corn | Bewitching Kitchen

Last Monday of the month = Reveal Day for The Secret Recipe Club! I could not be happier with my matching blog for this month: Beautiful Disasters, hosted by Casey, the coolest girl in the whole blogosphere. I first got to “meet” her when she made a flourless chocolate cake from my blog, and that was the most popular recipe of our SRC that month! How awesome is that? Casey is a hard working high school student, athletic, witty, and keeps a blog that is always fun to visit. I was thrilled to cook from her site. Being a young runner with a high metabolism and all, she’s got a ton of sweets to share, but I wanted to go for something savory. The weather is cooling down (Sally grabs the box of Kleenex), so I searched for a comforting soup. My first click on the index was for corn chowder. She starts her post with “Do you wish you had an accent?” Casey, you got me right there! I simply HAD to make your chowda.. 😉

CORN CHOWDER
(adapted from Beautiful Disasters)

2 cups corn kernels
2 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 + 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons thyme
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
a few fresh basil leaves
scant 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups water
8 baby Yukon gold potatoes, cut in pieces
¾ cup half-and-half
1/2 Tablespoon white sugar

Heat the butter in a large pan. Let it melt, then add the shallots, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallot is soft and starting to get some golden color. Add the flour and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add the water, keep stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the corn kernels and potatoes. Bring the chowder to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Transfer a little less than 2 cups of the chowder and the basil leaves to a blender and puree until smooth. Stir the puree back into the pan. Add the half-and-half then return the chowder to a simmer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and mix in the sugar.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Delicious chowder, creamy, luscious, even if I took a few shortcuts with the recipe. Full disclosure: Casey did not use frozen corn. I am sure it would be even better with fresh corn and getting all that juicy corn milk, but I had to simplify the preparation to accommodate my schedule.

Now, back to the fascinating topic of accents. As any immigrant, I am often reminded that I have an accent. I don’t mind it that much, but I certainly wish I didn’t get in other types of trouble.

Allow me to share a quick story. Day one of lab move: I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, asking our secretary, one of the moving guys, and a student “I need the doily. Have you seen the doily around?” All of a sudden, Phil gently grabs grabs my arm, takes me to the side and whispers “Sally, darling, you are looking for the dolly, not the doily“. That’s when I understood their small delay in answering my question with a sheepish “I don’t know where it is”. (sigh)

Casey, I hope you had a blast with your assignment too!
And for all my readers, don’t forget to click on the blue frog below to see the full list of posts by the members of Group D, the group that closes each month with a golden key! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Oven-broiled Salmon over Saucy Spinach

TWO YEARS AGO: Butterscotch Brownies

THREE YEARS AGO: First Soup of the Year

Long before I started my own site, I already followed Barbara’s blog, Winos end Foodies. For a while I was unaware of her health problems, until one day I clicked on the “About” page and learned that she started blogging right after being diagnosed with cancer, in 2004. She used Winos and Foodies to get her mind away from her illness, and through the years of blogging she touched many people’s lives. A lot has been written about Barbara, you can read a particularly touching tribute here

A few months after I started the Bewitching, I wrote Barbara an email and was amazed by how kind and thoughtful she was, sending me advice and encouragement. She read, left comments, dropped me private emails, it was hard to imagine that she could do it all while fighting one of the toughest battles a person can face. I feel fortunate to have known her, at least virtually.

If you’ve never stopped by Winos and Foodies, please do so. She wrote about art, photography, food, her relationship with her husband of so many years, and occasionally about her tough times with cancer. You will notice that contrary to what most bloggers do (myself included), she didn’t post a blogroll of websites she enjoyed. Instead, she created a page called Blog Friends, and listed everyone by name. A special, sweet gesture, so typical of her.

In 2007, fascinated by the performances of Lance Armstrong 0n the Tour de France, she launched the event “A Taste of Yellow” , to coincide with LIVEstrong Day, and to raise awareness about cancer in the community of food bloggers. Barbara passed away on June 29th, so this year’s event, hosted by Jeanne (Cook Sister), is dedicated to her.

For my participation in this series of Taste of Yellow, I chose to cook with beautiful ears of corn.

COUSCOUS WITH CORN AND SCALLIONS IN BROWN BUTTER
(adapted from Fine Cooking, Aug/Sep 2012)

1 + 1/2 Tbs butter
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
kernels of 2 ears of corn
2 scallions, finely sliced (white and light green parts)
3/4 cup couscous
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup boiling water

Melt the butter on medium-low heat and cook stirring occasionally, until the butter gets a hint of golden color. Do not let it turn brown at this point because it will still cook a little further. Add the thyme, and cook until fragrant.

Add the corn kernels, salt and pepper, cook for 2 minutes, increasing the heat slightly so they brown up. Add the scallions, cook until they soften, another minute or so. Add the boiling water all at once, close the pan and remove from the heat. Let it rest 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, and serve.

to print the recipe, click here