Quick Dinner: Charred Corn, Zucchini Slaw, Black Bean, and Feta Tacos

1 Aug


Last night I made some quick tacos for dinner. I think my go-to summer vegetable this year has definitely got to be corn. I’ve been using it in everything I make from savory to sweet. For the tacos, I charred the corn over and open flame on my stove-top. It sizzled and popped and suddenly there were beautiful char marks all over my corn. It was the perfect addition to my vegetarian tacos.

(blurry photo, delicious charred corn, about to be sauteed into an oniony garlic mess)

I love the crunchy zucchini match-sticks and the salty cheese. I love the “grilled” corn and onions and the creamy black beans. And the hot sauce definitely makes the tacos complete.

SmittenKitchen has got some nicer photos than I and she also has a nice array of mis-en-place and step-by-step photos for you to gawk at. Check her out!

These tacos are an easy throw-together dinner that you could make for 1, 2, 3, 4 people or a huge crowd. These won’t overheat your kitchen in the summer time (no oven necessary, just a quick saute and you are done) and are super filling (you won’t miss the meat).

Throw together some margaritas or a fruity Pimm’s cup to sip alongside your tacos, and you’ve got yourself a party.

And if you are left with loads of extra corn tortillas, you could make migas, which I am sooo wanting right now.


Quick Charred Corn, Zucchini Slaw, Black Bean, and Feta Tacos

adapted from SmittenKitchen

1 small zucchini

1-2 limes

salt

2 ears corn

a dollop of butter and a splash of olive oil

1/2 large onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

feta cheese, crumbled

black pepper

hot sauce

corn tortillas

1. Slice your zucchini into thin match-sticks. You can take a peeler and peel thick ribbons down the long side of the zucchini. Stack the ribbons and cut them crosswise into thin matchsticks. Toss in a bowl with the juice of half a lime and some salt. Set aside.

2. Take the husk off your corn. Heat an open gas-stove flame and char the two ears of corn until well-blackened but not completely burnt. You will probably, quickly, notice that corn likes to pop and snap, occasionally spraying you with splats of corn. It will all be okay, and the char-taste is worth it. Remove cobs from heat, and when cool enough to handle, shave off kernels using a large knife. Set aside.

3. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Melt a small dollop of butter and splash of oil together and once hot, add the onion. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the corn kernels and sauté until corn is just cooked through, about three to five minutes. Season with salt and chilli powder. Squeeze more lime over it.

4. To heat the tortillas: Coat the bottom of a cast-iron skillet with olive oil and wipe it out so on the thinnest slick remains. Heat the skillet on high. Once hot, cook a tortilla for about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, until lightly blistered. Repeat with remaining tortillas but if your skillet is well-seasoned, no need to repeat the oiling process.

5. Fill each taco with a bit of the zucchini mix. Fill with a few small spoonfuls of the corn mixture. Top with a spoonful of black beans and crumbled cheese. Add some fresh ground pepper. Serve with an extra lime wedge on the side and whatever fixings you like (sour cream, avocado wedges, hot sauce…).

Grimaldi’s Pizza, NY

1 Aug

Grimaldi’s Pizza. A New York institution. Right off the Brooklyn Bridge in “Dumbo” (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

After a good solid hour of waiting in an epic line, this classic oven-baked tomato, mozzarella, and basil pizza with pepperoni was eaten in about 10 minutes, maybe less.  It was pretty dang great, though.

I recommend taking the pizza to-go and eating it in the nearby park.

Because sometimes…you’ve got to be a tourist in your own city…

Some info:

-wear sunscreen on a hot day

-it takes about 20-30 min to walk across the bridge

-be prepared to wait in a LONG line for Grimaldi’s pizza, OR just eat ice cream for your meal from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

-to get back to Manhattan, you could walk back over the bridge, catch a ferry ride, or subway-it

Comfort Food, The Theme of the Week: Honey Glazed Spago Corn Bread

25 Jul

In the head-note of the recipe for her Honey-Glazed Corn Bread, Sherry Yard talks about how she made this Southern-style classic for the San Antonio Spurs. The corn bread accompanied a meal made by Spago’s executive chef, Lee Hefter, which included smothered pork chops, fried chicken with collard greens, macaroni and cheese, ribs, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, green beans, and brisket. My stomach yearns and hurts for this meal so bad!

