*I’m proud to partner with Watkins to bring you this story and recipe. It’s quite evident in my recipes that I’m a big fan of flavor and I rely on good, fresh organic spices and dried herbs. Watkins uses only USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients in its spices, spice blends, and herbs. You can find their products at Watkins1868.com and select stores nationwide.

As always, the words and photos are mine. I appreciate your support and the companies who graciously partner with me so I can continue to share my stories through the recipes that fill our table.

You may have heard of the popular street food recipe in Mexico called Elote. If not, it’s an incredible dish that starts with corn on the cob; grilled until blackened and smoky then slathered in a creamy and spicy sauce before being rolled in cheese then finished with fresh lime juice. It is now absolutely my preferred way of eating corn. Esquites is the same idea but minus the cob. Corn kernels are blackened (or the cobs are grilled then the kernels removed) and then mixed with mayonnaise, cheese, chili powder, cilantro leaves, ground cumin, adobo seasoning and lots of lime.

Because I’m a believer in “all things are better when wrapped in a tortilla” we’ve turned this classic Mexican corn dish into a taco. It’s paired with what is basically a chunky guacamole that is loaded with scallions and a touch of sour cream (or if you’re an Antoni fan you can use Greek yogurt).

This recipe is written to feed a crowd or to have plenty of leftovers. I also added slow simmered pinto beans to bulk up the tacos but you can add grilled fish, chicken, steak, or carnitas – the options are endless.

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Esquites Tacos

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Ingredients

Esquites

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup crumbled Cotija or Parmesan cheese

2 tsp lime zest

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 tsp salt1 tsp Watkins Organic Chili Powder

2 TBL butter

8 corn cobs, kernels removed (or about 24 ounces corn kernels – you can use frozen corn here too)

Instructions

In a medium size bowl stir together the mayonnaise, cheese, lime zest, juice, salt and chili powder. Feel free to add more chili powder if you want more heat.

Add the butter to a large skillet set over medium high heat. When the butter sizzles add the corn then let blacken. Give a quick stir after a couple of minutes then let sit again. Add a hefty pinch of salt then turn off the heat.

Stir the blackened corn into the creamy mayonnaise mixture.

Alternately you can grill the corn cobs then let cool and remove the kernels from the cob before stirring into the creamy sauce.

Creamy Avocado and Scallion Salsa

2 large avocados, peeled and diced

5 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced

2 TBL sour cream

1/2 tsp Watkins Organic Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Watkins Organic Adobo Seasoning Pinch salt

1 TBL fresh lime juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBL minced jalapeño (more or less depending on your spice preference)

1 TBL Watkins Organic Cilantro Leaves

In a medium size bowl stir together the avocado, scallions, cumin, adobo, salt, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño and dried cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired

Tacos

12 small flour or corn tortillas

Meat or beans (optional)

Crumbled cotija or queso fresco

Pickled jalapeños

Warm the tortillas then serve with meat or beans, esquites, salsa and whatever other toppings you prefer. I’ve listed my favorites.

*I’m proud to partner with Watkins to bring you this story and recipe. It’s quite evident in my recipes that I’m a big fan of flavor and I rely on good, fresh spices and dried herbs. Watkins uses only USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients. You can find their products at Watkins1868.com and select grocery stores nationwide.

As always, the words and photos are mine. I appreciate your support and the companies who graciously partner with me so I can continue to share my stories through the recipes that fill our table.

We dump the flour on the table, a simple action that is right but feels a bit defiant. With our hands, they are in fact the best tool for the job, we dip into the cool powder to form a soft bowl to hold the eggs. While Ivy cracks the fragile white shells, I anticipate the day when we can cross our backyard and visit our hens (who are now chicks) to gather eggs, still warm with yolks that practically glow. I’m interrupted from this dream as the last egg runs out of our flour bowl and onto the table. Ivy and I both laugh while we attempt to capture the runaway egg. Once safely contained she generously shakes fragrant rosemary onto the dough. We both breathe in deep, taking in the piney scent that now surrounds us.

