Monthly Archives: September 2012

Mexican Spiced Shortbread Cookies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Chocolate shortbread cookies with a little “kick” to them—-Oh, my!  The combination of chocolate, cinnamon and chile peppers is unbelievable; and the buttery, tender cookies just melt in your mouth.  Really they do!  The recipe has been making the rounds in my neighborhood  since one person brought them to our July 4th celebration, and everyone wanted the recipe.  They are that good!…I’ve made them twice since then and I expect I’ll be making them again for the Holidays.

MEXICAN SPICED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

YIELD:  Makes  3 dozen cookies

COOKIES

  • 6.75 ounces all-purpose flour  (about 1  1/2 cups )
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon ancho chile pepper
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar

ICING

  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup 1 % milk
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

NUTS

  • 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon butter, softened
  • 36 small pecan halves

PROCEDURE

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Baking sheets, un- greased, or parchment lined.

2.  Weigh or measure flour.  Combine flour, cocoa and next 4 ingredients (through ancho chile powder) in a bowl;  Stir with a whisk to blend.

3.  Place 1/2 cup butter in a large mixer bowl;  beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add oil;  Beat about 3 minutes till well blended.  Gradually add  3/4 cup powdered sugar, beat well.  Add flour mixture; beat at low speed till well blended.  Cover and chill for at least an hour.  This dough becomes quite soft as you mix it and needs to be well chilled before continuing.  I chilled mine overnight.

Ready for the Oven.

4.  Shape dough into 36 balls.  Place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten cookies to 1/4-inch thickness.  Keep formed cookies on a baking sheet in the refrigerator prior to baking so they don’t spread too much in the oven.  Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Cool 1 minute on baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Out of the Oven.

5.  To prepare icing, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and milk; This mixture will look curdled.   Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil;  reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat;  cool to room temperature.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla,  stirring with a whisk until smooth.

6.  To prepare nuts, combine 1 teaspoon brown sugar, sea salt and 1 teaspoon butter in a medium bowl.  Arrange pecans on a baking sheet.  Bake at 325 for 10 minutes or until toasted.  Add hot pecans to butter mixture, tossing well to coat.  Cool.

7.  Spread 1 teaspoon icing over each cookie;  top each with 1 pecan half.

SOURCE:  Unknown

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Hash and Egg Bake Casserole

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch, Carolyn's Originals and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Today is National Corn Beef Hash Day, and I just happen to have a great recipe that uses corn beef hash.

Hash and Egg Casserole

This is a recipe I developed some time ago when Mr. D. was in charge of putting on a breakfast for a men’s group he belongs to.  We wanted something easy to prepare and serve, and something that was hearty enough to satisfy guys’ appetites.  This was definitely it.  Along with it we served a fruit cup and corn muffins.  Since I knew Hash Day was coming up I made it again last weekend, so now I can share it with all of you.

As a time saver I usually make this up the evening before so it’s ready to bake in the morning.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Sprinkle on the crumb and cheese mixture just before baking.

HASH AND EGG BAKE CASSEROLE

SERVINGS:  6 large wedges or 8 medium size wedges

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 can corned beef hash, or 2 cups homemade hash
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese (Mexican Blend), divided
  • 3/4 cup salsa,  mild or hot, your choice
  • 1/2 small onion, finely minced
  • 1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs

1.  Lightly grease or spray a 9 inch round baking dish. A deep-dish pie plate is good.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  In a medium bowl mix eggs with a whisk, add in all but 2 Tablespoons of the cheese, salsa, onion and green pepper. Stir to mix.

3.  In another bowl, mix hash with 3/4 cup of the egg mixture.

4.  Spoon hash mixture into the baking dish, spreading it evenly across bottom and up the sides to form a crust.

5.  Pour the remaining egg mixture in the center.  If baking later, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at this point.

6.  Mix the bread crumbs with the reserved  2 Tablespoons cheese, and sprinkle over the top.

7.  Bake for 35 – 40 minutes till browned and tests done in the center.

To serve, cut in wedges and plate with sliced tomato and avocado.

SOURCE:  A Carolyn Original

Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers, Italian Style

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Main Dish and tagged with , , , , ,

Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers and Rigatoni

One day about a year or so ago I was watching Lidia’s Kitchen on Public Television, and on that day she made several dishes all featuring cubanelle peppers.  One of those dishes was the stuffed peppers I have for you here.  Although I did not take notes as I watched I remembered basically what she did.  I must point out that this is my adaptation of her recipe since I did not get exact amounts of ingredients.  Given the fact that these peppers are readily available at this time of year, I tend to make this when they are abundant.

