Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes

I realize this looks like a hot mess, but don't hold that against the dish (that was just me not taking the time to plate delicately). Which is a compliment really, because this is so good, I didn't want to bother taking my time - I just wanted to dig in. If this looks familiar, it's probably because you've ordered it at the Cheesecake Factory. It's a clone of their recipe (if we can do it with sheep, we can do it with tamale cakes).

SWEET CORN TAMALE CAKES

Yield: 10 cakes (5 appetizers)

Salsa Verde:

2 tomatillos, papery skins removed and chopped

1 (4 oz.) can mild green chilies

1 green onion (scallion), chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin

salt & freshly ground pepper

Tomato Salsa:

1 medium tomato, diced

1 tablespoon minced Spanish onion

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon lime juice

1/2 jalapeno, minced

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Southwestern Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon water

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

salt to taste

garlic powder to taste

Tamale Cakes:

3 cups sweet corn, fresh or frozen (4 to 5 ears)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup masa harina (corn flour)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Garnish:

1/2 cup sour cream

1 avocado, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

___________________________________________________________________________

1.      Combine all Salsa Verde ingredients in a food processor on high speed. Cover and chill.

2.      Combine all Tomato Salsa ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

3.      Combine all Southwestern Sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

4.      Preheat oven to 400°F.

5.      Coarsely puree 2 cups of the corn in a food processor.

6.      Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar and salt. Blend well with electric mixer until smooth.

7.      Add masa and flour and blend well.

8.      Mix in the remaining 1 cup corn by hand.

9.      Measure 1/2 cup portions and form into 8 (3 inch) patties.

10.  Arrange patties on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are browned on the bottom.

11.  Carefully flip cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until the other side is browned.

12.  While the cakes are baking, spoon some salsa verde onto a platter (coat the bottom with about 1/4 inch).

13.  Arrange the tamale cakes on top of the salsa verde.

14.  Top each tamale cake with tomato salsa, a dollop of sour cream, chopped avocado, cilantro and Southwestern Sauce (preferably in a nice zig zag pattern using a squirt bottle).

slightly adapted from a copycat recipe from “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes" by Todd Wilbur (original dish from The Cheesecake Factory)

tomatillos

salsa verde ingredients

salsa verde

tomato salsa

southwestern sauce

corn kernels

adding butter, sugar and salt

adding masa and flour

whole corn kernels mixed in

formed into patties

baked sweet corn tamale cakes

two sweet corn tamale cakes over salsa verde with
dollops of southwestern sauce haphazardly plopped on top

For that size/shape plate, I should have put
just one cake on there, but I wanted two!

sweet corn tamale cakes topped with
tomato salsa, sour cream and avocado

 .

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

This is a cornbread for people who like theirs on the cakey and sweet side (which is probably my fellow Yankee Northerners, because I think classic Southern cornbread has more cornmeal and less sugar). It's also for people trying to use up the extra buttermilk in their fridge (which seems to be me about half the time). On this particular day, I fell into both of those categories. Now to be clear, this is not my grandmother's cornbread recipe. But one would assume, it's somebody's grandmother's (if not, I feel a little misled). But when it comes right down to it, I don't care if a grandmother or Hitler himself wrote this recipe because it's really good (although if Hitler wrote it, I would eat it with extra delicious in-your-face-Hitler! satisfaction because he's dead and I'm alive and Jewish).

 

GRANDMOTHER'S BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

Yield: 9 servings

1 stick unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.      Heat oven to 375º F. Grease an 8-inch square pan.  

2.      Melt butter in a medium-large pot. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain.

3.      Pour batter into the prepared pan.

4.      Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

from allrecipes.com (submitted by BETHANYWEATHERSBY)

adding sugar to melted butter

eggs added

I had to beat them in quickly so they
wouldn't scramble (couldn't take a photo).

adding buttermilk/baking soda mixture

mixed

adding cornmeal and flour

mixed

I made a double batch and poured half into a
cast iron skillet (which was hot from the oven)...

...and poured the other half into a glass baking dish.

