Cook Like Mad

picture from BBC Good Food

Thanks to S for the suggestion to share recipes that use up your summer bounty (comment found in my last post). I’ve selected my top 5 summer produce picks and selected a favorite recipe for each ingredient. I’ve also posted my favorite summer squash recipe, inspired by my trips with D to the South. Whether your garden is overflowing or you over-bought at the farmer’s market, these recipes are tasty, easy, and trusted. Enjoy!

Asparagus

Saveur’s Pasta Primavera

Baby Greens

Summer Salad with Apricots, Pistachios, and Almond Soft-Fried Eggs

Rasberries

Raspberry Ripple Pavlova

Tomatoes

Mark Bittman’s Tomato Paella

Summer Squash

Michel Bras’ Stuffed Zucchini

And finally, a recipe of my own:

My Yellow Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

3 medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/4-inch thick disks
3 c. whole milk
2 tbsp butter, plus extra to coat casserole dish
salt, to taste
1/3 c. Bread crumbs (I prefer the italian seasoned ones here)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided into 1/4 c. and 1/4 c. portions

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a medium-sized pot on the stove, add the milk, a pinch of salt and sliced squash to it, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer 5 minutes until squash are tender. While squash simmers, butter a small- to medium-sized casserole dish.

2. Turn off heat under pot, drain most of the milk (let’s say, leave 1/2 cup milk in the pot- this isn’t an exact science though), stir in 1/4 cup parmesan and transfer entire mixture into the casserole dish.

3. Top the mixture with the bread crumbs, then with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan. Dot the top with the 2 tbsp butter and place in the hot oven for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. If the top begins to get too brown, cover it with foil and continue cooking for the remaining time. Enjoy!

-M

Scallops are one food most people love to eat in restaurants but rarely cook at home. Why? They are just as quick to cook as shrimp, easier to clean than shrimp, and when seared on high heat, make for a beautiful presentation. The reasons I compare scallops to shrimp are their like nutritional values (did you know they are both high in B vitamins?), and their market prices. However, like shrimp, scallops are brought to your supermarket frozen. Now, some supermarkets are honest about the state of their shellfish and leave them in their frozen state. Others- one major gourmet grocery store comes to mind- “refresh” (read: defrost) their scallops, shrimp, and lobster tails, so they appear to have been fresh all along. My problem is not with the refreshing process, but with the presentation in the fresh fish case- almost every other fish in the case is shipped fresh, so why would a normal shopper think to ask about the state of the shellfish? All I’m saying is I wish customers paying top dollar had full disclosure. Ok, that’s the end of that rant.

Now for another one. Scallops can be totally tasteless. Its true- they’ve been frozen as we know, and refreshing them causes them to lose flavor. Did you think all scallops, even perfectly cooked ones, must taste like nothing? Sure, the texture is wonderful, but to me at least, the taste is always lacking. if you want to see what scallops are supposed to taste like, go to a restaurant where you know they’re flown in fresh, like the Grand Central Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station in NYC. You’ll truly believe the scallops you’ve been eating are muted versions of the real deal. Right, Dad? (Dad introduced me to the scallops at Grand Central, so he gets a shout out).

Ok, Maddy, get to your point. The point is, scallops are great for you, and are still yummy in their refreshed, albeit muted, state. Here is a recipe that brings intense flavor to those texturally decadent morsels. Sea scallops are best here, as they develop a nice sear when dropped in a hot oiled pan. Don’t be discouraged, just informed! Enjoy : )

Scallops with Spicy Asian Barbecue Sauce

Serves 2

1 lb sea scallops, small muscle on the side removed

salt and pepper

Sauce:

4 tbsp hoisin

2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (found in every asian supermarket)

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

optional addition: 1 tsp mung bean sauce (also found at asian supermarkets- its like bean peanut butter (peanuts are legumes, after all)

4 leaves fresh basil

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp canola oil in a saute pan on high heat. Season scallops liberally with salt and pepper. Sear scallops for 2 minutes on each side, allowing a nice brown crust to form.

2. While you sear the scallops, mix all the ingredients for the sauce. When scallops are done, plate them, then, makign sure the pan is on low heat, add the sauce to the pan. Just warm the sauce in the pan, don’t cook it, and drizzle it over the scallops. Tear basil leaves over each plate and serve immediately. Enjoy!

-M : )

Ignore those button mushrooms next to the broccolini (or don’t)- I just sauteed them and put them on the plate to use up leftover mushrooms in the fridge. They married well with the other ingredients, though.

I’m cooling off from my sugar rush and getting back to my culinary school basics. While I cooked some great recipes in school, there’s one that stood out for its easy yet powerful flavor. Balsamic braised chicken is deceptively simple and sensible, and easily multiplied for extra guests. The rich brown sauce that drenches it isn’t ladden with butter, but instead, its full of rich, slow cooked chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, vegetables, tomato, and a touch of flour, to thicken it. No roux, no heavy cream, just a deep, dark, delicious sauce.

