Your best recipes for sweet corn?

[sacre_bleu]

Besides boiling/steaming, serving with salt and butter.

Thinking of a corn flan, perhaps. Had one with green chile once and loved it.

Roasted on a grill? Read about the Mexican deal with mayo/chile/lime/cheese and was wowed, though that'd have to be served outside.

How do you handle the seasonal abundance?

(Of course, when I say "seasonal," I reveal my corn bias. As a Northeasterner, I don't consider the Cali/Fla/Mex corn, available in February and bred tough as leather to survive 1,000 miles in a truck, as the height of Sweet Corn Goodness. Here, in Aug/Sept corn season, the farmstands post the name(s) of their offerings, i.e. "Silver Queen.")

[bloviatrix]

One of my fallbacks is throwing in boiling water for about 3 minutes and then scrapping the kernels off the cob. I combine with the kernals some diced red pepper, dill, evoo, s & p. Very fresh and summary.

I also like to roast the corn kernels, which intensifies their flavor. Then combine with black beans, red onion, orange pepper, some red wine vinegar and evoo. A little cilantro is nice in this too.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Spicy Corn Flan (NYT)

Sweet Corn Flan

I plan to try the sweeter version this week ... the first appears to be somewhat spicy.

[snowangel]

We like this one a lot Creamed Corn.

But, I don't think I ever tire of really, really fresh sweet corn, steamed or boiled with butter and pepper. Come August, I will eat it seven nights a week. My family quickly sickens of my response to "what's for supper, Mom." "Sweet corn and sliced tomatoes." Somehow, they feel that even with this abundance, we need meat or some other silly accompaniment. I do give them a periodic break and start the grill for chicken, burgers, etc., none of which I eat when the sweet corn and tomato bounty is on the table.

And, the butter for the corn should be Hope Butter, unsalted.

I should also add that this Black Bean and Rice Salad is really good. I usually way-up the amount of corn if it is fresh and really wonderful. I do steam or boil the corn before scraping the kernals off the cobs.

Up here in the northlands, sweet corn season is a ways away. I only buy local, and only that which has been picked minutes or hours before. I am salivating. Sweet corn is my second favorite food (right up there after BACON).

[Mayhaw Man]

Sautee finely minced onion, red b.p., and garlic in butter until onions are translucent (don't burn the garlic dammit!)

Cut Corn off of cob into bowl, saving all juice

Add corn and liquid to onions and sautee until just warmed through

That's it. I love this stuff. Like Snowangel, we eat corn in some form deveral times a week during the peak of the season (which incidentally, for sweet corn, is the early part of the summer here-4th of July being about the height). A savvy gardener can get two crops with any luck at all-one Spring, one Fall.

[snowangel]

A savvy gardener can get two crops with any luck at all-one Spring, one Fall.

You just said this to make me jealous, I'm sure. We will not see the first sweet corn until late July (good warm year) or early August (save me).

If it were not for The Cabin, I'm not sure I'd want to live here in the Land of the Very Short Growing Season.

[ExtraMSG]

Corn flan is tasty, but here are a couple more latin recipes you can make:

* Fresh corn tamales (tamales de elote, uchepos -- don't have time to write up a recipe right now).

* South American corn pancakes (cachapas):

1 3/4 C fresh corn kernels

1/2 C heavy cream

1 egg

1/2 t sugar

1/2 t salt

2 T flour

Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet or comal on medium to medium low heat. Puree 1 1/2 C of the corn, the cream, the egg, the sugar, and the salt until mostly smooth. Lightly whisk in the flour until just combined. Fold in the remaining corn kernels. For better results, let it rest in a refrigerator for 30 minutes. Pour maybe 1/2 cup of the mixture onto the skillet and use a spoon to spread the mixture in a circular pattern to create a uniform and relatively thin disc of the batter. (If the spreading of the batter causes empty spaces to begin to form in the pancake it's too thin.) Cook like you would a pancake until bubbles form throughout the cachapa, dry, and burst forming little holes. When the top of the pancake has started to set through the entire cachapa, flip and cook until lightly browned on the other side. It will probably take about 6 minute on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side, depending on the heat of your pan.

It's a nice, sweet, and moist pancake somewhere between a crepe and a traditional wheat flour pancake. It's good with a nice crema, like sour cream or crema mexicana, or a softened cream cheese. It's also good with seasoned black beans and cotija cheese. My favorite so far is probably when I make them with a spicy, smoky meat stew like tinga. Add a little crema in there.

Edited May 25, 2004 by ExtraMSG (log)

[Susan in FL]

It's "in season" here now; one of the towns in a nearby county is having their sweet corn festival this weekend.

We do corn all kinds of ways, and now we're on a kick for grilling it. My husband soaks the ears of corn 30 minutes or more, and then throws them on the grill, and then when they are done (maybe 15 to 20 minutes on our grill), we pull the husks and silk off and eat them with butter and S&P.

Whether we're grilling or boiling corn on the cob, we always make extra and cut it off the cobs and use it for something else the second night. Last night we had a mango and grilled corn salsa. A couple of nights before, we had a black bean and corn salsa. Often it's salsa of some kind, and sometimes it's corn pudding, creamed corn, sauteed corn, or sauteed corn and something. Once in a while, we make a something and corn soup or chowder, and then we like to boil the cobs, after cutting off the corn, for the stock. Another cool thing is polenta with corn kernels in it.

Corn is just about our favorite match for Chardonnay, and we love corn in combination with shellfish.

We are pretty corny people.

[Holly Moore]

It's really hard for me to get beyond steaming or grilling and then melted butter and salt. It's too small a window for farmstand fresh corn for passing up boiling and gnawing a few ears and apply some fancy embellishment.