While kneading the sturdy dough I take in the simplicity of this moment, these ingredients. It’s a rare reprieve from the noise and chaos that has grown familiar in my mind. Here in this moment, with all my senses engaged, I can be at the table, fingers covered in dough, laughing with my daughter while stories of past pasta making memories entertain us during our kneading.

We knead the dough until smooth then tuck it in for rest. This is not a rushed process, nor is it complicated. It’s simple yet asks you to be present, to adjust an otherwise busy schedule around its timing, not ours. I gladly accept this offer for it is also an invitation to be here now. To meditate while covered in flour and bask in gratitude with a fragrant bowl of homemade pasta under our nose.

It’s a simple act, humble, messy and imperfect but as with so much in life these are the ones that make all the difference.

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Rosemary Pasta with Lemon Butter Sauce

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 6-8 Servings

The pasta dough quantity here is enough for 6 – 8 servings. The sauce quantity below is enough for about 1/3 of the dough. You can easily double or triple the sauce to feed a crowd. The pasta dough can be made in advance. The dough and any leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for one day. The color may shift just slightly.

Ingredients

400 grams all-purpose flour4 large eggs1 tablespoon Watkins Organic Rosemary

For 2 large or 4 small servings (about 1/3 of the above pasta dough)

60 grams/4 tablespoons unsalted butter1 tablespoon fresh lemon juiceSea saltWatkins Organic Ground Black Pepper2 teaspoons lemon zest1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions

For the pasta.Dump the flour on a large surface. Make a shallow and wide bowl in the middle of the flour. Crack the four eggs directly into the flour bowl. Add the Watkins Organic Rosemary to the eggs.Using a fork gently start to whisk the eggs, incorporating a little bit of the flour at a time. Continue to do this until the eggs and flour are the consistency of waffle batter. At this point it’s best to get your hands dirty and start kneading. Pasta dough should feel quite stiff. If it’s too dry you may add a touch of water but not too much, we don’t want a sticky dough. Knead until smooth, for about 5 to 7 minutes. Wrap well in plastic wrap then let the dough rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes. During this rest the gluten will relax and absorb the liquid. The dough will feel much smoother and cohesive after its nap.

You may use a rolling pin to make the pasta dough but if you have a pasta machine it will go quite a bit faster.Take about 1/10th of the pasta dough and keep the rest covered. On the widest setting of your pasta maker run the dough through then fold in half and run through again. Repeat at least three times. This is another way to knead the dough which will strengthen the gluten and give the pasta a pleasant bite in the end. Continue rolling the dough until you reach the desired thickness, for my pasta machine that is a 6 out of 8 settings. Add a little flour to the dough if there is any stickiness. Fold the pasta sheet in half, then half again, and again, until it’s about 2 inches wide. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in rough 1/2-inch strips. Set aside on a lightly floured sheet pan.

Prepare the sauce.

These are literally the things I tell myself, “Ashley, you can’t post another pasta recipe. Don’t you remember the cauliflower pasta from just a couple weeks back? You’re long due for a salad of sorts. People are going to think that all you eat is pasta.”

You know what self, I love pasta and I’m okay if the world knows it.  And I do know that you, my sweet reader, understand that I eat more than pasta but you also should know that pasta is our go to. It’s one of those “gah! I have no idea what’s for dinner and the kids are telling me their ‘starving’ and after I rant about how they’re not actually starving and I remind them how incredibly fortunate we are to not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from they’ll not only be hungry but also exhausted from all their eye rolling. So pasta it is, along with whatever I can find in the refrigerator.”

There’s not a fight when pasta is on the table. I don’t mean to paint such a bleak picture as our kids are generally quite good about eating what is on the table but it’s so disheartening when they wander into the kitchen while I’m contentedly cooking dinner, leisurely sipping on a glass of wine, the birds are chirping outside my sun lit window, perhaps I’m even humming a bit – you get the picture. And then I hear, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” The birds are silent, my palms start sweating. Should I answer them? But I know what they are going to say. Their little noses scrunch up, body buckles as if its been under intense pressure, eyes roll back and the moan begins as if they’ve just found out the world is ending or they lost their screen time. But with pasta for dinner I happily inform them, “It’s pasta!” And then wait for the cheers.

