Could anything
be more appropriate in the Cornhusker state? Actually, yes…we’ll step
back and admit that attending or watching the Husker game tonight would have
been more appropriate than missing it in lieu of preparing a gourmet meal as we
decided to do. Can’t say we regret the decision, though! Corn
purchased fresh at the Farmer’s Market this morning was the highlight of all
our dishes.
Indian
Corn
We wanted to
start off with corn in its purest and simplest form. There’s nothing more satisfying than gnawing
on this tasty veggie straight up off the husk. To make this variation, we
combined Rick & Tom Ruf’s cooking methods with some of our favorite Indian
seasonings. Soooo yummy! And we walked
away inspired to try other new seasoning combos on our grilled corn in the
future.
Ingredients:
·
Fresh
Corn in the husk
·
butter
·
Spice
rub (ratios to follow):
o graham masala
X3
o red curry
powder X1
o cumin X1
o pepper X1
o kosher salt X1
Directions:
1. Prepare “Injun”
corn ala Rick and Tom Ruf. I.e., soak corn with husks still on in a sink
(or other sizable vessel) filled with water for at least 20 minutes. Pat
dry with a towel.
2. Pre-heat grill
to medium-high heat. Grill corn for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until
charred on the husk. Turn occasionally for equal cooking.
3. Remove from
heat. Husk and spread on butter. Season with spice rub. Eat!
Corn
Risotto & Corn-adew Side Salad
Corn
Risotto
The lengthy
directions list for this recipe may seem intimidating, but we promise it’s worth
the work and worth the wait. The corn came through nicely in both the base of
this dish and as a key player in the main event. The sweetness of the corn contrasted well
with the earthy flavors from the mushrooms and celery. At the last minute, we
also added a bit of fresh sage for depth.
It was difficult to show restraint when eating this course because it
was so tasty! We had to force ourselves
to put down our spoons and save room for other courses, as the risotto could
have been a meal by itself.
Ingredients:
·
4
cloves garlic
·
1/3
of an onion
·
olive
oil
·
2/3
cup Arborio rice
·
white
wine (approx. 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
·
1
cob fresh corn
·
1
can whole kernel corn (no salt or any additives other than water)
·
2
cans chicken broth
·
3-4
stalks of celery (chopped)
6-10 mushrooms (chopped)
6-10 mushrooms (chopped)
·
approx.
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (depending on preference)
·
2-3
green onions (chopped)
Directions:
1. Chop all the
kernels off a cob of fresh sweet corn, set the kernels aside and chop the cob
into 3 pieces.
2. Place the cob
pieces as well as the whole can of corn (water and all) into a sauce pan.
Add 2 cans of chicken broth to the sauce pan over the corn and cob
pieces. Place the sauce pan on the stove on low heat. Have this pan
ready for adding to the risotto dish as you are cooking.
3. Coat a large
sauté pan generously with olive oil and add the garlic cloves (after mincing)
and onions (after finely chopping). Bring to a medium-high heat.
4. When the
garlic and onions have begun to brown add the Arborio rice. Stir the rice
so that it is coated in the “garlic/onion oil.”
5. Once some of
the rice kernels have begun to toast (brown), add enough dry white wine to
cover the rice kernels. Let the wine cook down while stirring the rice
mixture.
6. Once the rice
mixture has no standing liquid (i.e. the rice has soaked up most of the wine,
but it is still moist), start adding the chicken broth/corn mixture.
7. Add the
chicken broth mixture 1/4 to 2/3 cups at a time (as needed)….(it is “needed”
when the rice has soaked up most of the chicken broth mixture and there isn’t
much standing liquid).
8. After
approximately 40% of the chicken broth mixture has been absorbed by the rice,
place the chicken broth mixture in a blender and blend the broth and corn into
a single liquid.
9. Return the
chicken broth/corn mixture to the burner on low and continue adding this liquid
to the rice in small batches.
