Summer Is Coming

Yo, what up hangry people!! Summer is creeping up on us and it's time to get your salad and side dish on.  With some collaboration from friends and family, I have created a list of FIVE perfect salads/side dishes to impress your guests this BBQ season.  These tailgate worthy treats are simple, seasonal and SEXY (just keep reading, I don't know...).

My friend Jesse taught me some new salad recipes from his creative mind at my full-time job last week, where we have a lunch club. Members of lunch club take turns cooking for each other throughout the year so that they can eat for free on the rest of the days.  It's always fun to see what people come up with.  Jesse kindly let me into the kitchen with him and I was so impressed that I had to share the recipes with my Hangry District fans.  The first two salads come from Jesse and are fresh, light and perfect for summertime.  The pasta salad can even been turned into a pasta bake for a fun twist on leftovers - my favorite!

The other three salads & sides are my personal favorites that I cook up multiple times throughout the swampy DC summer.  They travel well and are always crowd favorites. Be sure to keep me in the loop on your twists and takes on these summery sides by using #hangrydistrict!  Now get cookin'.

Tropical Fruit Salad

Hangry Timer: 30 minutes
Feeds: 12
Cost: $10

What You Need:

2 Papayas, cubed
2 Mangoes, cubed
1 Pint Blueberries
Juice of 1 Large Lime
3 Tbsp. Mint, chopped

What to Do with it:

Combine everything together and chill for at least an hour in the fridge before serving. 

Other delicious additions would be pineapple, strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe! 

 Enjoy ★

Mediterranean Pasta Crunch Salad

Hangry Timer: 30 minutes
Feeds: 20
Cost: $10

What you Need:

2 Boxes of Shaped Pasta (Jesse used Farfalle & Penne), cooked according to package and cooled*
1/2 Large Red Onion, diced and soaked in cold water**
2 Cans Large Black Olives, halved
2 Pints Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 English Cucumber, cut into half moons
1 Orange/Yellow Pepper, chopped
12 oz. Feta Crumbles
Pepitas, a big handful
2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, chiffonade
3 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano, roughly chopped
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

What to do with it:

Combine vinegar, olive oil, 1 Tbsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, a handful of feta crumbles and 1 tsp. of chopped oregano in a jar.  Shake the shit out of it.  Put it in the fridge.

Combine the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add a nice big sprinkle of salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Give the dressing another good shake and dump it only the salad, stirring to combine.

Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for an hour - stir before serving.

If you have leftovers, dump them into 9x13 baking dish, stir in some sauteed spinach, top with a ball of shredded mozzarella and more feta crumbles and bake at 400º for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly for a cheesy twist on leftovers!  This pasta bake was gone in minutes.

Lemon-Oregano Orzo Salad

Hangry Timer: 10 minutes
Feeds: 8
Cost: $8

I recently took this salad to a picnic at Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, where you can enjoy live music, wine tastings and gorgeous scenery with friends or family. Ask everyone to bring a little something to share like we did and pig-out after hiking the mountain, er, hill.

What You Need:

1/2 Box Orzo Pasta, cooked 6-8 minutes until al dente*
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved and sprinkled with salt & pepper
8 oz. Feta Crumbles
3 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 Lemon, juiced
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

What to do with It:

While the orzo is cooking, combine tomatoes, feta and oregano in a large bowl. When the orzo is done, transfer into a chilled container and stir every few minutes until the pasta is still slightly warm but not scalding (otherwise the cheese and tomatoes will melt into mush, which is still kind of delicious, but not ideal).

Pour the orzo into the bowl with the other ingredients and stir to combine.  Drizzle in olive oil twice around the circumference of the bowl and add lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a shower of pepper (to your taste).

Give it a big stir and serve immediately slightly warm or chill in the fridge until it's time to party.  Nom!

Corn Cob Salad

Hangry Timer:  25 minutes
Feeds: 8
Cost: $20

Check out my original post of this classic summer side here.
Make this recipe the night before you want to serve it for maximum awesomeness.

What You Need:

10 ears of Corn (small to medium)
2 cups Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, plus a splash more
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
Pickled Red Onions
Salt
Pepper

What To Do With It:

Bring a big pot of water to a boil and plop the corn in.  Boil for 10 minutes and turn off the heat.  While the corn sits in it's hot tub, make the pickled red onions by following this recipe. Place the pickled red onions in the fridge in an air tight container with the pickling liquid over night. 

Drain the corn and slice the kernels off of each cob into a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, vinegar and olive oil.  Toss.  Add a generous amount of salt and pepper -- at least two Tbsp of each. Toss.  Place in air tight container, or cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate over night.

In the morning, add 1/2 cup of the pickled red onions to the corn mixture (or to taste).  Add 1/8 cup of the pickling liquid from the onions.  Add one splash of apple cider vinegar (appx. two Tbsp.), toss everything together and taste for seasoning.  Adjust with salt and pepper as needed.  Chill until ready to serve.  Chow down!

For a warm variation of this salad, sauté the corn and tomatoes in 1 Tbsp. of butter and finish with salt, pepper and cilantro (or basil!).  Add blanched green beans to make it a real summer succotash! (Not YUCKotash, which is the version with gross lima beans)

Crunchy Spicy Stuffed Jalapeños

Hangry Timer: 30 minutes
Feeds: 12 (or 2 if your bf is hangry AF)
Cost: $10

What You Need:

1 Package Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar
6 Scallions, chopped
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
20 Jalapeños, seeded and halved***
1 lb. Bacon, crisped and broken into pieces (optional)
Smoked Paprika

What To Do With It:

Mix the first six ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.  Taste and add salt and pepper if you feel like it.

Spoon the mixture into the halved jalapeños.  Top with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and crispy bacon.

Chill in the fridge before serving. Depending on the jalapeño, these have the potential to be spicy AF, so eat at your own risk. We ate them all in less than two hours...oink oink!

*When boiling pasta, add a drizzle of olive oil to your salted water - it keeps the noodles from sticking.

**Soaking onions in ice water makes them less potent, but won't completely eliminate onion breath, womp.

***I use latex gloves when handling spicy peppers because I am a pussy and my hands are extremely sensitive to capsaicin. I also tend to touch my eyes a lot...put it together.

★★★