I’ve made this pasta twice because after the first time I received such rave reviews  -I even won the title of “Best Mom Ever”. So I’m here to pass along this magical recipe because we could all use a few cheers now and again and we can all, I think, do a better job of helping one another get a few cheers.

In our house we always have these ingredients on hand; bacon, frozen peas, cream, Parmesan and spaghetti. The mint is not necessarily a staple except in the spring when I can’t keep it from taking over my garden. But how many times do we buy a bunch of herbs or the ones that come in those plastic clam shells, we use about a quarter of the package and then leave the rest to wither in the fridge? Well, not today. Mint and bacon may seem a bit odd, I doubted myself a bit too, but it’s coolness tips this comforting dish into one that feels a bit like spring. In fact, when the fresh peas start to appear I’d recommend using those. Or, oh oh oh, you know what? I think halved sugar snap peas cut gracefully on the bias would be a really nice  when they’re in season. Although don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with frozen peas.

I hope this pasta brings you all the many cheers you deserve. Even if it’s cheers from yourself because we need those too.

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Creamy Spaghetti with Bacon, Peas and Mint

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti

7 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup finely grated Parmesan

1/2 cup mint leaves

salt and pepper

Instructions

Cook the pasta in heavily salted water.

While the pasta cooks saute the bacon pieces until crispy. Drain off the bacon grease (save it for your eggs in the morning) before adding in the peas. Saute until just warmed through then stir in the cream. Add the pasta along with a splash of pasta water and toss the pasta around in the sauce. Simmer gently until the sauce coats the pasta. Stir in a pinch of salt and a good bit of freshly cracked pepper. Add more pasta water as needed. Stir in half of the grated Parmesan.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish then tear the mint leaves over top. Finish with the mint and remaining Parmesan.

*We’re giving away a copy of Modern Potluck! Leave a comment to enter.

It seems were on a bit of a trend with last week’s post and this week’s: How to feed people without losing your mind.

In her new book, Modern Potluck, Kristin Donnelly writes, “Like most people who write cookbooks, my greatest wish is to bring people together around food in a way that’s as easy and fun as possible. The secret to doing this is to share the work with your guests. And, as it turns out, guests love it that way, too.”

Kristin, after having her first child, felt her social life slipping away as the thought of fancy dinner parties like the ones she wrote about in Food & Wine seemed out of the question, as did going out to restaurants. It was then she remembered the potlucks of her own childhood. “What a brilliant idea!” She writes. “I could focus my energy on making one dish and get a full meal in return, all the while hanging out with my friends or meeting my neighbors.”

I remember potlucks from my childhood too, like Kristin I adore the idea of them, but the food doesn’t appeal to me in the same way it did then. I once loved those miniature cocktail hot dogs simmered in a crock pot filled with grape jelly and ketchup. They don’t excite me in the same way today. There are no long-simmered grape jelly hot dogs in Modern Potluck, instead Kristin writes of Green Bean Salads with chiles and walnuts, Cornmeal-Crusted Oven-Fried chicken, Pumpkin Beer-and-Turkey Chili, and Caramelized Kimchi Corn Bread. Not the sort of potluck food I remember but exactly the sort of potluck food I want.

Her point is to gather and she’s giving us the easy-to-follow road map for how to do so.

*A winner has been selected and notified. Thanks so much to all of you who entered.

Of course you could always ditch the idea of a large gathering and simply make these recipes for your family. That’s exactly what I did with these Late-Summer Vegetable Enchiladas. It was the first time in awhile where dinner was more than a doctored up bean salad or something – anything – stuffed into a tortilla. And while we are a family of five and the appetites of my littles have grown right alongside them we still were able to enjoy leftovers for days. Potluck or not, the recipes inspire and are right in line with how I want to eat everyday.

To celebrate this stunning new book I would love to send a copy to one of you. Simply leave a comment below and I’ll choose a winner by next Friday, September 2. (HOW IS IT SEPTEMBER NEXT WEEK?!)