Craving some Southern soul food, last night I took the easy way out and made a dang-good dinner of Kraft Mac-n’-Cheese from the box (I added my own gourmet touch with a grind of fresh black pepper…oo ahh) and sauteed balsamic kale.

Ooo, and this past weekend I ate a fried chicken (and smoked bacon) sandwich between two buttery biscuits from the King’s Crumb vendor at Williamsburg’s Smorgasburg market.

Apparently I’m making it a week of Southern comforts. I’ve had my fried chicken n’ biscuit, my mac n’ greens, and today it was time for some soaked-in-honey butter corn bread. This is a very wet and sweet corn bread recipe. Super soft. It is so deliciously decadent that you don’t even need to add extra butter and honey on the side. You could eat it with chili or alongside some mac n’ greens. Or you could just go corn-crazy and eat your bread cake with some buttermilk sweet corn ice cream. Ooooweeeee!

Did I mention that tonight I am going out to eat at The Meatball Shop? Meatballs are more Italian comfort food than Southern soul, but hey, once you pop you just can’t stop!

…Oh, and I put coffee ice cream into my French-press cup o’ joe today.

I’m a bad girl.

Honey Glazed Spago Cornbread

From Sherry Yard’s Desserts by the Yard

makes one 9-x-13-inch pan

1 cup yellow cornmeal (I only had white for some reason, so I just used white cornmeal…either will do)

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cake flour (I just used all-purpose)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 large eggs, at room temperature

3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola…same dif.)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup buttermilk

GLAZE:

3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup honey (I used some local New York’s Catskill Provisions Honey)

1/3 cup water

1. Place a rack in the midle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with pan spray.

2. Sift together the cornmeal, flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs. Melt the butter and immediately whisk into the eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in the oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in the dry ingredients just until combined.

4. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until a tester insterted in the center comes out clean.

5. MAKE THE GLAZE: While the corn bread is baking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the honey and water and whisk until blended.

6. When the corn bread is done, remove from the oven and poke holes all over the bread, about 1/2 inch apart, with a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.

 

Sauteed Balsamic Kale

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1-2 heads of kale, ripped off the stem

splash of water

dash of  balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat some oil in a pan. Add the garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, until fragrant and barely browned.

2. Add the kale and a small splash of water. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until soft.

3. Turn the heat to low, add a dash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and cook about 1 minute more.

Everything Muffins

18 Jul

I eat a bowl of cereal most days for breakfast. I usually like to mix together at least two kinds of cereal because it gives my mouth a bit more excitement.

Some days I go for oatmeal (my fav. oatmeal combo is banana, peanut butter, and dates). Sometimes on the weekend I will have eggs or French toast or whip up a Dutch Baby if I’m in the mood.

But most days I eat cereal.

I often feel like I need to branch out and eat different easy-to-prepare breakfasts:

-cottage cheese on top of toast with sliced fruit and honey

–yogurt parfaits

-frozen waffle, toasted, with peanut butter and honey

-banana “shake” (blend up 1-2 frozen bananas with milk and/or yogurt)

…

This morning (after finishing my bowl of cereal) I decided to bake an alternative breakfast item to add to my repertoire. It is a variation on the well-known “Morning Glory Muffin” except, well, I had no carrots and I had no shredded coconut. Alas, I improvised and used up some miscellaneous ingredients that I had handy–an apple, raisins, walnuts, dates, candied ginger, flaxseed, wheat germ…

I call these “Everything Muffins” because you really can put everything and anything you feel like in them. Try shredded zucchini, or chocolate chunks, or oats, or Raisin Bran, or use fresh grated ginger, add some peanut butter, pumpkin seeds and cranberries, and instead of an apple use some fresh berries.

These muffins baked up to look and taste quite similar to the fresh apple coffee cake that I made a few months ago.

