eG Cook-Off #83: A Bounty of Sweet Corn

[Paul Bacino]

@Katie Meadow--  most of the time if I boil..  just add butter to water.       So I dont butter cobs directly.

 

I like just pepper most of the time.  My other is just chili and lime.     

 

These are corn on the cob.  Usually nothing fancy

 

B

[lemniscate]

I make corn cob stock every time I get a large amount in the freezer.  I stash them over time.   I use the Instant Pot and the stock is corn forward flavor, does great things when put in a clam or fish chowder recipe.

 

fyi, the silk can be dried and made into corn silk tea, which is delicate and purported to have medicinal uses.

Edited August 15, 2019 by lemniscate
corn silk tea (log)

[weinoo]

We see Silver Queen and Golden Bantam at the farmer's market here; two of my favorite later-season varieties, as opposed to the peaches and cream, or butter and sugar, or whatever they call it.

 

I've taken to the Cook's Illustrated method of cooking, which is placing the corn in water that's been brought to a boil, covering it and turning off the heat.  It's ready in 5, and will hold hot for another 30 or so.

 

Often, I'll remove the corn from the ear and do a sauté.

[ElsieD]

3 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Often, I'll remove the corn from the ear and do a sauté.

 

I did this last night.  I medium diced a red pepper, medium diced half a red onion and sauted that in bacon fat for 4 minutes.  I then added the corn off one cob and sauted that with the pepper and onion until heated through.  I then added some salt and pepper.  Serves 2.

[Owtahear]

I am going to make Corn Soup w/ vaduvoun spice that I saw in a F&W magazine.   Made it once before.  It is fantastic.  I live in Western PA and we just have fantastic sweet corn.  I got a Breville juicer who just extracts the sweetest juice (milk) from the kernels.  I made homemade crème fraiche for it.   I think the only thing, I will jazz it up with lump crabmeat.

 

Will hopefully have photos tomorrow.

[Owtahear]

4 hours ago, lemniscate said:

I make corn cob stock every time I get a large amount in the freezer.  I stash them over time.   I use the Instant Pot and the stock is corn forward flavor, does great things when put in a clam or fish chowder recipe.

 

fyi, the silk can be dried and made into corn silk tea, which is delicate and purported to have medicinal uses.

 

Absolutely on the corn cob stock.  It is so easy and so useful.  It is great medium also to cook like cornbread, polenta or grits or something you want to infuse or enhance a corn flavor.

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, Owtahear said:

I am going to make Corn Soup w/ vaduvoun spice that I saw in a F&W magazine.   Made it once before.  It is fantastic.  I live in Western PA and we just have fantastic sweet corn.  I got a Breville juicer who just extracts the sweetest juice (milk) from the kernels.  I made homemade crème fraiche for it.   I think the only thing, I will jazz it up with lump crabmeat.

 

Will hopefully have photos tomorrow.

Is it this  one?  https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/corn-soup-vadouvan

[Owtahear]

20 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Is it this  one?  https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/corn-soup-vadouvan

Absolutely.  Ari Taymer was the name of the chef.  I made this once and it was really good.  I got better vadouvan now, so really looking forward to it.  When I made, it was a hit.

[kayb]

Oh, y'all are in my wheelhouse now. I grew up growing, picking, shucking, silking and eating sweet corn, and it may well be my favorite vegetable. Obviously the simplest and one of the best preps is corn on the cob (I prefer roasted to boiled, and you can get a fair approximation of that by shucking, slathering the ears in butter and your seasoning of choice, rewrapping in plastic, and microwaving for a couple of minutes for four ears if you don't have the grill going). But it's classic Southern "fried corn" that stands first in my heart.

 

You cut just the outer portions of the corn kernel, then scrape the cobs to extract all the milk. For eight big ears, I use a half-stick of butter, melted in a big saute pan, and put the corn in over medium-high heat. Stir it frequently until it changes color, or more correctly, becomes somewhat translucent throughout. Turn the heat down to medium low, add about a half-cup of half-and-half (I did not say this was low cholesterol), stir well, and let simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes

 

I don't even salt mine.

 

Silver Queen is my corn of choice. It's not as sweet as G90 or peaches and cream or candy corn.

 

I always make twice as much as I think we will eat, as the leftovers have multiple uses. I may make cornbread fritters, or just stir into a batch of baked cornbread, or use it in a corn pudding, or a corn chowder. It's tremendously versatile. And any leftovers I can always ship to @liuzhou.

