Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Corn

While recently on holiday in Hawaii, I was talking with guy from Seattle at the vacation condo's barbeque area. We talked about what food we were making. He opened the lid to his BBQ and revealed slices of Molokai (Hawaiian) sweet potatoes. Hmmm. I didn't have sweet potatoes but swore to myself I'd try grilling them when I got back to the mainland. In a previous post, I sung the prasies of my Mario Batali grilling pan. It's perfect for grilling most things, including sweet potatoes.
This is so easy to prepare and paired with roasted corn and vegetarian baked beans, the meal becomes very hearty with a good amount of protein.

Start with one medium sweet potato for each person. Wash and scrub your sweet potatoes really well before cooking. Potatoes can harbor bacteria since they come straight from the ground.

Place sweet potatoes in the microwave for about 5 minutes, turning two times during this process. This will soften the potatoes up a bit, but not cook them all the way through. After the 5 minutes, heat up your grill pan. Take the sweet potatoes out of the microwave, slice them into 1/2" round slices and place on the grill. You can drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the potatoes as they're in the pan. Cook them on med-high heat for about 6 minutes on the first side. Flip them and cook for another 3 minutes. Flip again if you want to get really distinct grill marks.

For corn:
Keep your corn in the husks and place the ears in a bowl of water for at least 30 mins before cooking. Switch on your oven's broiler and place the corn close to the flame. Turn the corn every 4 minutes so that the husks are brownish on all sides. The corn usually takes about 15 minutes, depending on how close you have the corn to the broiler flame.

Here's the finished product. Enjoy!

Corn & Black Bean Salad with Lime/Basil Dressing

Ooohh.... this is different, unique, and of course, good... as in, Yum! The cumin in the vinaigrette gives this dish wonderful kick. It's hearty enough to stand on its own as a satisfying main dish.
This recipe came from the kitchens of Food Network and I, and my husband, thank them for that. We've made this dish twice. The 2nd time, we forgot to buy a red bell pepper.
My advice, do not forget the red bell pepper. While it's okay without out and still very tasty, the red bell pepper imparts the essence of sweetness needed to even everything out. It does not quite get there with the mango. Really!

This recipe is very easy and pretty quick to make - especially if you use frozen corn. It does taste better using fresh corn. Frozen has too much water content but will work in a pinch. Romaine lettuce leaves work as garnish and as non-carb wraps for the bean mixture.
Courtesy Food Network:Everyday Italian - Corn & Black Bean Salad w/Basil Lime Dressing

My husband and I have eaten all vegetarian dinners this week. ie. No Fish! Everything has tasted fantastic. Look for more vegetarian recipes soon!