This summer, try corn with Mexican flair

Brush the ears of corn with a bit of oil. Place over a grill or grill pan, set over medium heat, and let the corn cook and char slightly, turning them every 3 minutes until all the corn is done, anywhere from 9 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Let everyone decide what they want on their Crazy Corn! You can stick the corn on corn holders or a wooden stick as it gets messy.

The traditional way is to spread butter and a layer of mayo. Then the corn is thoroughly “breaded” or dredged with the crumbled cheese, sprinkled with salt and ground chile and finally, drizzled with freshly squeezed lime juice.

To make the vinaigrette, pour the vinegar and lime juice in a small bowl. Add the oregano, salt, sugar and black pepper. Pour the oils in a slow stream, whisking with a whisk or fork to emulsify. The vinaigrette can be made a day ahead of time, emulsify before using.

To toast the pumpkin seeds, place them in an already-hot small saute pan set over medium heat. Stir often, being careful that they don’t burn, until you start to hear popping sounds (similar to popcorn) and they begin to acquire a nice tan, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl.

In a bowl, mix the hearts of palm, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes and red onion with the vinaigrette. Gently incorporate avocado chunks, sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds and serve. 

Can be served as a main salad with a side of toast, pita bread or as a side.

Place rack in the middle of oven and heat to 360 degrees F. Butter a 9 x12-inch pan. 

In a mixer, beat the butter with sugar until creamy. Slowly add 8 egg yolks, one by one, until well incorporated. Add cream, all-purpose flour, rice flour and baking powder and continue beating until mixed.

In a blender, process the milk with corn kernels and incorporate it into the butter mix. Pour the mix in a big mixing bowl.

Separately, beat the egg whites with salt until stiff peaks are formed. Add 1/5 of the egg whites to the butter/corn mix and blend carefully. Slowly blend the rest until just mixed. Pour the corn batter into the baking dish.

Bake until it is springy to the touch and tanned, about 45 to 50 minutes. Once it cools a little, cut into squares. It can be served, warm, at room temperature or cold. It can be kept outside and covered for that day, or up to a week in the refrigerator. It's delicious served with creamed poblano rajas.

For creamed poblano rajas: To prepare the poblano peppers, char them for 6 to 9 minutes under the broiler, on a grill or on a cast-iron pan over medium heat, flipping sides in between. The skin should be charred and wrinkled (like marshmallows for s'mores!). Place them in a plastic bag and close it, so they will sweat for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the poblanos from the bag, make a slit on their side, remove the stem and under a thin stream of water, peel their skin and remove the seeds. Cut the cooked and cleaned poblanos into strips.

Heat butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Once it begins to sizzle, sweat the slivered onion for about 10 minutes, until translucent and soft. Increase heat to medium-high, add chile poblano prepared as rajas or strips, salt and black pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add cream and cheese and continue cooking, stirring from time to time, until the sauce thickens and seasons, for 6 to 8 more minutes. Serve hot. 10-12 servings.