A few weeks ago, when dining out, my entrée came with a side of Mexican Street corn. It was presented with the corn off the cob and served in a mini cast iron frying pan. The corn had a dollop of a creamy mixture that made the corn taste oh so delicious.
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After doing some research, I found a recipe for this tasty side dish. Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elote) is from the website Simply Recipes. For the recipe you’ll need corn with the husks removed, Mexican Crema or sour cream (I substituted plain Greek yogurt), cilantro (not a fan, so I used parsley) ground chipotle pepper, lime zest, lime juice, lime wedges and cotija cheese. 
It took approximately 6-10 minutes to get the corn charred all around. While that was happening, I prepared the sauce. After cooking the corn, I used a pastry brush to coat the corn. Next, crumbled cotija cheese went on top. Mmm…this was delicious! I’ve made it twice now and it can only get better when Jersey corn comes into season.

Another recipe twist I recently tried was with strawberry shortcake. It was my daughter’s birthday and she requested this cake. My 3-1/2-year granddaughter piped in that it should have chocolate covered strawberries.... what a great idea! I didn’t want to use a biscuit for the base so I found a recipe by Ina Garten for Country Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream on the Food & Wine website.
For this recipe you’ll need flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla, heavy cream and strawberries. The cake is very easy to prepare, even a novice baker should have no problem. 

For the strawberries, I found an easy to make recipe on the website Delish. You’ll need semisweet chocolate chips and coconut oil. I used Ghirardelli Semisweet Chocolate Chips as I wanted a high-quality chocolate covering. Since the stems were removed, I had to figure out how to coat the berries with chocolate. Holding the strawberry with a toothpick didn’t work. However, placing the berries stem side down on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet would. I poured the liquid chocolate over the berries. Once coated, they went in the refrigerator to firm up.

I could have used several chocolate covered strawberries for decoration, but what’s the fun in that. I covered the entire top of the cake. I was a bit generous with the whipped cream on the top layer that a few strawberries began to slide off. I pushed those few in and there they remained till dessert.
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Everyone enjoyed this decadent version of strawberry shortcake. Whipped cream and chocolate covered strawberries, what could be better!
​Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elote)
From the website Simply Recipes
 
 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
6 to 8 servings
 
If you aren’t able to find traditional Mexican crema in your local grocery store, by all means, use regular sour cream. You can also substitute grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta for the cotija.
 
Ingredients
6 to 8 medium ears sweet corn, husks removed
1/2 cup Mexican crema, or sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest, from 1 lime
2 tablespoons lime juice, from 1 lime
1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
Lime wedges, to serve
 
  1. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to 400F. Clean the grates once it has heated.
  2. Whisk together the sauce:
  3. In a bowl, whisk together the crema, mayonnaise, cilantro, garlic, chipotle pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Taste and season the mixture with salt if needed. (Crema has a little salt already, so add extra judiciously.) Set aside.
  4. Grill the corn:
  5. Place the husked corn directly onto grill grates. Grill the corn for about 3 minutes, undisturbed, or until kernels begin to turn golden brown and look charred. Turnover and repeat. When all sides are browned, remove from the grill onto a plate.
  6. Top the corn with sauce and cheese:
  7. Using a brush or a spoon, coat each ear of corn with the crema mixture. Sprinkle with crumbled cojita cheese. Sprinkle with additional chipotle pepper, if desired. Serve immediately with extra lime wedges.
​Country Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream
Recipe by Ina Garten
From Food & Wine Magazine, May 2000
 
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1-pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
 
Yield: 1-8” cake
 
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the cornstarch, baking soda and salt.
  2. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the 3/4 cup of sugar and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the sour cream, the orange and lemon zests and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla and beat until blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until smooth.
  3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto the rack to cool completely.
  4. Beat the cream with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla until soft peaks form.
  5. Slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread most of the whipped cream over the cut side of the bottom cake half. Layer most of the sliced strawberries on top. Replace the top half of the cake and garnish with the remaining whipped cream and strawberries. make ahead. The cake can be frozen for up to 1 month. Let it cool completely before wrapping in plastic and then foil. The assembled cake can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead.
 
 
 
Make Ahead
The cake can be frozen for up to 1 month. Let it cool completely before wrapping in plastic and then foil. The assemble
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
From the website www.delish.com
By Makinze Core, January 22, 2021
 
 
Yields: 25
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
 
INGREDIENTS
 
1 pt. strawberries
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. coconut oil
 
 
DIRECTIONS
  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse strawberries and pat dry with paper towels.
  2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and coconut oil and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.
  3. Dip strawberries in chocolate and place on prepared baking sheet.
  4. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.