More Corn recipes

Yup, that's all that was left...one sad little piece, within a few short minutes.  It was THAT good.

So, here's the back story.  If you didn't catch my Studio 5 segment a couple of weeks ago, watch/read it here.  Later that night, in bed, as I'm drifting off, I kept thinking of other things I could do with the corn puree.  It was a fair amount of work to make it and it was so good I wanted to make the most of it.

 

The next morning I played in the kitchen and created two more recipes for you that are winners...and one that just wasn't (more on that at the end of this post).

 

We are big Quiche fans in the Neal household, not to mention I have 5 very prolific chickens in the backyard and I have more eggs than I know what to do with!

 

This is by far the best Quiche I have ever made.  I think it's because the corn give's it a body that's really nice and hearty and the flavor is so good it's really hard to stop eating...hence the last piece picture (and NO, I didn't eat it all by myself, I had help!)

 

Corn, Bacon & Mushroom Quiche

 

4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces (lardons)

1/2 cup sliced green onions (white & green part)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 Eggs

1/2 cup corn puree (see recipe here)

1/2 cup fresh corn kernels

3/4 cup half & half (you can use milk here too)

1 cup grated Swiss cheese (Gruyere is even better, but more expensive)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)

Ready-made crust or make my homemade pie crust here.

 

Sautee Bacon on med/high heat until fat is rendered and bacon starts to crisp up.  Add onion and mushrooms.  Continue to sautee until bacon is fully crisp and onions and mushrooms are soft.  Add seasoning, stir in and let cool.

 

Beat eggs in a bowl, add cream, corn puree and beat a bit more.  Add fresh corn, sauteed mixture and cheese, mix and pour into pie crust.

 

Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until top is puffed up and browned.

 

**Note: Take advantage of those fresh picked corn stands while they last.  Last night I made a batch of corn puree from 12 corn cobs.  I froze it in 1 cup amounts in sandwich baggies (put the bags in a tall mug, makes it easy and less messy), then place them all in a gallon freezer bag.  I should have plenty of puree to make Quiche until next corn season!

Ok, the Quiche was the inexpensive recipe...this one is NOT.  But if you have a special occasion and you like Crab Cakes, then you may want to try this version.

I was shocked at the price of crab right now...$18 for a lb at Costco!  It used to be $13.  Hopefully that'll go back down before the holidays.

 

The corn does reduce the amount of crab for some savings, but fortunately, doesn't take away the crabiness of the cake, in fact, the sweetness and texture of the corn works really well here.

Crab & Corn Cakes

 

1/2 cup corn fritter batter (recipe here)

1/2 cup lump crab

1 Tbsp Mayo

1 Tbsp Wondra flour

1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

hafl oil & butter to fry

 

Not many ingredients here, but the corn fritter batter is already very tasty and a bit spicy.   You want your mixture to be quite moist, but it needs to stick together and not fall apart in the pan, so do a small test cake and adjust moisture with a bit more flour if necessary.  Wondra is a super fine flour used for making gravies and helps to bind without adding a filler taste.

 

Carefully fold ingredients together, shape into patties (I use an icecream scoop for uniformity) and then place in bread crumbs to coat.  Fry at med-high until cake is nicely browned.  Serve with a nice tartar sauce or aioli.

 

Another option is to make small appretizers (amuse bouche, one bite appetizers).  My Niece is having a baby shower later in September and I'm doing the savory dishes.  I made these ahead of time and froze them, so they are ready to fry and plate.

Just a bit of grainy mustary aioli and half a grape tomato that has been dressed in oil and vinegar.  Wow, what a tasty morsel!

 

Ok, are you ready for the FAIL.

 

I had some leftover pulled pork and thought I could make a Johnny Cake (which is basically a corn pancake), top with the bar-b-Q pork and some coleslaw.

 

I had my Sister-in-law and her husband over to experiment.  We did the pancake on the griddle, but we just didn't think the texture was right.  Just too soft (they were tasty though) for the dish.  So, instead we tried to fry up a Johnny cake (like I did with the corn fritters).  This was much better, but to be honest, it would be easier to have a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and corn fritters on the side.

 

We were having fun though and start playing around.  We filled a corn fritter with a chunk of cheddar cheese.  First one was too big and didn't melt enough.  Second one melted, but really, just didn't add much to an already good fritter.

 

Then we thought jalapenos!  Chopped some up and added it to the batter.  Too raw... and we ended it there as we were too stuffed to play and eat anymore :)  Although I will say the addition of some sauteed and softened jalapeno would work in the corn fritter batter, but I really like the heat from the Cayenne, so I'm sticking with the original!

 

Well folks, that's it for corn for a long, long time!  But I sure had fun and hope you enjoy these recipes.