What's Cooking: Summer Corn Salad from San Francisco Entertains

We've had fantastic weather in San Francisco lately which means I've been barbecuing all the time! One of my favorite recipes at the moment is the Summer Corn Salad recipe from San Francisco Entertains, the newest cookbook from the Junior League of San Francisco. I've been a member of the Junior League here for eight years (hard to believe!) and spent the last two years working on San Francisco Entertains, our first cookbook in 10 years, and published in honor of our centennial in 2011.

Earlier this week, I had a friend for dinner so I made the Summer Corn Salad and paired it with grilled skirt steak and served it on top of fresh spinach and avocado. It was a very easy dinner and fairly quick -- first I grilled the corn and scallions, then combined with feta, tomatoes, and the vinaigrette, which is a mix of fresh lime juice, olive oil, cumin and jalapenos for a little kick.

This is a great recipe to make ahead of time -- the corn salad is best when the vinaigrette has had time to soak into the corn & tomatoes. It is one of those things that's even better day two!

Thankfully I had leftovers yesterday, so I tried a new variation. This time, I grilled shrimp -- adding just a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a little salt. After a few minutes on the grill, I once again topped fresh spinach and ripe avocado with the grilled shrimp. Here is the dish (Day 2) -- and I have to say, it's just as good with shrimp as it was with the skirt steak!

If you're interested in buying San Francisco Entertains, it is sold in stores in the Bay Area, and you can also purchase it online on the Junior League of San Francisco's website. All proceeds from the cookbook go towards the Junior League of San Francisco's current focus area: supporting and strengthening families in need.