[Okanagancook]

5 hours ago, Owtahear said:

Absolutely.  Ari Taymer was the name of the chef.  I made this once and it was really good.  I got better vadouvan now, so really looking forward to it.  When I made, it was a hit.

Great idea.  I make my own vadouvan and freeze in portions.  This recipe makes 3 cups.  

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/vadouvan-indian-spice-blend-243607

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Two ears of corn by @weinoo's Cooks Illustrated method.  Which by remarkable coincidence is identical to the 1975 Joy of Cooking recipe.

 

Good they were though I still prefer my corn by the method of @nathanm.

[weinoo]

Everything old is new again!

[chromedome]

3 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Everything old is new again!

Except, alas, one's knees...

[David Ross]

23 hours ago, lemniscate said:

I make corn cob stock every time I get a large amount in the freezer.  I stash them over time.   I use the Instant Pot and the stock is corn forward flavor, does great things when put in a clam or fish chowder recipe.

 

fyi, the silk can be dried and made into corn silk tea, which is delicate and purported to have medicinal uses.

 

Thanks so much.  I recently herd about saving the cobs for stock, and I never had actually thought about it.  What a great idea.  Thanks again.

[Kim Shook]

Growing up, we had a place on Chincoteague Island and driving from Northern VA to the island we passed through MD – and dozens of farm stands.  My mom would stop and buy enough Silver Queen and tomatoes for the weekend.  Sometimes our meals would be just that – corn and tomatoes.  The only condiments being butter, Miracle Whip, salt and pepper.  Can’t ever find Silver Queen corn anymore, but that was my favorite. 

 

My mom always boiled corn, but now I do it one of two ways – if I’m just doing a few ears, I use the microwave method of cooking for a few minutes, cutting off the end and shaking the ear out of the husk.  If I’m doing a large amount, I do the cooler method – husk the corn, put it in a cooler and cover with boiling water. 

 

My favorite ways of serving having corn (other than dripping with butter, sea salt, and pepper) are Maggie's Shrimp w/ Corn & Basil:

 

Fresh Corn Chowder with paprika oil:

 

And the way it is served at our favorite central American restaurant – Al Carbon in Charlottesville VA – mayo, cotija, chili powder, and lime:

[Owtahear]

I made a Corn Soup with Vadouvan spice, garnished with lump crab meat.   I juiced a dozen ears of corn, made corn stock from the cobs, made my own crème fraiche,  then topped with lump crab and paprika oil

 

This is liquid gold from my Breville juicer.   It is so concentrated in sweet corn flavor. 

 

   The only bad thing, my crème fraiche was a bit dense, so it didn't "float" like I hoped which would have made for a more fun visual presentation.  Oh, and fresh lump crab meat is always good.   The paprika oil had a nice smoky flavor, which added more to it than just visual.  

 

 

[ElsieD]

7 minutes ago, Owtahear said:

I made a Corn Soup with Vadouvan spice, garnished with lump crab meat.   I juiced a dozen ears of corn, made corn stock from the cobs, made my own crème fraiche,  then topped with lump crab and paprika oil

 

This is liquid gold from my Breville juicer.   It is so concentrated in sweet corn flavor. 

 

   The only bad thing, my crème fraiche was a bit dense, so it didn't "float" like I hoped which would have made for a more fun visual presentation.  Oh, and fresh lump crab meat is always good.   The paprika oil had a nice smoky flavor, which added more to it than just visual.  

 

 

 

I have to make this as soon as my back is "unwrenched". It looks wonderful.

[Smithy]

One of my weaknesses as a shopper is overenthusiasm. I buy a lot of whatever looks good -- especially seasonal produce -- and then scramble (or fail) to use it before it goes off. So it was that yesterday I had an overabundance of corn to use up, as well as tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, and lettuce.

 

Here's what I used, and how it turned out:

 

4 ears of corn: kernels cut off, and "milk" scraped into a bowl with the kernels

5 small Japanese eggplants, sliced into 1/2" coins and steamed

4 sausages (2 Polish, 2 jalapeno jack cheese bratwursts) sliced into 1/2" coins

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped

1/2 poblano pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped

~1/4c chicken jello

1 c cherry tomatoes on the way out, and the surviving 3/4 of a beefsteak tomato, chopped

a bit of water as a sauce booster

 

 

Steamed the eggplant coins as noted above, to soften them and prevent them from requiring too much oil.

