! Yes, they're brussels sprouts, no they're not disgusting. I've officially converted a minimum of five people - possibly more - using this recipe. Give it a shot. And if you don't have balsamic glaze handy (I buy it bottled from Blaze, which you can get on Amazon - they didn't even pay me to say that!) just use balsamic vinegar. Seriously, it's almost as good, and you'll still love the sprouts. Just trust me on this one.

What you need:
*A bunch of BS (say, 20 or 30 of them)
*A medium red onion
*Olive Oil
*Balsamic glaze
*2 or 3 Cloves of Garlic
*Salt & Pepper

What you do:
1. Rinse and peel the brussels, and begin steaming them for 10 minutes.
2. While they're steaming, chop up the garlic really well (I like three cloves, but you can do two if you want - I won't judge you). Also chop up the red onion into magnetic poetry sized pieces.
3. Get the garlic and the onion going over a medium flame with plenty of olive oil. Stop the sauteing when the onions start to get translucent. Don't over cook them! This only takes like two minutes, seriously. Then take them off the heat.
4. When the brussels sprouts are done steaming, throw them straight into the pan with the onions and garlic and olive oil. And reheat if you have to over a low heat.
5. Put them on a plate and drizzle the balsamic glaze over the top.
6. Delicious.

Serves 2-3

Chipotle Corn and Black Bean Salad

This is an old favorite I learned in the Hamptons a couple of summers ago. It is perfect for a BBQ or to complement a summer night's dinner, delicious with chicken, fish, beef, or anything else you have put on the grill. Since it has cumin and black beans in it, the flavor is distinctively Mexican and would go great with any Mexican dinner as well. The really time consuming part is putting the corn on the grill and then cutting the corn off the cob. If you want to save yourself a bit of time (or want to make this dish when corn is out of season, or you can't grill) buy the "Fire Roasted Corn" at Trader Joe's. It comes frozen and works very well with this recipe.

Ingredients

* 5 ears of corn
* 1/2 medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onion, thickly sliced crosswise
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespooon ground cumin
* 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped (sub chile powder if Chiptole Chiles are not available)
* 1 scallion, thinly sliced
* 1 can black beans (drained)
* Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the corn and onion slices with the olive oil and grill over moderately high heat until charred in spots but still slightly crisp, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut the kernels from the cobs and coarsely chop the onion.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream with the lime juice, chopped chipotle chiles, cumin, and sliced scallion to make a dressing. Then, stir in the charred corn, onions, and black beans. Season the corn salad with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Serves 4-6. Enjoy!