Families sometimes give special names to special foods and even not-so-special but favorite dishes. There’s the alphabet name: ask for HMO when you’d like my friend Elise to cook up hamburger with macaroni and onions. There’s the toddler name: ask for a poobah fafa and you’ll get a peanut butter sandwich in my then-baby sister’s lingo.
As a kid, a ‘Deluxe’ was mashed potatoes topped by creamed corn poured from a can, my mother’s attempt to extend leftovers with an incongruous air of haute. I loved that comfort-food combination then, still do!
As an adult, a cook and a foodie, however, I revel in re-discovering the fresh versions of vegetables today known in their less-than-fresh forms.
FRESH CREAMED CORN is nothing like the toothless stuff from a can. The kernels are plump and full of corn flavor. All on its own, no mashed potatoes required, it’s a luxurious side vegetable, deluxe indeed.
To ‘husk’ corn is to remove the outer inedible leaves and silk. I call the scraping technique ‘milking’ the cob. It bumps up the sweet corn flavor. To gently cook onions until they’re translucent, without browning, is called ‘sweating’.
FRESH CREAMED CORN
Time to table: 30 minutes
Makes about 4 cups (easy to halve)
- 8 ears fresh corn
- 1 tablespoon bacon fat or butter
- 1/2 an onion, diced small
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (or curry powder, for color only so optional)
- 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
- Sprig of fresh rosemary, optional
- 1 cup whole milk (see TIPS)
- Salt & especially pepper to taste
Leaving stems on for handles, husk the corn (see TIPS). With one hand, hold an ear tip-down in center of a large bowl. With a knife, slice off swaths of corn kernels top to bottom. When kernels are off, use the knife’s dull edge to scrape the cob top to bottom on all sides, collecting remaining pulp and milk in the bowl (see TIPS).
In a large skillet, melt bacon fat on medium til shimmery. Add onion, cook gently til translucent (see TIPS). Add corn and salt, cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring often, til liquid begins to cook off. Stir in sugar, turmeric, cornmeal and rosemary. Add milk, cook til corn is soft, 2 – 3 minutes. Remove rosemary, season to taste.
This is the last Kitchen Parade column to appear in print in my local papers, as they tighten their belts to face a weak economy. It’s been a thrill to write for you, to hear from readers touched by the stories or inspired by the recipes, to carry on the column my mom started nearly 50 years ago. I thank you, I thank Dwight and Don and all the staff at the papers.
But -- good news, new Kitchen Parade recipes will continue to be published here online at KitchenParade.com. First, I've already written nearly a year's worth of new columns. Second, I also publish online only recipes, family favorites like my Mom's Blueberry Coffeecake and Homemade Frozen Yogurt with Blackberry Sauce.
Plus -- e-mail subscriptions are free, just sign up to receive recipes via e-mail. There’s no distinctive red bag but home delivery is free, just like the paper.
Once you're subscribed, watch your InBox for more recipes with that special Kitchen Parade style: fresh and seasonal ingredients; classic recipes, though often with a twist and often simplified; real ingredients, especially pantry ingredients; an emphasis on getting supper on the table; recipes for family gatherings and special occasions. Plus, there are occasional extras, right now I'm thinking about How to Save Money on Groceries.
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If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, do visit A Veggie Venture, my food blog, home to the Alphabet of Vegetables where there's a vegetable in every recipe and vegetables in every course.
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Your Comments:
In re the corn: cornmeal?!? Seriously?? I've never seen that ingredient in any creamed corn recipe I've had. Wouldn't it be "grainy"? Interesting...veeery interesting.
Anonymous ~ timing is everything!
Sally ~ thank you, friend. I'm broken-hearted about it, for sure. But it's also helped me think through how to expand Kitchen Parade online and of course, there's irony that so much content is moving online (not just recipes but everything) and that is one of the very pressures the papers are experiencing.
As for the cornmeal, it acts as a slight thickener (think polenta) which further separates the consistency from canned cream corn. That said, I did test with my favorite stone-ground cornmeal and yes, it IS too grainy. So just the plain yellow cornmeal is the trick, although optional.
I boiled up the remaining ears of our Delaware farmer's market corn before it got too old, then noticed I had all the ingredients for my mom's corn casserole. Voila-scrape the kernels off the cobs, mix with Jiffy cornmeal muffin mix, eggs, butter, a can of creamed corn, substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream and bake. Presto! Fresh tasting, used up pantry ingredients, and got side dishes for a few nights.
I even made it this morning when it was cooler, and will nuke to reheat for dinner.
(Yes, I realize I am commenting about a recipe I didn't even bother to make, but you INSPIRED me to update an old favorite, so thanks!)
I think it's terrible that your column will only be online, but I'm glad you're still online!
Fortunately, website technology means that I won't have to stop being your reader altogether. And it's ironic, too, in that the very same application of technology is contributing to the cost squeeze that you (so generously) mention as forcing newspaper management to make tough choices.