10. At this same
time, add the celery to the rice mixture
11. When
approximately 60% of the chicken broth mixture is added, add the mushrooms to
the rice mixture
12. When
approximately 90% of the chicken broth mixture is added, add the fresh corn
kernels to the rice mixture.
13. After the
final chicken broth mixture is absorbed by the rice and the mixture has no
standing liquid, add the parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is
completely melted and remove from the heat.
14. Let stand for
2-3 minutes. Serve and garnish with chopped green onions and additional
parmesan cheese, if desired.
Corn-adew
Salad w/Peppadew Corn Dressing
One of our new
favorite items from the olive bar at HyVee—peppadews!—play a leading role in
this interestingly sweet, yet vinegar-forward dressing. You can also find them in jars near the
roasted red peppers and other marinated veggies. For this dish, we accented the flavors of the
dressing by incorporating its components in their original form in the salad
itself. This was an excellent pairing
with the risotto.
Ingredients:
·
½
cup cooked corn for dressing
·
1
Tablespoon brine from jar of peppadews
·
1.5
teaspoons sherry vinegar (or you can use a combo of sherry cooking wine and
regular vinegar)
·
Dash
of cayenne pepper
·
Freshly
ground black pepper
·
Peppadews
·
Mozzarella
pearls
·
Additional
cooked corn for salad (frozen or shucked from the husk)
·
Cherry
tomatoes, halved
·
Arugula
·
Spinach
or other mild mixed greens
Directions:
1. Prepare
dressing. Puree ½ cup corn, peppadew brine, sherry vinegar, cayenne, and black
pepper in a blender w/a few tablespoons of water. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Whisk in additional olive oil to smooth
texture, if desired. Marinate in fridge for at least ½ hour (preferably longer)
before serving. This will intensify the
peppadew flavor and allow seasonings to meld together.
2. Prepare
salad. Toss arugula and greens together.
Stuff mozzarella pearls into peppadews and place on top of greens. If you are
left w/additional pearls, simply throw on top of salad. Alternatively, if you have too many
peppadews, slice remaining peppadews into strips and add to salad. Add tomatoes and corn to your salad and
garnish w/freshly ground black pepper.
Serve with dressing.
Corn
& Green Onion Turkey Burgers
w/Chilled Corn Salad
Corn
& Green Onion Turkey Burgers
Thought we’d
do a spin-off on our favorite turkey burger recipe that has colored bell
peppers and Vidalia onion chunks in it. Ours turned out a little on the dry
side, so be careful to not over-cook them when grilling. In the end, this
mistake was a nice way to highlight the barbeque sauce and corn-relish salad,
since they added the moisture missing from the burgers themselves.
Ingredients:
·
Corn
(frozen or shucked off the husk)
·
Lean
ground turkey
·
Green
onion, chopped
·
Eggs
or egg substitute
·
Corn
meal
·
Cornflakes,
crushed
·
Worcestershire
sauce
·
Smoked
paprika
·
Freshly
ground black pepper
·
Kosher
salt
·
Barbeque
sauce (preferably spicy to accent the flavors of the sweet corn. We doctored
ours up with mix-ins, ratios to follow):
o BBQ sauce X4
o Katsup X3
o Frank’s hot
sauce X1
o Louisiana tobacco
hot sauce X1
o Spicy/sweet
mustard X1
Directions:
1. Lightly cook corn in the microwave with water. Drain water and
place corn in a medium sized bowl.
2. To the same
bowl, add turkey, green onion, egg, cornmeal, crushed cornflakes,
Worcestershire, paprika, pepper, and salt.
3. Combine with
your hands. Consistency should be moist
and sticky, so that mixture holds together.
If too wet, add additional cornmeal or cereal. If too dry, add egg as a binding agent.
4. Press mixture
into patties and grill.
5. Serve with
barbeque sauce for dipping or atop a toasted bun, if you prefer sandwich style.
Chilled Corn Salad
Here’s a quick and easy side that is
tangy and refreshing for the hot summer months.