Cubanelle peppers, also known as Italian frying peppers, are not what you usually think of when you want to make stuffed peppers.  Usually the bell pepper is what comes to mind.  In a previous post I presented my recipe for Homestyle Stuffed Peppers, using bell peppers,and promised then that I would tell you of my other recipe for stuffed peppers.  So this is it.  I like these particularly well because the skins are very thin, and the flesh surprisingly meaty.;  they also bake in their sauce in about 90 minutes. I like to serve them with a pasta; one shaped to hold the sauce well.  In this case I used a ribbed rigatoni.  A tossed salad completed the meal.  Oh, yes, a glass of red wine, too.

INGREDIENTS 

SERVINGS:   6

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 nicely shaped cubanelle peppers, seeds and ribs removed (do not choose peppers that are bent and gnarly )
  • 1 pound bulk Italian sausage, mild, or hot;  your preference
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup seasoned fine bread crumbs
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 large jar prepared spaghetti sauce or home made marinara sauce

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1.  Prepare the peppers:  cut off tops, remove bulk of seeds and carefully remove the ribs with your fingers, taking care not to crack or break the pepper.  In the bottom of each pepper, cut a small hole.  This lets the meat juices escape and the sauce to enter.

2.  Prepare the meat filling:  In a large bowl, combine the sausage, ground beef, egg,bread crumbs, minced onion and garlic.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Using a tablespoon, put meat filling into the peppers, pushing down gently with the spoon or tapping the pepper gently on the counter .  Take care not to pack the meat too tightly.  It needs room to expand so the filling will be  tender.  If you have meat filling left over after stuffing the peppers, form it into small meat balls.  These can be tucked in around the peppers.

4.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray; one that is large enough to hold the peppers and the sauce.  Pour enough sauce in the dish to cover the bottom.  Lay the stuffed peppers on the sauce (and any meatballs).

    

Pour the remaining sauce over all.

5.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 1/2.

The smell of these cooking is so wonderful it will make you hungry.  In the last half hour of cooking time, boil water and cook pasta.

Serve with the sauce spooned over the pasta with grated Parmesano-Reggiano cheese on top.

SOURCE:   adapted from a recipe by Lidia Bastianich

Chewy Granola Bars

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies, Snacks and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When September and back-to-school time rolls around I always think of these bars.  That’s because my children loved them and I always made them to have as after school snacks, or to pack in lunch boxes.  I still make them because Mr. D. likes them a lot and I like to have them around for a healthy snack.

These bars can be customized to your taste by the addition of your favorite fruits and nuts or chips.  They are a great way to use up small amounts of fruits, or chips left over from another recipe.  They also freeze well and pack well so you can have them available all the time.  They can easily go along on a hike, a car trip, or camping.  What I like to do is wrap each square individually in plastic wrap, place in a covered container in the freezer, and take out the desired number as needed.  Last weekend Mr. D, and his friend went fishing for the day, and took some of these bars along to munch on.  His friend called to thank me and tell me how much he liked them.

These bars smell wonderful as they are baking, and eating one leads to wanting  another one, so they don’t last long.  It’s good to make a double recipe if you want to have a quantity on hand;  some to eat, and some to freeze.

CHEWY GRANOLA BARS

YIELD:  about 1 dozen bars, cut 2″ x 4 1/2″

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cups oat flour  (or 1/3 cup quick oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2-3 cups mixed dried fruit and nuts (example: cranberries, apricots, dates, raisins, coconut, almonds, walnuts, chocolate chips)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup honey, maple syrup, or corn syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13″ x 9 ” pan.

2.  Stir together all the dry ingredients including fruits and nuts.

3.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter, syrup or honey and water.

4.  Toss the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until the mixture is evenly crumbly.

5.  Spread in prepared pan to evenly cover the bottom and pat down gently.

6.  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.  Remove from oven, loosen the edges and let cool for 5 minutes.

7.  Use a knife ( or bench knife) to cut bars while still warm.  Cool on rack.  Wrap individually to store or with parchment paper between the layers in an air tight container.  These bars freeze well.