I used to have a job where I had to get up very early in the morning. Now I begin work at 4 pm and I no longer have to rush out of the house before a proper breakfast hour. But I do need a mid-work snack, and these are the perfect on-the-go energy boost that I need to help me get through my shift (mind you, I am already surrounded by food and pastries at work, but it is nice to bring my own snack than nibble constantly at work).

Everything Muffins

aka I have been eating way too much cereal and it is time to change things up…

loosely adapted from Marcigilbert.com

2 eggs

2/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup flour (I used AP, you can use whole wheat pastry flour if you like)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 apple, peeled cored and diced

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. dates, pitted and chopped

2 T. chopped candied (crystallized) ginger

2 T. wheat germ

2 T. flaxseed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk your eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Chop up your apples, nuts, dried fruit and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (flour through salt). Make a little well in the center of your dry ingredients and add your wet ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined. Add in your apples, nuts, raisins, dates, ginger, wheat germ, flaxseed.

Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, drop into lightly sprayed or oiled muffin tins (fill each tin about 3/4 of the way). Sprinkle with a touch of sugar. Bake for about 22-25 minutes.

Serve warmed with coffee, jam, peanut butter, yogurt, fruit, etc. Or take it on-the-go when you are rushing to go to work or school. Instant energy!

Oooo Oooo by the way, my absolute FAVORITE morning glory muffin to date has definitely got to be from Venus Restaurant in Berkeley. You must go!

Buttermilk Sweet Corn Ice Cream

15 Jul

After hemming and hawing over my next ice cream flavor, I finally decided on Buttermilk Sweet Corn Ice Cream. You will kick yourself silly because it literally tastes like sweet corn with a splash of tang from the buttermilk.

Oh, and you can see from my photos that figs are just beginning to pop up! I purchased my figs from an Italian open air market in the Bronx, along Arthur Avenue, after stopping in a pastry shop for some cannoli and rainbow cake first. Sweet glory I cannot wait for more figs to arrive in season!

Oooo and I just purchased Sherry Yard’s cookbook, Desserts by the Yard from the most fun little cookbook shop called Bonnie Slotnick’s in the West Village. At Bonnie Slotnick’s, you will find all sorts of treasures–books you might find in grandma’s closet or in my case, a book that I have had my eye on for quite some time. Sherry Yard’s Nectarine Cobbler and Honey-Glazed Cornbread (both of which would go dashingly with this buttermilk sweet corn ice cream), her White Birthday Cake with Chocolate and Butter Fudge Frosting, and all of her cookies are screaming for me to bake.

Ok, back to this corny ice cream. It is pretty great. Sort of messy to make: corn kernels flying all over the place as you chop them off the cob, using your blender, using a pot, using your strainer (twice), fishing out corn cobs, tempering egg yolks, etc. etc. But the mess it worth it. You get a crazy good frozen summer treat. Man, I wish I had a warm waffle cone right now…

Buttermilk Sweet Corn Ice Cream

adapted from Simmer Down!

4 ears sweet corn

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 a vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

6-8 egg yolks (I used 6)

Remove the husks and cornsilk from the corn and break each cob into thirds.  Cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife,  reserving the cobs. Put the kernels in a blender with the buttermilk and cream and pulse into a rough purée.

Pour the cream mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, adding the corncob pieces, vanilla bean (scrape the seeds and add them), salt, and ½ cup of the sugar.  Bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat.  Let steep for one hour.

Remove the corncobs and discard.  Fish out the vanilla bean and set aside.  Strain the mixture through a medium or fine mesh strainer, pressing down firmly to expel as much of the liquid as possible; discard the solids.  Return to the saucepan and place over medium heat.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup sugar.  Whisk in a little of the hot cream to temper the yolks, then add them to the saucepan.  Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon.  Pass through a fine mesh strainer and let your mixture cool over an ice-water bath. Once cool, refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (at least 4 hours).  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes slightly less than 1 quart.

***SERVE WITH A DRIZZLE OF HONEY  AND SLICED FRUIT (CHERRIES, FIGS, RASPBERRIES, PEACHES…) OR ATOP OF SOME HOMEMADE PIE OR COBBLER!!!!

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