Turns out similar to relish or pickled veggies, which adds a nice cool
element to BBQ meats. Perfect for picnic-ing or as a potluck side, since you
don’t have to worry about keeping it warm and can do all the prep work in
advance.
Ingredients:
·
2
cups cooked corn (frozen or shucked off the husk)
·
1
pint cherry tomatoes, halved
·
1
medium-sized cucumber, diced
·
1/2
medium-sized red onion, diced
·
juice
of 2 limes + zest of 1 lime
·
1/4
cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
·
1
small jalapeno, seeds removed and finely minced
·
salt
and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Toss all
ingredients together. Marinate in fridge for at least 20 minutes before
serving.
(mini!)
Corn Dogs
Thanks to
Alton Brown for the recipe and techniques!
We hardly changed anything from his original and agreed that these truly
were the best corn dogs we’ve ever eaten.
In particular, we liked how thin and crispy the layer of batter
was. Not super-doughy like many corndogs
end up being. What a fun late night
snack or game day munchies. They’re especially addicting in miniature form
because you always feel like there’s room for one more in your tummy. We’ll for sure be making this recipe again
soon.
Ingredients:
·
1
gallon peanut oil for frying
·
1
cup yellow cornmeal
·
3/4
cup all-purpose flour
·
1
teaspoon kosher salt
·
1
teaspoon baking powder
·
1/4
teaspoon baking soda
·
1/2
teaspoon cayenne pepper
·
2
tablespoons (approximately 1 large) jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
·
1
(8.5-ounce) can cream-style corn
·
1/3
cup finely grated onion
·
1
1/2 cups buttermilk
·
4
tablespoons cornstarch, for dredging
·
8
beef hot dogs or a package of mini cocktail wieners
Directions:
1. Pour oil into
a deep fryer or large heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium
mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and
cayenne pepper.
3. In a separate
bowl, combine the jalapeno, corn, onion, and buttermilk.
4. Add the dry
ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, and stir only enough times to
bring the batter together; there should be lumps. Set batter aside and allow to
rest for 10 minutes.
5. Scatter the
cornstarch into a dry pie pan. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and tap well
to remove any excess.
6. Transfer
enough batter to almost fill a large drinking glass. Refill the glass as
needed. Place each hot dog on chopsticks, and quickly dip in and out of the
batter.
7. Immediately
and carefully place each hot dog into the oil, and cook until coating is golden
brown, about 4 to 5 minutes (or less, if making minis). With tongs, remove to
cooling rack, and allow to drain for 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Serve with
ketchup, mustard, and cold beer!
Corn
Bread Pudding w/Sweet Corn Ice Cream
We’ve ventured
to make cornbread bread pudding in the past, but this time decided to infuse
the corn flavors into the soaking mixture instead. Both ways yielded positive results. We topped today’s version off with some
home-made sweet corn ice cream and a few CORNflakes cereal for additional
crunch.
Ingredients:
·
Challah
bread (really any kind you have on hand will do, but this kind paired very well
with the corn)
·
1/4
cup creamed corn
·
1/2
cup buttermilk
·
1/2
cup milk
·
1
egg
·
1
tsp. ground cinnamon
·
1/2
tsp. ground nutmeg
Directions:
1. Slice bread
into approx. 1-inch cubes and place in a greased baking dish (or ramekins, for
individual serving portions).
2. In a
medium-sized bowl, whisk together creamed corn, buttermilk, milk, egg,
cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. Pour liquid
over sliced bread and stir to coat. Be
sure bread is entirely (or at least mostly) submersed in the liquid. Cover and
store in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, preferably longer to allow bread
to soak up liquid and flavors.
4. Preheat the
oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread pudding uncovered until top begins to brown and
liquid is largely absorbed/evaporated.
Cooking time is dependent on the size of you baking pan and amount of
pudding you’ve made. Allow mixture to
coagulate and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
5. Top with ice
cream &/or Cornflakes just before serving.
