• 6 ears of corn, husked
• ¼ cup crema Mexicana
• 1 teaspoon ancho or guajillo chili powder
• 2 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime
• Salt, to taste
• ½ cup cotija cheese

PROCEDURE

1. Heat the barbecue to about medium-high.
2. Brush your grill top with oil and grill corn, turning occasionally. After about 10 minutes, corn should be cooked through and slightly charred on the outside.
3. Cut kernels off of the cob by standing corn cobs vertically, and slicing downwards.
4. Mix the grilled corn kernels with the remaining ingredients.

PLATING

1. Top with chopped cilantro and sprinkle with cotija cheese.

CHEF’S NOTE

• One of my favorite things about this grilled corn salad is the flavors, a variation on elote, or Mexican street corn. Elote is one of my favorite things to eat…I just think that all the ingredients work so well together, so whenever I see someone selling it on the street it’s really tough for me not to buy one. It can be hard to eat corn on the cob though, so I wanted to make a corn salad that used those great eloteflavors, but in a way that would be easier to eat and transport.

Photo credit: WINC

Serves: 6
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes (not including time it would take for the tri-tip to sit in the marinade)
Cook Time: 30 minutes

MARINADE

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 onion, quartered
• 3 tablespoons garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch thyme, chopped
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste

PROCEDURE

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Cover the tri-tip with the marinating liquid, and let sit for 6 hours.
3. Season tri-tip with salt and pepper. Grill the meat to medium doneness, using herbs on the grill as desired.

ROSEMARY AIOLI

INGREDIENTS

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
• Salt, to taste

PROCEDURE

1. Heat canola oil and rosemary over low heat, making sure not to let boil. Remove the infused oil from heat and let cool. Strain the oil.
2. Separate egg yolks.
3. Combine yolks, lemon juice and garlic in a medium sized bowl. Whisk until combined.
4. Slowly add in the olive oil and infused canola oil while continuously whisking. Season to taste.

PICO DE GALLO

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 jalapeño, diced
• ½ red onion, diced
• ½ bunch cilantro, cleaned and chopped
• 1-2 limes, juiced
• Salt, to taste

PROCEDURE

1. In a medium size bowl, toss all ingredients with lime juice and salt.

SANTA MARIA TRI-TIP TARTINES

INGREDIENTS

• Grilled and sliced whole tri-tip (1½-2 pounds)
• 1 heart of romaine lettuce
• Sliced sourdough bread, cut ¾-inch thick
• Rosemary aioli (per above recipe)
• Pico de gallo (per above recipe)

PROCEDURE

1. Grill sourdough bread on both sides.
2. Evenly spread rosemary aioli on the grilled bread.
3. Arrange sliced tri-tip on the toasted and dressed bread. Arrange 2 leaves of lettuce over the tri-tip, and spoon pico de gallo into the romaine leaves.
4. Finish with salt and pepper.

CHEF’S NOTE

• I grew up in a large family, and we didn’t have a ton of money, so we never really had ribeye or New York steak very often. We would take a cheaper cut of meat like tri-tip and prepare it very well—that was like my family’s version of steak. I have very fond memories of eating tri-tip for special occasions, birthdaysand holidays. This recipe breaks it down and sweetens it in a way that even though you may have to cook it more than medium-rare, you still get this great flavor and char because of the marinade.

Photo credit: WINC

Serves: 6-8
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 box of vanilla wafers
• 3-4 ripe bananas, sliced

PROCEDURE

1. Place milk and first portion of sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring often until little bubbles begin to form.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. Add the egg yolks into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
4. Temper the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture by adding a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the mixing bowl.
5. Add the tempered yolk mixture into the saucepan and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Cool in an ice bath or refrigerator and stir in the vanilla paste.
7. Let the pudding cool and set.
8. Place a thin layer of pudding on the bottom of a serving bowl. Top with a layer of vanilla wafers, and then with a layer of sliced bananas. Alternate layers of pudding, wafers, and bananas. Place in refrigerator until pudding is set and it’s time to serve.
9. Top with desired topping: whipped cream, Cool Whip or meringue.

PLATING

• To make individual banana puddings, layer ingredients in mason jars rather than in a big bowl. Personal jar banana puddings would definitely work well at the Bowl.

CHEF’S NOTE

• This banana pudding is my grandma’s recipe. She actually adapted it from a recipe printed on the back of a vanilla wafer box, changing it to her liking and style. She then taught this recipe to my mom, who would make it for us growing up. It’s something that we would take on picnics or to barbecues, and everyone loved it.