Now that we’ve moved into a larger apartment with a little backyard and a large (by Brooklyn standards) kitchen, I’m eager to begin entertaining again. The weather doesn’t hurt either. It makes me feel like mixing up a pitcher of margaritas and inviting my friends and their babies over for a (foot) dip in the (kiddie) pool. And while actually planning the party – particularly the menu – is half the fun for me, we did something a little more half-assed for Memorial Day weekend and thought at the last minute to invite another couple over for the holiday.

The problem is, I’m really not that great of a host. I mean, I can prepare a pretty good spread and enjoy the company, but if things aren’t perfectly planned and executed I find it challenging to keep calm. I’ve always admired how relaxed my mother-in-law is in the face of a party mishap, often reminding me of Julia Child in such situations. Last weekend when we couldn’t get the grill going and all I could think about was how we had no food ready to serve and how I was supposed to be photographing our grilled meal for an assignment, I’m pretty sure my mother-in-law would have been laughing and easily switching gears, turning on the stove to sauté the shrimp and offering another round of drinks to her guests.

Maybe next time.

Our guests didn’t eat this corn. It wasn’t even a planned dish, although sadly there were some parts of the intended menu that didn’t make it to the table until our friends were well on their way home. This was a happy afterthought. The grill was dying down and I wanted to make the most of the stubborn fire we finally started, so I looked in the fridge and put this chili-lime corn together. It was good enough to consider serving at our next party, although to save my fragile frame of mind I might grill the corn ahead of time, cut off the kernels, and serve it as a salad.

Grilled Chili-Lime Corn

4 ears husked corn
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 oz chèvre
handful cilantro leaves
1 lime, quartered

1. Preheat the grill to medium-high. In a small bowl stir together the olive oil, chili powder, and salt.
2. Brush the corn with the olive oil mixture and place on the grill. Grill, turning every few minutes so all sides are cooked, until desired level of char. You can’t undercook them – even raw corn is sweet – but you want the chili powder to cook into the corn a bit.
3. Move the corn to a serving plate and sprinkle with dots of chèvre and the cilantro. Serve with the lime, to be squeezed over the corn just before eating.

Serves 4