SOURCE:   King Arthur Flour

Zucchini Crab Cakes

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Main Dish and tagged with , , , , , ,

Zucchini Crab Cakes

I was introduced to crab cakes on my first trip to the Chesapeake Bay area, and I have loved them ever since.  The trouble is I don’t find fresh crab meat very often in my local market and even though crab cakes can be made with canned crab meat I prefer fresh—the pieces of crab are bigger.

I asked my husband to stop at a shoreline fish market to purchase some lobster one day after work, and he did;  but he also brought home two large crab legs with the request that I make crab cakes.    I promised him I would if he would crack them and extract the meat.  HA! (The cook has to protect her hands.)

OK, now the search begins.  What recipe should I use?  Things I considered in the search:  we don’t like red or green pepper in our crab cakes, so eliminate any recipes with those in it. The mixture is flaky and hard to hold together, so I wanted something with moisture to help bind it together.  Yeah, eggs do that, but wait, here’s one that uses zucchini as part of the mixture. Wow, moisture, binding power, and a vegetable to take the place of peppers.  This is it!  Usually I can read a recipe and know if it will work and taste good.  My instincts didn’t fail me on this one.

ZUCCHINI CRAB CAKES

SERVINGS:   makes 8 crab cakes.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2-3 teaspoons cooking oil
  • 1 cup coarsely shredded zucchini
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1/2 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 -1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
  • 8 ounces fresh cooked crabmeat (about 1 1/2 cups)  Purchase about 1 1/4 pounds crab legs to get 8 ounces of meat. Canned crab meat works, too.
  • cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

1.  In a large skillet heat 2 teaspoons cooking oil.  Cook and stir the zucchini and green onions about 3 minutes or until tender and the liquid is evaporated.  Cool slightly.

2.  In a large mixing bowl combine the beaten egg, bread crumbs, mustard, thyme, and, if desired, the red pepper.  Add the zucchini mixture and crabmeat; mix well.

3.  Using a 1/4 cup measure for each crab cake, scoop out and shape into 8 patties about 1/2 inch thick.  Spray each patty with cooking spray.

4.  Using the large skillet previously used lightly spray it with cooking spray, and reheat it.  Place the crab cakes sprayed side down in the pan, and cook for about 3 minutes.  Spray the uncooked sides and turn over.  Cook another 2-3 minutes till nicely browned and crisp.

These were really good.  I served them with another vegetable (broccoli ) and a salad consisting of roast golden beets, yellow cherry tomatoes, and baby greens with feta cheese.

SOURCE:   Savory Shellfish Recipes of the Shore

This is for the Birds!

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

I see some unusual birds in our backyard from time to time.  Probably because we have a brook running through the property .  The birds follow the brook looking for small fish, and insects.  One day I saw a Great Blue Heron and he had an encounter with a squirrel.  The squirrel was startled by the hugh bird, ran quickly up the nearest tree and from a safe distance above the bird’s head, scolded and scolded.  I watched that scenario from inside the house laughing all the while.  Another day I had a flock of five wild turkeys, one Tom and four hens and he was so funny  to watch, strutting his stuff, opening his fan-tail and putting on a show for the ladies.

I like to let my flower garden go to seed because the seeds provide food for the birds, but we also put up bird feeders and suet blocks to encourage the birds and provide food and energy as they fly south for the winter.  Some winter birds remain, like cardinals and jays, so we have activity in our yard all year long

.  Some of those birds are ravenous feeders so keeping the feeders full can be an expensive commitment.  That’s why I like to make my own suet, so this blog post could be retitled Home Cooking for your Backyard Birds because the recipes it contains are for suet.

Suet technically refers to animal fat renderings, which most store-bought products contain.  But the term has been expanded to mean anything with a fatty or doughy base that you put out for  your feathered friends.

Courtesy of "Birds and Blooms"

Courtesy of “Birds and Blooms”

RECIPE FOR SUET #1

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup lard (available from the butcher)
  • 1 cup raisins

In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Then add the water and mix.  Put peanut butter and lard in a small bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.  Add to the cornmeal mixture along with the raisins.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.   This is good to spread in/on pinecones and hang from a tree limb.  Or you can freeze it, then cut into blocks to put in a suet feeder.

An employee at Wild Birds Unlimited store gave out the following recipe to customers encouraging them to make their own bird food to be most beneficial to the birds.  The best foods are heavy on the fat and lower in sugar and grains.  Here’s the recipe she gave out:

RECIPE FOR SUET  #2

  • 2 cups shelled, unsalted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 2-3 tablespoons cornmeal

Process peanuts in a food processor until they’re the consistency of peanut butter.
Then add the raisins and process for another minute.  Add the cornmeal and process again.  Press this mixture into a mold of your choice.   This recipe will have the greatest nutritional value for your feathered friends.