In the meantime go raid the garden or the market for all that zucchini and enjoy some enchiladas.

Late-Summer Vegetable Enchilada Pie

from Modern Potluck

Serves 8 to 16

For the sauce:

1 1/2 ounces dried Ancho Chiles (2 to 3)

1 cup boiling water

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the filling and pie:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

1 pound zucchini or other summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 4 cups)

2 medium ears of corn, kernels cut from the cobs (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 3/4 cups cooked black or pinto beans or 1 (15-ounce) can, drained

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish

12 (6 to 7-inch) corn tortillas

1 1/4 pound Monterey jack cheese, grated (5 to 6 cups)

Make the sauce: In a large, deep skillet, toast the anchos over medium-high heat, turning frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. When they're cool enough to handle, stem the chiles and shake out the seeds, tipping the chiles if you have to. Transfer the chiles to a blender (or a cup that's heat-safe if your blender jar is not) and cover with the boiling water; let stand until softened and cooled. Add the tomatoes and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Make the filling and assemble the pie: In the same skillet used to toast the anchos, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeños and cook until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring, until tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Add the corn and beans and cook, mashing the beans slightly, until hot and stir in the lime juice and 1/2 cup of the cilantro.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the pan (about 1/2 cup). Arrange one-third of the tortillas in the baking dish, tearing them in half as necessary to create an even layer. Spoon half of the filling over the tortillas and top with one-third of the cheese. Top the cheese with another layer of tortillas, followed by half of the remaining sauce, the rest of the filling, and another one-third of the cheese. Finally, layer more tortillas, followed by the remaining sauce and the remaining cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the edges are starting to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes, and then serve.

A few things to note: I cut down on the amount of jalapeños from two to one as my children are quite spice averse. I also skipped the curry powder and added a bit of cumin a touch of chipotle powder instead. In place of jack cheese I used sharp cheddar as that's what I had on hand. The best recipes are adaptable - this one was perfect.

“You are actually the granddaughter of two dairy farmers.” My dad said in an email after he saw my post about the visit to the dairy farm. I had forgotten that his dad ran a small dairy until my my dad was 5 years old. In fact my grandfather went to Ag school in Holland before he moved to America when he was 18 years old. So even more than I remembered the love of dairy runs deep in this family.

Which may explain why I’ve been so eager to try this particular recipe for so long. The one in which chicken shimmies into a dutch oven and makes friends with bacon (who wouldn’t be friends with bacon?), lemon peel (which makes your hands smell of the best perfume), rosemary (plucked from my newly planted herb garden), nutmeg (because it felt right) and milk.

It’s my take on a recipe that I credit Jamie Oliver for because that’s where I first heard about Chicken Braised in Milk. Jamie uses lemon, sage and cinnamon which sounds fine too, in fact there are so many herb and spice combinations that I think would do quite nicely here but let us agree to never, not ever, never leave out the lemon because that is what makes the sauce curdle.

No wait, don’t run away screaming, curdling is a good thing in this case. Unless you want your food to be purely aesthetically pleasing and not just plain delicious? Because I’ll tell you what, this dish may not win any beauty pageants but based on ease and flavor alone, we have ourselves a winner.

Be sure to use whole milk here. I personally would think of no other, it’s what we always have in our fridge, right next to the cream and butter. But I remember when my mom would gush about her whole milk childhood and I would cringe at the thought as I crunched on my cereal doused in 2%. Now anything other than whole just seems silly. I think both of my grandfathers would be proud.

Here especially we need that extra bit of fat. What happens in the pot is a bit of food magic when the lemon meets the milk and then they become fast friends and that friendship leaves you with a sauce that is yes, indeed broken, but broken like ricotta is broken: Meaning we make curds and those curds are flavored with chicken drippings and all the other fragrant and wonderful things we put into that pot (remember the bacon!)