The cast iron one cooked more quickly (about 25 minutes
instead of 30). I thought the cast iron one might come
out a little crispier on the edges, but surprisingly, it didn't.
Maybe my pan wasn't hot enough - I don't know.

Also surprisingly, I thought the regular pan came out
slightly moister. Of course it's possible I let the cast
iron cook a minute too long and that could account for it.

grandmother's buttermilk cornbread

I recommend either eating it
warm from the oven or toasting it.

 .

Corn Fritters

I love corn fritters. So on the rare occasion that I see them on a menu, I order them. But I'm usually disappointed. They just seem dry, like maybe they're mostly corn meal. And I'm guessing the corn isn't fresh, so they're just okay, not very exciting. But these corn fritters were everything I want in a fritter. I'm sure using fresh, sweet, farmer's market corn was a big part of that. But I do think it was also the perfect proportions of everything else in the recipe. Plus the mixture of whole and grated kernels helped achieve the perfect texture. So I've found my corn fritter recipe and unless you can convince me that your corn fritter recipe is somehow better, I'm sticking with this.

CORN FRITTERS

Yield: 12 fritters

1 1/2 lbs. fresh corn, husks and silks removed (3 to 4 medium-large ears)

1 egg, beaten lightly

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornmeal

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 small shallot, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pinch cayenne pepper

vegetable oil as needed

1.      Cut enough whole kernels from the ears of corn to yield 1 cup. Place in a large bowl.

2.      Grate kernels from remaining ears on large holes of box grater (yielding 1/2 cup + of grated kernels). Place in the bowl with whole corn kernels.

3.      Using the back of a knife, scrape any pulp remaining on all cobs into the bowl.

4.      Stir in beaten egg, flour, cornmeal, cream, shallot, salt and cayenne. Batter can be prepared ahead; cover & refrigerate up to 4 hours.

5.      Heat about 1/4-inch oil in large heavy bottomed non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop 6 heaping tablespoons batter in pan for each fritter. Fry until golden brown or about 1 minute per side.

6.      Transfer fritters to plate lined with paper towels. Serve immediately.

from America's Test Kitchen

corn-on-the-cob

slicing kernels off the cob

(I recommend doing it directly into the bowl.)

grated corn

I wasn't sure whether to include all the corn milk,
since the recipe didn't say. I decided to add it
to the bowl and the batter wasn't too liquidy.

whole kernels mixed with grated kernels

everything else added

fritter batter mixed

fritters frying

fritters flipped

beautiful, golden corn fritters

These are so good that my daughter's friend Emily
enjoyed them (and her mom says she doesn't even like corn).
Maddie and her friend Samantha liked them too
(but they already like corn, so that's not as impressive).

.

Grits with Corn and Vidalia Onion

The corn from the farmer's market has been so sweet lately, we've been eating it on the cob at least once a week. I wanted to take advantage of all that fresh corn while it's still available, so I joined it up with more corn (in the form of grits) and made this creamy side dish. I just love the technique of grating the onions. It's perfect for when you have a kid who doesn't (or at least thinks she doesn't) like onions. They kind of dissolve into the dish and you get all the flavor without the oniony texture. The perfect crime.

GRITS WITH CORN AND VIDALIA ONION

Yield: 6 to 8 (side dish) servings

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, preferably Vidalia, grated

1 cup kernels scraped from 2 ears fresh sweet corn

2 cups whole milk

2 cups water

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup stone-ground or coarse-ground grits

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3 oz.)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1.      In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 2 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels become soft, about 5 minutes.

2.      Add the milk, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the grits, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45 to 60 minutes. Stir in the butter, cheese, parsley, and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

from Bon Appétit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Ellen Silverman and Virginia Willis

grated onion

shucking corn

corn kernels

onions cooking

onions and corn kernels

milk, water and salt added

adding the grits

whisking

thickened

Mine took more like 30 minutes to thicken.

parsley and chives

whisking in butter, herbs and cheese

grits with corn and vidalia onion

.