Corn and avocado relish- Truly SUPER Superbowl food!

Corn and Avocado Relish

4 ea............... Diced Avocados 

½ c................. Diced Red Onions

1 c.................. Corn

2 ea............... Diced Tomato

½ c................. Diced Green Chilies

¼ c................. Chopped Cilantro

1 tsp............... Ground Cumin

1 tsp............... Oregano

1 tsp............... Garlic Powder

2 tsp............... Onion Powder

½ tsp.............. Tabasco

1½ tsp........... Kosher salt

½ c................. Olive Oil

1.      Place all of the ingredients, except avocados, in a bowl and mix well.

2.      Add avocados last and mix gently without smashing the avocado.

This relish is great with corn chips but you can try it on a cheeseburger with bacon, or anything you might put salsa on. You can cheat and use frozen corn but you can also try roasting your corn on the grill when you roast your green chilies to add a nice roasted flavor. 

When you are picking out avocados,  get ones that are darker in color and that slightly give when pressed with your finger. Avocados are too ripe when they already have indentations or when pressed they make an indentation.  Avoid avocados that are too green and hard unless you don’t plan to use them for a few days. Avocados generally take three to five days to ripen at room temperature. Avocados are truly fruit so they should never be refrigerated before they are cut into.  Refrigerating unripe avocados will actually halt the ripening process completely, and no one wants a hard unripe avocado in their dips!     

Many people avoid avocados because they are high in fat, but avocados are actually chock-ful of the good fats!, One avocado has three grams of monounsaturated fat along with thirteen important vitamins.  

This relish is a great idea for our Superbowl Sundays! Try making a food that you and your loved ones can indulge in, guilt-free!

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!

Gearing up for Superbowl...

Muffaletta

Magic Muffaletta

(A New Orleans style hero sandwich)

You can find a Muffaletta anywhere in New Orleans or most of Louisiana.  It was supposedly made at the Central Grocery on Decatur Street first.  When I visited New Orleans, I waited in a line that rapped around the building for about an hour just to get an authentic one… Well worth the wait! 

I used regular ham in this recipe but traditionally you should use Mortadella ham.  Capicolla will also work.  Both are Italian hams that can be found at Specialty grocers.  The Muffaletta should always be served at room temperature- never toasted! The sandwich is best after it has been out for a bit because the juices soak into the bread. All of the flavors mesh together. Because of this, the Muffaletta is great for parties.

If you want to make this sandwich vegetarian, try grilling eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, and/or yellow squash.  The olive salad is the magic- it is what makes the sandwich.  I found several recipes for Muffaletta.  Some had chopped carrots, chopped cauliflower, red onions and/or anchovies, but they all shared the important olive salad!

Make this sandwich for a Superbowl party, sit back and relax! Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!

Olive Salad

1¼ c... Green olives with pimientos (chopped)

1¼ c... Pitted Kalamata olives (chopped)

½ c..... Cocktail onions (chopped)

4 Tbs. Capers

1 c...... Celery heart with leaves (chopped)

½ tsp.. Fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbs. Fresh garlic (chopped)

1 Tbs. Fresh oregano (chopped)

¼ c..... Fresh parsley

¼ c..... Olive oil

4 Tbs. Red wine Vinegar

Sandwich (will feed 1-4 people)

1 ea... 10” Round focaccia or Italian bread

4.5 oz Genoa salami

4.5 oz Ham

4.5 oz Provolone cheese 

1 c...... Olive salad 

1.      Mix salad ingredients together and refrigerate overnight.

2.      Pile on salami, ham, cheese and olive salad.

3.      Cut into fourths and enjoy.