SOURCE:  Birds and Blooms Magazine

Peach Soda Ice-cream

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Desserts, Snacks and tagged with , , , , , ,

My very first job as a teenager was in a dairy bar where ice cream in all forms was served along with burgers, hot dogs, fries, and sandwiches.  There I learned how to make sundaes, ice-cream sodas, milkshakes, banana splits, and so much more.  This dairy was very well known throughout the area, and on hot summer evenings and weekends it was packed with customers from morning till evening.  We hustled our butts off, BUT, the payoff was that we could eat our mistakes.  You can be sure we made a few, and funny, it always seemed to happen just before our break or lunch time.  My favorite “mistake” was fresh peach ice-cream with fruit salad topping and lots of whipped cream.   Oh Gosh, my mouth is watering just remembering it.

Well, the point of telling you all of this is to introduce my recipe for  Peach Soda Ice Cream.

Peach Soda Ice Cream

Just a few weeks ago I got an ice cream maker and since then I have made Vanilla, of course,( my husband is a vanilla man);  and strawberry which was very good, and now fresh peach.  Each recipe was a little different in its ingredients.  The unique thing about the peach is that it calls for Peach Soda.

This is a quick and easy version with just 3 ingredients plus the peach soda.  I  did a web search and found some at homer soda .com, and I purchased mine locally at Hosmer Mountain Soda, so if you know of a small specialty soda company somewhere near where you live or can find it on line, you’ll be glad you did–it’s the secret to awesome peach ice cream.

PEACH SODA ICE CREAM

SERVINGS:   Makes about 8 cups

WHAT YOU NEED

  • 1  14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 8 or 9 peaches, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 36 ounces peach soda

WHAT YOU DO

1.  Puree the sweetened condensed milk, peaches and sugar in a blender until peaches are in very small pieces; transfer to a large bowl and stir in the soda.

2.  Churn in an ice cream maker ( in batches if necessary).  Mine required 2 batches.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.   Oh, YUM!,  cool, creamy, and delicious.

SOURCE:  Food Network Magazine

Maple-Soy Chicken Thighs

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Main Dish and tagged with , , , , , ,

I don’t know of a food more universally well-liked or commonly eaten than chicken.  We certainly eat it quite often.  For that reason I feel the need to have a large variety of recipes featuring chicken.  Whenever a new one comes along that looks interesting I try it out.  The recipe in todays’s post is a new one for me that I took for a walk around the kitchen this weekend.  It turned out quite well, and was tender and tasty.

Maple-Soy Chicken Thighs

The preparation of this dish is simple:  mix up the marinade ingredients in a plastic zip-lock bag,  add in the chicken pieces,  marinate for at least an hour, then oven bake or cook on the grill. The marinade provides a nice flavor of maple mixed with the typical asian ingredients of  soy sauce,  fresh ginger, and sesame oil. A little crushed red pepper flakes gives it some “punch”.  This recipe will be a keeper in my file for chicken dishes.

MAPLE-SOY CHICKEN THIGHS

SERVINGS:   4

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2  cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 2 Tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon peeled, grated, fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 bone-in chicken thighs ( I had a package of mixed drumsticks and thighs )
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons sliced green onions

1.  Combine first   7 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Place in a large zip-top plastic bag.  Add chicken thighs to the bag and seal.  Marinate in refrigerator  at least 1 hour.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees or prepare grill.

3.  Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade.  Place marinade in  a small sauce pan over medium heat;  Bring to a boil.  Cook until marinade reduces to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes).  Arrange chicken in a single layer on a foil-lined  baking sheet,  or place on grill.  Baste with the maple mixture,  sprinkle evenly with salt.  Bake chicken at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Turn pieces over, baste again and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until chicken is done.  Same procedure for cooking on a grill.  Before serving, sprinkle with green onions.

To complete this meal I served fresh green beans and couscous, adding some orange sections and sliced almonds to the couscous.   This, along with a glass of our favorite chardonnay, was a most enjoyable dinner in deed.  To finish it off in grand style we had home-made peach ice-cream.   Dee-lish!  I’ll be telling you about that tomorrow.

