Corn Cakes with Garden Relish

There are some things in life that have become so synonymous with other things that it's hard to imagine one without the other.  Peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, chocolate with pretty much anything, and of course summer and Jersey corn.  Growing up in New Jersey, right next to a farm, there was nothing better than buying freshly picked sweet Jersey corn from the roadside stand.  To this day, it's a simple pleasure that really can't be beat.  But since I know I can only get this delicious corn for a short time during the summer, I usually buy a lot, and then after I've stuffed myself into a corn coma, I'm all corned out until the next summer.  


So this year I found some new recipes to incorporate my beloved Jersey corn.  The first is a delicious corn cake with garden relish.  While my hubs grilled up some burgers and dogs, I made the corn cakes and they were a perfect compliment!  Just an FYI, the garden relish was absolutely delicious on my hot dog :)


Corn Cakes with Garden Relish:
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens: Fresh Corn Cakes

Ingredients:
Corn Cakes:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup quick cooking polenta mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 recipe Garden Relish
Fresh Basil leaves (optional)


Garden Relish:
1 large seeded and chopped red sweet pepper
1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste. 


Directions
1.  In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  Add corn and onion.  Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until onion is just tender.  Remove from heat; cool slightly.  Place half of the corn mixture in a food processor.  Cover and process until nearly smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in the buttermilk and egg.


2.  In another bowl, stir together the polenta mix, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the polenta mixture to the buttermilk misture and stir until just combined.  Stir in the remaining corn mixture.


3.  In a very large skillet heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  For each corn cake, pour about 1/4 cup batter into hot skillet, spread batter if necessary.  Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Add more oil to skillet as needed when frying remaining cakes.  Spoon relish over corn cakes and if desired, top with basil


Garden Relish:
In a bowl, combine 1 large seeded and chopped red sweet pepper, 1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, 1/2 cup chopped onion, and 1/4 cup chopped basil.  Stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  


Makes 6 servings. 

MMM...Onion Rings!

Crazy as it may seem, I did not start eating onion rings until about a year or two ago.  But now...oh I'm addicted!  I started small by stealing a ring or two from my husband's plate to sharing an order with someone to inhailing an entire order of rings myself.  The progress to wolfing down rings like it's my job happened rather quickly, and I now I love trying onion rings at new places.  


The other night I really wanted some and decided to try to make them myself.  I found a recipe from Emeril and as I started reading it, I thought " I NEED to make these!" After making them at home and realizing how easy and delicious they are, I'll be making these on a regular basis. There is just enough spice to really make them pop and the crispy outside was to die for!

Spicy Onion Rings:
Reicpe from Emeril's Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1/4 cup Essence, recipe follows
• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rings
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

In a bowl, combine the buttermilk with the hot sauce and 2 teaspoons of Essence. Add the onion rings and press to coat. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

In a medium pot, heat the oil to 360 degrees F.

In a shallow bowl or large dish, combine the flour with 2 tablespoons of the Essence. Dredge the onions in the seasoned flour, coating each ring evenly. ** I double coated the rings, and it made a huge difference in getting a nice thick and crispy crust. Shake off any excess flour and carefully place the rings in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning to cook evenly and prevent sticking, about 3 minutes per batch. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Season the fried onion rings with Essence, and repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Serve hot.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Fried Deviled Eggs

The hubs loves deviled eggs and as you can probably guess, I do not.  I love hard-boiled eggs, but just the white part.  I don't like the yolks but that's okay, I have a great system.  I eat the white part and the dogs get the yolks and we're all happy with this arrangement.  So it's pretty hard to like deviled eggs when you don't like the yolk, or mayo or mustard for that matter. (I'm thinking you're probably realizing at this point that wasn't exaggerating in my intro, I am in fact a huge culinary pain in the ass).  Anyway, I had heard about deep fried deviled eggs, and I just knew that hubs would love this.  So I decided to try to make them, and even promised to try to eat one!  This may seem silly to anyone reading this, but me eating a deep fried deviled egg is about equivalent of a normal person trying something that seems disgusting, like bulls testicals or eyeballs of some kind (or insert your own disgusting idea here). 

So here's how I made them:

I adapated a recipe courtesy of The Neely's Fried Deviled Eggs.  I made my own deviled eggs however, so here is the recipe of my deviled eggs, and The Neely's process on how to fry them up!

6 hard boiled eggs

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Spicy mustard

3 pieces of crumbled bacon

Dash hot sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup panko crumbs

Peanut oil, for frying

Peel the eggs and slice lengthwise. Remove the yolks to a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, bacon, hot sauce and salt and pepper. Mash the yolks together with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Fill the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, add 1 cup of flour and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, beat the eggs, in a third bowl, add 1 cup of panko.

Dip the eggs into the flour, then the egg and finally into the panko. Gently put the eggs into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined sheet tray. Season with salt and pepper.

The verdict:  Delicious!  I was surprised I liked them so much, especially considering my lack of interest in some of the ingredients.  But everything is delicious when fried right?  The hubs loved them too!  He was eating them almost as quickly as I was pulling them out of the fryer.  I would absolutely make these again....and even eat them! 

A little introduction....

Hi, I'm Dana, and I'm a picky eater.  Yes, it's shameful but true.  The list of foods I do not like, will not try, and will never eat again is unfortunately much longer than the list of foods I love.  Basically I'm a culinary pain in the ass.  I'm that person who is forever ordering meals and asking them to withhold half of the ingredients.  Chefs definitely hate me for this, and until recently I was content to live my life as a cheeseburger, pizza, and chicken finger-eating adult.  But lately, I've been getting bored with my go-to meals, and I'm pretty sure my husband would be thrilled if I could go a full week without suggesting chicken stir-fry for dinner.  

Although I'm picky, I'm learning that I actually like to cook.  I mean really like it.  My mom and grandma are truly amazing cooks, so I'm hoping that their talents have been passed down to me.  My husband always amazes me because he's joyfully willing to try new foods.  A concept that is foreign to me.  As a picky eater, I like to stick with what I know, and not venture into an unknown territory.  If a menu has a cheeseburger, I'm ordering it.  They're delicious and I know I like them.....how can I go wrong!  But his adventurous culinary spirit has inspired me to look for new recipes for him (and me) to enjoy. I mean what kind of wife would I be if I made him eat burgers every day right? But, as I began my search for new recipes to try, I started to realize how pathetic it was that my diet is basically that of a six year old. I've realized that in order to become a better cook, and officially join adulthood, I'm going to have to start trying to branch out a little and *gasp* try new things!  I'm not expecting to become a foodie anytime soon, but I'm going to take some baby steps to start being more adventurous with food.  This blog will follow my new found love of cooking, and hopefully my evolution into a non-picky eater!