Filmed a wok with oil (I used pecan, because I happen to have it, but any cooking oil would have done) and heated it, then sauteed the sausage coins until they were partially cooked.

Added the eggplant, and stirred all until browning began.

Added the peppers until soft.

Added the tomatoes, cooked until the cherry tomatoes began to pop.

Added the corn.

Added the chicken jello, and stirred until it melted. By that time it appeared that the beefsteak tomato juice and corn milk needed more assistance, so added a touch of water to develop more sauce.

Here is the finished melange:

 

 

 

About half went into a bowl with about half the lettuce, with the idea of making a wilted-lettuce salad. 

 

 

It looks a bit like a dog's dinner, but we both liked it. As usual, he wanted it slightly sweetened and added white wine worcestershire sauce; I wanted it slightly tarter and added a touch of red wine vinegar to brighten it. It was a good way to use those ingredients, including the corn. I think sweet corn is a wonderfully versatile filler for other dishes.

 

Today we finished the leftovers. It looks better before stirring!

 

 

Now I have to go buy more corn.

 

[David Ross]

I like the "chicken jello."  Which is bascially what my homemade chicken stock looks like.

[lemniscate]

I've been using a butter-soy sauce coating on my sweet corn lately.  

[Okanagancook]

"One of my weaknesses as a shopper is overenthusiasm. I buy a lot of whatever looks good -- especially seasonal produce -- and then scramble (or fail) to use it before it goes off."

Guilty...this is something I am really working on.  I have so much stuff in the pantry as well as the above issue.  What I need to do is make up a menu before going shopping.  I know what produce is in season so it couldn't be that hard could it?  Sheesh.

 

Currently working green beans, zucchini, Delicata squash, carrots, potatoes and cherry tomatoes from the garden never mind what is in the market.

 

Tonight will be roasted green beans with blistered cherry tomatoes in a Dijon/shallot/tarragon sauce, steamed potatoes, some leftover grilled zucchini and rack of lamb.

[ElsieD]

16 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

"One of my weaknesses as a shopper is overenthusiasm. I buy a lot of whatever looks good -- especially seasonal produce -- and then scramble (or fail) to use it before it goes off."

Guilty...this is something I am really working on.  I have so much stuff in the pantry as well as the above issue.  What I need to do is make up a menu before going shopping.  I know what produce is in season so it couldn't be that hard could it?  Sheesh.

 

Currently working green beans, zucchini, Delicata squash, carrots, potatoes and cherry tomatoes from the garden never mind what is in the market.

 

Tonight will be roasted green beans with blistered cherry tomatoes in a Dijon/shallot/tarragon sauce, steamed potatoes, some leftover grilled zucchini and rack of lamb.

 

What time is dinner?

[Okanagancook]

Vadouvan paste made yesterday using the recipe up thread.  Smells lovely.   I will portion it and freeze for later use.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 8/18/2019 at 12:24 PM, Smithy said:

One of my weaknesses as a shopper is overenthusiasm. I buy a lot of whatever looks good -- especially seasonal produce -- and then scramble (or fail) to use it before it goes off.

Amen, Sister!    I often feel like M.F.K.Fisher, writing of living in Provence, shopping at the weekly market, then watching the produce progress from prime to rot.

[Smithy]

Some advice, please!

 

I caved in to temptation and bought more corn. A dozen ears. We're having some tonight, on the cob. We're having a (more photogenic, I hope) revamp of the previous corn dish tomorrow night. I blanched these ears tonight, for preservation purposes. Top photo: the blanched cobs, chilling. Bottom photo: same cobs, draining.

 

 

Here's my question: I want to freeze the kernels off these cobs for later use. Is it better to freeze the cobs, then scrape off the kernels? (Can that even be done by a mere human?) Or am I better off scraping the kernels off the cobs, spreading them on a baking sheet and freezing them?

 

(It really is lovely corn. I'm not even a big fan of corn on the cob -- I think I've said so before -- but this corn on the cob was good. It was sweet -- some of you true corn lovers might think it too much so -- and fairly tender. For tonight's dinner I boiled an ear for each of us, probably not long enough. We thought the flavor fine but the texture a tad tougher than it would have been if I'd microwaved them as we usually do.)

 

Back to the question: The blanched corn is now drained and sitting on a plate. Freeze it to de-kernel later, or refrigerate it to de-kernel tomorrow and freeze afterward?