SOURCE:  Eating Well

Brown Butter White Chocolate Pretzel Blondies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Brown Butter Blondies with White Chocolate M & M’s and Pretzels

I do believe I’m becoming a convert to blondies.  I used to think they were sort of second-rate to “real” brownies.  But since early Spring when I first started writing this blog,  I’ve found three recipes for blondies, all of which appealed to me enough to want to make them.

I’ve been saving this recipe since late winter/early spring when it was featured for Easter using pastel colored M & M’s.  My thought at the time was that it could easily be adapted to any time of year just by changing the M & M’s.  So this past week, when I saw white chocolate M & M’s on display for Halloween I grabbed them and thought “now is the time to try that recipe”.

These squares are so easy and quick to make– mixed by hand, no need to get out your mixer–and so pretty to serve with the colorful M & M’s.  They taste a little salty from the pretzels, have crunch from the  pretzels and candy, and the browned butter provides a nutty background flavor to all of it.   My only concern about these bars is related to the salt content.  Unsalted butter is not specified but I would recommend it, since the pretzels add salt and the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  If you use salted butter, cut back the added salt to 1/4 teaspoon, since browning the butter adds to its saltiness.

BROWN BUTTER WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZEL BLONDIES

SERVINGS:   24 squares

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup butter, browned and cooled
  • 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup pretzels, crushed
  • 1 cup white chocolate M & M’s ( or white chocolate chips)

Browned Butter

1.  Begin by browning your butter.  Use a light colored pan rather than one with a dark interior, so you can see the color change in the butter.  Allow the butter to melt over low heat,  once melted raise heat to medium and let butter cook, watching it all the while for a color change to golden brown.  This can take from 2-3 minutes, but it will happen quickly.  Remove from the heat at that point, otherwise it will burn.  Allow to cool.

2.  Crush the pretzels:  Place in a zip-lock bag and crush with a rolling pin or meat mallet.  They will be a variety of sizes. Break some of the larger pieces with your hands.  Large pretzel pieces will make it difficult to cut the squares, but you don’t want them to be all crumbs either.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13″ x 9″ pan with foil, and spray the foil with non-stick spray.

4.  In a medium bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients.

5.  In a large bowl, mix butter with brown sugar, stirring until all the sugar is saturated with the butter.  Add eggs and vanilla, stir to combine well.

6.  Fold in dry ingredients using a spatula.  Don’t overmix.

7.  Add in pretzels and white chocolate M & M’s and stir to distribute.

8.  Transfer to prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes.  The top will be shiny and somewhat crackled.  A toothpick should test clean.  Remove from oven and cool on rack.

Ready for the Oven.

Out of the Oven.

     

SOURCE:   Cook’s Illustrated New Best Recipes

Corn Pancakes With Lemon Chive Cream

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch, Quick Meals and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

I think I was meant to live in a place where the weather is warm all year long.  I just love summer;  the sunshine, being outdoors, wearing summertime clothing, and especially the gardens and fresh produce to eat.  That’s why I go kicking and screaming into Fall, hanging onto the last remnants of summer.

One of the foods I particularly enjoy is fresh corn.  Mostly we eat it on the cob either steamed or grilled and slathered with butter.  As the season begins to wind down, however,  I begin to cut the kernels from the cobs and freeze them so I can continue to enjoy the corn later on in other ways.  This recipe is one which uses kernels of corn in a non-traditional way:  in creamy pancakes.

Since the amount of corn in these is substantial, and the pancakes are quite filling, they can stand in for a meal by adding some meat such as ham or sausage.  I like to make these for a Sunday night supper after a busy day outside.

CORN PANCAKES WITH LEMON-CHIVE CREAM

SERVINGS:   6

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup light sour cream
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 1/4 cups fresh corn kernels, divided (about 3 ears)
  • 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 large egg

DIRECTIONS

1.  Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl and chill.

2.  Combine flour and next 5 ingredients – through pepper- in a medium bowl.

3.  Combine 1 cup corn kernels, buttermilk, butter, and egg in a blender; process until coarsely pureed.  Add pureed corn mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.  Fold in remaining 1/4 cup corn.

4.  Pour about 2 Tablespoons batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or large skillet.  Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.  Carefully turn over; cook another 3 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Keep pancakes warm in a low oven while you finish cooking all of them.  Serve with the chive cream to dollop on top.

Corn Pancakes Hot off the Griddle with Lemon Chive Cream.

SOURCE:  Cooking Light,  August, 2012