Old Mission Traders has long been a proud sponsor of the Traverse City Film Festival. This year we were thrilled to be asked to participate in the Traverse City Film Festival Opening Night Party. The TC Film Fest has become a favorite venue for up and coming, as well as veteran film makers from around the world. Our town becomes host to thousands of film makers, avid movie aficionados and volunteers for one week of nonstop movie viewing. Check out this blog post (PG-13) by film maker Arvin Chen (Au Revoir Taipei, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?) for an insider's account of the TCFF.
The Opening Night Party is the big soiree to kicks things off. Delicious food is offered by some of the areas finest restaurants and chefs...and us! Over 600 attendees would be tasting our food! What should we prepare? We wanted to do something that would be delicious, but also feature some of the products Old Mission Traders is famous for.
We decided on a layered Roasted Corn and Black Bean "tostada cup" featuring Cherry Stop Cherry Salsa and Old Mission Traders Black Bean Dip, and served with Great Lakes Tortilla Chips.
To start off, we roasted frozen corn kernels in the convection oven. Meanwhile, dry black beans were soaked and then cooked. These were mixed with Cherry Stop Medium Cherry Salsa, cilantro, and salt. This was spooned into the bottom of two-ounce portion cups. Next we layered sour cream, followed by a generous dollop of our Old Mission Traders Black Bean Dip. We garnished the top of the cups with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, sliced black olives, and a slice of pickled jalapeno. As a final touch, we placed a tortilla chip into each cup. We did this 600 times! It was quite an assembly line.
Our little cups were a hit. The flavors were fantastic and many were excited to be able to eat one of the few vegetarian and gluten free dishes at the party. It was a lot of work, but so worth it. We can't wait to come up with something new for next year.
--Old Mission Traders
Roasted Corn and Black Bean Tortilla Dip
1 lb roasted frozen or fresh corn (Spread corn kernels on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until the kernels have a nice char, stirring occasionally)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar Cherry Stop Cherry Salsa, your choice of heat. We recommend medium.
1 small tub sour cream
1 jar Old Mission Traders Black Bean Dip
1 tblsp. fresh cilantro (or to taste)
Salt, to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, sliced olives, pickled jalapenos (optional) to garnish the top. Feel free to add shredded lettuce and chopped tomato. Be creative!!
Mix the corn, beans, salsa, cilantro, and salt in a large bowl. In a serving dish, layer the salsa, then the black bean dip over the top. Garnish with the cheese, scallion, olives, and jalapenos.
Serve with tortilla chips.