Corn Cakes with Tequila Lime Shrimp and Mango Salsa

I know what your thinking…Finally a food post! As you can tell I enjoy making cocktails, but it was definitely time for some food! Summer is almost over, so I wanted to make something fresh and full of summer flavors. Fresh corn is in abundance which makes this a great summer recipe. Nice and light with not too much prep work. These corn cakes will be perfect for any summer party. Try with a frozen hibiscus margarita or jalapeño guava margarita.

Corn Cakes with Tequila Lime Shrimp and Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

• 1 mango diced
• 2 tbs finely diced red onion
• 2 tbs lime juice
• 1 tbs chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno
• pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients and set aside.

Tequila Lime Shrimp

• 12 medium shrimp shelled and deveined
• 2 tbs lime juice
• 2 tbs tequila
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients except for shrimp and stir to combine. Add shrimp and marinade about 5 minutes no longer than 10. Remove from marinade, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Add a little olive oil to your pan, just enough to coat the bottom. Cook shrimp on medium high heat until opaque. This will just take a few minutes on each side depending on the size of the shrimp.

Corn Cakes

• ¼ cup cornmeal
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs sugar
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• ½ cup fresh corn

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add buttermilk, and eggs to create batter. Stir in corn.  Heat a little butter in your pan (you can also use oil) just enough to coat the bottom.  Heat pan on medium heat until butter starts to bubble slightly. Add batter to pan by spoonfuls or a little less than a ¼ cup to make small cakes. Cook cakes for about 2 minutes until they start to bubble slightly, flip and continue cooking until golden brown.

To assemble, top corn cake with two shrimp and spoon mango salsa on top. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you like.

* This recipe should make 6 small appetizer portions. When making the cakes, add a little less then ¼ cup of batter. I added more and ended up with only five corn cakes that were slightly larger than I would have liked.