Spicy Corn Salad

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Summer weather is right around the corner and with Memorial Day weekend starts for many the unofficial kick off to summer!  

Which in turn means lots of cookouts, and this weekend is usually the first of many.  

Whether your throwing the party or loading up your cooler and making the trek to a friends, cookouts are an American right of passage that most every adult can look back on with fond childhood memories (and adult ones too).

And of course, you can't have a cookout without the food.  That's the best part...Besides some of the tasty beverages. 

There are just endless possibilities of things you can do and so many different little traditions that people have.  Growing up, a go-to was always corn on the cob, cooked with a little salt and pepper and smothered in butter.

I figured, now's the time to jazz that side dish up and take the spice up a notch!!!

This is corn salad with a twist...

          Yummy charred corn, spicy fresh jalapeños, bright cilantro and salty addicting feta cheese brings life to this new corn salad and drool worthy flavors and aromas.

Enjoy :)

Spicy Corn Salad
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups corn (about 4 ears), cut from the cob

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 glove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juice

1 tbsp. chili powder

1/2 cup feta, crumbled, plus extra for serving

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1.  Melt the butter in a heavy skillet oven medium-high heat.

2.  Add the corn, toss and let it sit cooking until charred, mix it up a bit and let it char again, the whole process takes about 6-10 minutes.

3.  Add the jalapenos, garlic and shallots, and sauce for a minute or two until soft and then remove from heat.

4.  Mix everything together in a large bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature, with extra feta sprinkled on top.  

***Alternative version for grilling.  Using 4-5 ears of corn, grill corn until the kernels are slightly charred and corn is cook.  When cool enough to handle, cut corn kernels off and set aside.  Using the butter called for, lightly saute jalapeno, garlic and shallot until aromatic and softened over medium-high heat, about 2-3 minutes.  Add in the grilled corn kernels and toss together with the jalapeno-shallot mixture and heat through, 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and resume with step 4 above.