The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Boiled or baked or roasted on the cob, corn is a sweet treat
Boiled or roasted on the cob, cakes, pudding, polenta, bread or popped, corn is summer’s sweet treat
Driving along country roads, I am drawn to roadside stands with handwritten signs over tattered wooden bins of local sweet corn.
Often, the signs promote a “baker’s dozen.” This corn didn’t travel far; perhaps from right behind the stand.
Last week, I enjoyed the sweetest corn of the summer and thought, this is probably the last time this season I would savor local sweet corn. I had to have my last fix.
I bought some extra to try some recipes from an older cookbook published in 1987, “Corn: Meals & More” by Olwen Woodier (Storey Communications). A later edition was published in 2017 by Storey Publishing.
To help you pick the best corn, the author writes, “whether you like corn white, yellow, or bicolor or prefer the old-fashioned varieties to newer, super sweet ones, and whether you buy freshpicked local corn from the farmers’ market or shop in the produce section of a supermarket, there’s only one way to select a prime ear of corn.
Ideally, it should be cool, indicating that it has been kept under refrigeration.
Choose ears with husks that are tightly wrapped, bright green, and slightly moist.
Loose, yellowing husks indicate old, dry corn.
Last, but most important, the kernels at the top should be plump, medium-size (not too big and wide, not too small and narrow, and definitely not shriveled), close together, and glistening with moisture.”
Did you know?
⏩ An ear of corn has about 800 kernels.
⏩ An ear of corn has an even number of rows, usually 16.
⏩ Corn is called maize in most countries.
⏩ Corn is technically a grain, not a vegetable.
⏩ Corn should be kept cool because sugar in corn will covert to starch at warm temperatures.
⏩ If boiling corn, don’t add salt to the water. This will toughen the corn kernels.
⏩ Corn is an ingredient in more than 3,000 grocery products.
Here are a few recipes from the book so you can savor the last of the season’s local corn crop. For the recipe for Corn and Red Pepper Chowder, visit https://bit.ly/2OlQZPS.
Although very soon they won’t be “just-picked” and local, thanks to states with warmer climates, corn on the cob is available yearround in many supermarkets. In a bind, I prefer frozen to canned corn.
Orange corn bread pudding
4 cups diced corn bread (half of the corn bread recipe below) 1⁄2 cup orange juice
3 large eggs
Grated rind of 1 medium orange that has been washed 1⁄4 cup sugar
1 1⁄2 cups low-fat milk 1⁄4 cup orange marmalade (or 3 tablespoons brown sugar) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 2-quart baking dish. Place corn bread in a large mixing bowl and cover with orange juice. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the orange rind and sugar. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and the marmalade (or brown sugar) until it just begins to bubble around the edges. Slowly pour in a thin stream into the egg mixture. Stir the mixture constantly. Pour hot custard over the corn bread and stir gently to combine. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and set this in a larger pan. Pour boiling water into the outer pan until it comes halfway up the side of the baking dish. Carefully place in oven and bake 45 minutes, until the top is golden.
Serves 6-8. Note: The author suggests serving with orange sherbet.
Corn bread
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup vegetable oil or melted
shortening
Optional: add 1 cup of corn kernels Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease an 8-inch or 9-inch by 2-inch baking pan. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, beaten eggs, and oil (and corn kernels, if using). Stir until the dry ingredients are moistened and then spoon into the prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Sour cream corn pancakes
cup sour cream
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn kernels, crushed, or, if using fresh, grated off the cob
Beat sour cream, eggs, and two tablespoons of the oil, flour and corn. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet and drop the batter in 2 tablespoons at a time. Cook over medium heat for 30 seconds to 2 minutes a side, until golden brown. Serve hot.
Recipes excerpted from “Corn: Meals & More” copyright Olwen Woodier. Used with permission of Storey publishing.
Desperately seeking
Sylvia Hodin, of Orange, wrote, “I recently had the pleasure of dining at Aqua Turf in Plantsville and enjoyed the best baked salmon with dill that I ever ate. I hope you can get the kind of salmon and type of cut and the recipe for it.”
Sylvia, thanks for your request. I will check to see if the chef will share this recipe.
Culinary calendar
⏩ New Haven Craft Beer Week: continues through Sept. 23. This 9-day series kicks off with the Fuzzy Cask Crawl, inviting you to test your taste buds, visiting each location to compare cask variations of New England Brewing Co.’s Fuzzy Baby Duck’s IPA. Pick up your event passport at any of these participating locations: Barcade, Three Sheets, Cask Republic, The Beer Collective, BAR, The Hop Knot, Prime 16, Ordinary. For details: craftbeerweeknhv.com.
⏩ Consiglio’s Cooking Demonstration and Dinner: Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Consiglio’s Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., New Haven, 203-865-4489 (reservations required), $75 (beverages, tax and gratuity not included). https://bit.ly/2Nd0xAg. Pasta making with Angelo Durante. Homemade pappardelle primavera, summer tomato salad, homemade cheese angioletti pasta with meat sauce, chocolate hazelnut biscotti.
⏩ Consiglio’s Murder Mystery Dinner: “Don’t Forget the Props!” Friday. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner and show at 7, Consiglio’s Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., New Haven, reservations at 203-865-4489, http://bit.ly/2cyB02Y, $65 includes dinner and show (beverages, tax and gratuity not included). An interactive comedy show that goes on throughout the evening during a 3-course meal. Cast mingles table to table, dropping clues for a mystery only you can solve. When the local theater company debuts their latest show things go horribly wrong.
Hamden Restaurant Week: Sept. 24-30. Hamden restaurants will feature either a buy-one get-one option or three-course prix fixe menu of an appetizer, entree and dessert. Special menus will be priced $9-$15 for lunch and $20-$35 for dinner. For participating restaurants and menus, visit https://bit.ly/1UWGumS.
Epicurean Weekend Experience: Sept. 28-30, Madison Beach Hotel, 94 West Wharf Road, Madison. The hotel along with the Curio Collection by Hilton bring together top Curio Collection chefs. Interactive culinary showcases with featured chefs and spirits expert, nightly receptions, live entertainment, and a five-course dinner with wine pairings. A full weekend experience with overnight accommodations starts at $1,250 for single occupancy; tickets are available for the Saturday dinner experience at $250. For participating chefs, details and reservations visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/1755713471194392/.
CFAL’s (Concepts for Adaptive Learning) Murder Mystery Dinner Comedy Fundraiser: Sept. 28, 5:45 p.m. Amarante’s Sea Cliff, 62 Cove St., New Haven 203-410-3679. $50 in advance, $55 at door. Proceeds will be used to improve the education of disadvantaged students in New Haven Public Schools. Details and tickets at https://bit.ly/2NerPWE.