Mashed taters with a twist....

I mentioned three ingredients yesterday that we would be combining for dinner tonight. It ended up as a side dish, so let's start off with that first.

Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Mashed Potatoes has definitely moved up to the top of the list of our favorite way to prepare potatoes. Thin skinned red potatoes are boiled until just tender. While waiting for them to finish, fresh sweet yellow corn is pan roasted in a smidge of butter until the kernels achieve a golden brown color. The potatoes are then very coarsley mashed with creamy smoked mozzarella*, soy milk and for a touch of richness, a couple pats of butter. The corn is then folded in with salt and pepper and a finishing squeeze of fresh lime juice to freshen the mix up. The mountain of chunky potatoes, roasted corn and soft smoked cheese was exciting to the taste buds and a fresh change to plain ol' mashed taters.

*Tip - smoked mozzarella is pretty soft, to ease the grating process, stick it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to let it firm up and it will grate without the gooey mess.

I served Pork Chops with Carolina Rub as the main item tonight. Center cut chops are rubbed in a flavorful mixture of spices and allowed to sit to soak up the essence of the seasonings. They are then grilled with a slather of your favorite barbecue sauce, added near the end, to keep it from burning. These juicy chops were good, but nothing to write home about - maybe some changes to the rub could give these some more flare. The recipe comes together in a snap though and is good for a quick weeknight dish.

Recipes
Pork Chops with Carolina Rub
Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Mashed Potatoes