Also, let’s remember the last post where we talked about quality and I introduced you to the Werkhoven family. The family who spends their days making sure they have barns filled with happy cows. So there are fans and fresh beds of sand, little bits of corn candy (not actual candy – the cows just love corn kernels that much) that the cows love to dig for because happy cows make the best and most milk. So we honor and value the work families like this do by buying great quality milk which we then cover our chicken with to get the most tender, flavorful and simple roast. And because I am the granddaughter of two DUTCH dairy farmers there are also potatoes along with my chicken cooked in milk.

Chicken Braised in Milk with Lemon, Rosemary and Bacon

Serves 4

One 3-pound (1 1/2-kilogram) chicken

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter or olive oil

5 pieces of bacon, thinly sliced

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves

Zest of 2 lemons, peeled in thick strips with a vegetable peeler

10 garlic cloves, skins left on

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups whole milk

1 - 2 pounds baby new potatoes

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Add the butter or olive oil to a large dutch oven set over high heat. Sear the chicken, getting the skin good and crisp and deep golden all over.

To the pot add the bacon, shallots, rosemary, lemon peels, garlic, a pinch of nutmeg along with the milk. I added some potatoes to the top of the pot too because why dirty two pots when I can just dirty one? Throw in another pinch of salt for those potatoes.

Slide the pot into the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste the chicken with the juices occasionally throughout the cooking. If you find the liquid evaporating too quickly you can add the lid.

Carefully remove the chicken and potatoes from the pot and onto a platter. Spoon the now separated sauce all over. Sure, it’s not too pretty but one doesn’t mind after the first bite. If you like a pop of green you can garnish with fresh herbs.

There is nothing groundbreaking about this pasta. You can Google “Carbonara” and come up with thousands (190,000 to be exact) of recipes so I hesitate to add yet another hit to the masses but I share it with you because this one gets repeated.

This Carbonara makes its way into our slim list of repeats because each bite brings us back to Rome where Gabe came to visit me while I was there as a student. In between gelato, wandering the cobbled streets, several glasses of house wine, him proposing to me, and more gelato, we shared this simple pasta.

It gets repeated because it rarely requires a trip to the grocery store. I adore dinners like that, don’t you?

It’s easy to find a small hunk of Parmesan lingering in the cheese drawer and most likely close by there are a few strips of uncooked bacon leftover from the weekend. There are always eggs and some sort of slender noodle; spaghetti, spaghettini, fettuccine, bucatini. The refrigerator feels a bit naked without fresh herbs, especially as our winter days turn spring. So they are there too, usually in the form of parsley but chives do the job just as well. And black pepper, enough to tickle your nose.

It’s indulgence marks our time at the table helping me to settle into my seat, take a deep breath and appreciate the others who fill the seats next to mine. A hearty salad nearby helps this indulgence find its way into a semi-regular spot at our table.

The recipe for our classic Carbonara can be found on the Craftsy blog. Feel free to use use this as a base as I often do and add to it, in bulk, crisp roasted vegetables. In the winter, when root vegetables are at their best roasted, this becomes commonplace.  Currently I’d like to say, “see you later, root vegetables” so in its place I imagine frizzled asparagus or fresh peas would be lovely. In fact I know for a fact that peas add a perfect little pop of freshness here.

The method is simple but does require a nudge of confidence to trust that eggs, wisps of Parmesan and starchy pasta water will turn into a wonderfully creamy sauce that rivals its more complex cousin, Alfredo. Sizzled bacon and pasta (slender noodle of your choice) just shy of al dente settle into the eggs and Parmesan. As the heat of the pasta starts to soften the cheese and tempt the eggs into a sauce rather than a scramble, add a couple tilts of a small ladle filled with pasta water until the inevitable cheesy/egg clumps soften and gently cling to the noodles. Finish with lots of freshly cracked pepper, a bit more cheese and plenty fresh herbs.

All credit goes to the brilliance of the Italians for this dish. Even with the few little additions that may make their way into our pasta I still wouldn’t call it groundbreaking and yet it gets repeated and that right there, is reason enough to share the recipe. Here’s hoping you’ve found yourself a new repeat.

Classic Carbonara

Find the recipe and step-by-step instructions here.