But on those rare occassions when there is some left over, corn pancakes the next morning. Even better Carman's (Carman's Country Kitchen) savory corn pancakes made with corn meal.

[jackal10]

Corn fritters with drizzled thyme honey (from the Rex Stout \Nero Wolf cookbook)

[jsolomon]

Cut the corn off the cob and toss in a hot, oiled pan. Give the kernels a little color, then flambe with tequila (if you're so inclined). Mix them with a few pickled sweet peppers and some mild salad greens and some chopped boiled egg for a killer salad. Serve with crackers and cheese on the side. Perhaps with some sliced tomatoes on the side too.

Yum yum yum. Figure 2 or 3 ears per person/serving for this.

[ElfWorks]

michael chiarello has an unbelievable tasty corn chowder on his website. i am not sure what the rules are about posting op recipes, so i will just tell you that is where it is and that it is outrageously good!

xo

[snowangel]

It's really hard for me to get beyond steaming or grilling and then melted butter and salt. It's too small a window for farmstand fresh corn for passing up boiling and gnawing a few ears and apply some fancy embellishment.

But on those rare occassions when there is some left over, corn pancakes the next morning. Even better Carman's (Carman's Country Kitchen) savory corn pancakes made with corn meal.

Bingo! Window is very small in Minnesota.

Leftover corn? Could you please describe this to a true sweet corn devotee?

As a child, spending summers on my grandparents farm, we literally got the water boiling before we headed to the field. Leftover sweet corn? It, at least with me at the table, was not a rare occasion, it was a non-existent occasion.

Be still my beating heart. July/August is just around the corner (or so I keep saying).

[Bicycle Lee]

corn pudding, yo....can't be beat

[sacre_bleu]

Bicycle Lee: Which variety of corn pudding would you be referring to? There seem to be several main subspecies.

[Mabelline]

First, for youall with fresh corn from farmers, what do you pay for it? Billings is literally surrounded by cornfields, and once it's ready, we can get 12 ears for 2.00. Very good buy, seems to me. And I'd pay more, anyway, just to give it to the folks that grew it.

Corn relish!!!! My favorite. Take a morning and put you up some. Your belly will thank you, for sure!

[memesuze]

Since the flavors in this are fairly in your face, I'm not sure that I'd use the best-tasting corn, but what the heck, it's one of my favorite summer salads -

smoked chicken salad: pieces of smoked chicken, corn kernels, roasted poblanos cut into pieces, green onion, cilantro, with a dressing of rasberry vinegar, honey, freshly minced ginger, s & p, garlic, amounts eyeballed and mixed to taste

[tryska]

fried with lots of butter salt and pepper.

[Toliver]

My husband soaks the ears of corn 30 minutes or more, and then throws them on the grill, and then when they are done (maybe 15 to 20 minutes on our grill), we pull the husks and silk off and eat them with butter and S&P.

Gosh, I can't seem to recall whose recipe it was (Ina? Paula Deen?) but before grilling the corn, they pull back the husks, remove the silk and then wrap par-cooked bacon around the cobs. Then they put the husk back up and grill the corn that way.

I haven't tried it but doesn't it sound like it would be delicious?

[Bicycle Lee]

Bicycle Lee: Which variety of corn pudding would you be referring to? There seem to be several main subspecies.

I like a savory corn pudding that has a tinge of sweetness...it is a great accompaniment to roasted chicken. I usually make it by blending corn kernels with cream, creme fraiche, a little sugar (to taste; if your corn is really sweet, you may not need any), some finely diced red onion, and a little egg for stablization...fold in some whole kernels and cover with a topping of your choice...you can be ghetto and run some potato chips, or you can just sprinkle it with a mild romano and bake until the top turns golden... but damn is it good...

[Mabelline]

Calabacitas: garlic, green chiles,green onions,zucchini,olive oil,butter,heavy cream,Monterrey Jack, and fresh kernels of ( preferrably) white shoepeg corn, all sauteed and combined as a vegetable side dish. Ummm, you can make a meal out of nothing but this!

[helenas]

Recently i stumbled on the pic of roasted chicken surrounded with corn cob chunks : apparently everything was roasted together.

Now it’s not recommended to cut the raw corn cobs but i decided to give this a try.

Broke each cob into two pieces and halved them vertically. Chunks came out pretty neat and the resulting shape was quite handy for the following interpretation of Todd English' roasted corn: coated with mayo (home-made with yuzu kosho stirred in) and fresh bread crumds. 30mins on 375F was sufficient - the bread crumbs prevented the corn from drying out.

Next time i'll try the the roasted chicken (vertical) with such chunks basted with cream.

[ruthcooks]

Best frittata I ever had: the usual herbs, green onions with the additions of corn kernels, shrimp and cubes of cream cheese, topped with Parmesan.

Pureed corn soup, delicate and wonderful.

A few weeks ago I tried a casserole of broken spaghetti, corn kernels, mushrooms, and cheese. Not bad, but needs work.

[liamsaunt]

This weekend we had a nice risotto with some fresh corn from the farmer's market, Just made a standard risotto, and added the corn raw at the end, cooked for a minute or two and threw in lots of fresh basil and thyme from the garden (along with lots of parmesean cheese). It was really good.

Of course, just on the cob with lots of butter and salt is the best!

[curlywurlyfi]

somewhere on eG someone suggested taking the raw kernels off the cob, then frying them hard in olive oil till caramelizing + scorched + a bit smoky, then adding (off the heat) finely chopped red chilli, finely chopped red onion, chopped fresh coriander + a healthy shot of lime juice. Let me tell you, this stuff is sensational.