My Independence Day BBQ Dilemma

Originally for the 4th of July holiday I was supposed to head out-of-town. I was excited about this because I would get to be the ‘guest’ at the party; and since I would be driving in from over 4 hours away I would be off the hook to have to bring anything. Not that I don’t mind cooking and bringing something to a party or get together or even hosting the shindig- it is nice to just be able to come and not have to fret about things. I guess this thinking has back fired in my face. My out-of-town plans fell through and now since I am going to be home everyone wants to come to my place to celebrate Independence Day and to BBQ!

All these changes just happened this morning and now I am scrambling to get my apartment cleaned and to create an Independence Day menu. Luckily my local grocery store had watermelon on sale the other day so I picked that up then (check). And another local store had hamburger meat on sale for 99 cents a pound (check).

Then Target had corn on sale. 10 for a $1 (check times 10)what a steal, especially since at the grocery store corn was 2 for $1. You should have seen it! The corn went on sale on Sunday and I just happened to be in Target and thought what a good deal I will have to get some. I literally had to fight through the crowds of people to try and get my hands on some. Someone asked the Target employee if he had anymore and he said no. When he said that all hell broke loose and everyone went crazy over the corn! You would have thought it was the end of the world and that was the only food left! I quickly grabbed up 10- even though later I was thinking there would be no way Eric and I could eat 10 ears of corn just by ourselves. But now I am glad I have it to use this weekend.

Well, now I know what you are thinking- why am I so worried about hosting the 4ht of July BBQ- I have a good chunk of the menu already. But the problem is not the food (luckily I do so happen to have the majority of it).The problem is that I live in a one bedroom apartment, with a tiny kitchen, and no backyard for a grill. This poses a problem when you are trying to host a get together for about 8 to 10 people. I do live in an apartment with a pool and community grill by the pool but these grills are really small- only big enough for about 6 burgers. How am I supposed to cook the corn AND the burgers at the same time?

I know you all probably don’t care at all about any of this but I just had to vent for a minute and then explain where I got the idea for the recipe I am posting. Any who- because the apartment’s grill is so small I had to come up with an idea to more efficiently cook the corn. I decided to roast the corn in the oven. When I recently roasted broccoli it came out the best tasting broccoli I have ever had. I decided to try a couple of ears of the corn today to ‘test drive it’ before the get together tomorrow. And just as I suspected the corn came out wonderful. It was so flavorful and juicy. I love summertime for all the fresh fruits and veggies and corn is one of the top ones. Eating corn on the cob at a BBQ is the essence of summer, but now I can eat it even if I have a grill or not. Dilemma solved (after reading this I realized that I actually kind of over reacted (me? overreact?) and have more things under control than I thought- my house is actually very clean right now and I already have a lot of food- but being a drama queen for 5 minutes is so much fun!).

Oven Roasted Corn on the Cobcorn (as many ears as you need), shucked (is that what you call removing the “outer parts” of the corn?)1/2 teaspoon olive oil per ear of corn salt and pepper, to tastePreheat oven to 375 degrees. “Clean” corn and place onto baking sheet. Rub olive oil over corn. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 20-25 minutes. (Because you used the olive oil you don’t need any butter- the oil provides moisture and flavor)Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!