Spiced-Up Corn on the Cob

Vegetables, while I love most of them prepared fairly simply, sometimes its fun to spice things up. Here's a recipe I modified from the Neelys on Food Network.

Ingredients:

4 ears sweet corn, husked and silks removed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Seasoning salt (I use Lawrey's)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 lime, juiced, plus 1 lime, quartered, for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup crumbled Feta or Cotija cheese

Directions:

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Rub the corn with olive oil and season with seasoning salt, to taste. Grill the corn until it's charred, on all sides, rotating for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, chili powder, cayenne, lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste, together in a small bowl. Remove the corn from the grill and brush the hot corn with the mayonnaise mixture. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Notes about the cheese: Feta and Cotija cheeses taste completely different. While both salty, the Cotija has less of a briny taste. If you're not a fan of Feta, definitely try Cotija-if you like both, then you have just been gifted two recipes for the price of one. :)

Modifications: Try brushing the corn with garlic butter* rather than the mayo mixture and then sprinkling with parmesan cheese rather than feta or cotija.

*Zap some butter and minced garlic (I use the stuff in the jar because it's less potent for this application) in the microwave for a few seconds. The heat will infuse the garlic into the butter nicely.

Not firing up the grill? Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat each ear of corn in either the mayo mixture, or butter and wrap individually in foil. Roast until hot and steaming, about 25 minutes. Unwrap corn and sprinkle with whatever cheese you are using.