Now you may be wondering what in god’s name are those potatoes on the plate. Good question. In culinary school we were tortured by this exercise where we made “tourne” potatoes. (There should be that little accent over the “e” but alas, I’m new to this blogging thing, and don’t know how to add accents, so forgive me French cooking masters, as you roll in your graves.) Anyway, “tourne” means turned, and that’s what’s done to these potatoes. You peel and quarter your russet potato, then trim it, turning it dangerously in your hand as you point the tip of your knife towards your finger, to create a football shaped potato nugget. Yum. Now you could make any shape you want, but having a food blog makes you an anal cook, so I made pretty shapes with my potatoes. Also, football was on that evening. Get it? Yeah, dorky, I know. Parboil them in salted water for about 10 minutes (or until they barely resist being poked with a sharp knife tip), dry them with a clean towel, and saute them in olive oil, sprinkling with coarse salt as they come out of the pan. You’ll find they are a perfect pairing for your chicken (the main squeeze) and your broccolini (your obligatory veg). Double yum. Or is that triple?

The only trick to making this recipe excellent instead of just “good” is to taste your sauce and add more balsamic if the flavor isn’t coming through. It looks as dark in person as it does in the picture, so don’t be shy. Also, balsamic vinegars vary greatly in sweetness, viscosity, and acidity, and I won’t dare to tell you which you should buy, so feel free to add a touch of sugar or lemon juice, to balance the flavors of the sauce. Enjoy!

Balsamic Braised Chicken

Makes 3 Servings

6 chicken thighs, bone-in

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 tbsp flour

2 cups Chicken Stock

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar (the better the quality, the better the outcome, but don’t go crazy)

vegetable oil, as needed

salt and pepper, as needed

Sauteed broccolini and tourne potatoes, to serve (factor in 1 small bunch broccolini and 1 medium potato per person)

Method

1. Add 2 tbsp oil to a large, deep pan (one that has a lid that fits, ideally) and turn heat to medium-high.

2. Sear chicken thighs, meaty-side down, turning once, to color both sides a nice golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Add carrots, celery, onion, and a pinch of salt to the same pan (do not wash between steps!) and saute until golden brown and slightly softened, 5-7 minutes.

3. Add tomato paste, “pincage” until the tomato paste turns an even darker red and add the flour, mixing well. Cook 1 minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.

4. Add chicken stock and balsamic vinegar to the pan, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Add the chicken thighs back in and reduce to a simmer. Cover immediately and let cook for 25-35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. You may want to turn chicken over after 15 minutes to ensure even cooking, as the liquid will not cover the chicken entirely.

5. Remove chicken to serving plates, taste sauce for seasoning, and adjust as necessary with salt and pepper. If you desire, the sauce can be strained, but I prefer it unstrained. Thicken a little if necessary by cooking the sauce a little longer on the stovetop, without a lid, and pour sauce over the chicken. Add broccolini, potatoes, or whatever sides and vegetables you wish, to the plates and enjoy!

-M : )

Every January, I find it tough to snap out of the holiday mindset, and this year is no different. In fact, I think I’m finding it particularly challenging to snap back into work mode, since keeping a food blog makes my mind dwell on food in a way I’ve never experienced before. The fact is, during the holidays, everyone’s a foodie. Normally, people are happy to listen to my most recent concoction or latest favorite recipe, but once December rolls around, everyone, food enthusiast or not, can’t hardly stop talking to me about family recipes, food traditions, and foods they await to taste every Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year’s.

In fact, if I’m fair, I think this frenzy really begins in mid November, with the planning of Thanksgiving menus. So for a good month and a half, I have camaraderie like I’ve never had before. Being a foodie in Washington D.C. could have been lonesome if I hadn’t covertly converted my boyfriend into one, especially after spending a year in NYC. Still, most of my friends are not foodies, so having everyone so excited about food this time of year is particularly fun!

Here’s my problem, though, although I suppose it’s a “high-class” one. A month and a half of being essentially bombarded with new ideas and recipes means, for me, another month and half to digest all of this information. So each year, and I’m sure this year will be no different, I can’t get over holiday food until March. How to cope? Keep cooking holiday food! This recipe for Jalapeno Cornbread Stuffing is delicious any time of the year, but in January, making this will certainly keep you feeling festive long after the icicle lights come down. I’ve crumbled it into omelettes, stuffed it into pork roasts or baby squashes, and grilled slices to accompany a light salad, but my hands-down favorite way to serve it is in the recipe below. The eggs add extra richness and creaminess to the stuffing, while the simple act of eating the dish in the bowl it was baked in, and with a spoon no less, makes it the ultimate comfort food. Enjoy!

Jalapeno Cornbread Stuffing
Serves 8

1 small yellow onion, or ½ large one, small dice

1 large stalk celery, small dice

1 9×9 pan prepared cornbread, crumbled (I used 1 container of pre-made cornbread from Whole Foods Market and it was the perfect amount- it filled a 9×9 pan about 2 ½ inches high).

2 cups chicken stock

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 jalapenos, with seeds, minced (you can use one jalapeno if you want it less spicy)

½ tsp each, salt and pepper

canola oil, for sautéing

cooking spray, or more oil, for greasing pan

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat and and about 1 tsp oil to the pan. When oil is hot, add diced onion and celery and cook until translucent and slightly golden, 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, add cornbread to a large mixing bowl and add chicken stock, egg, and jalapenos. Mix well.

4. When onion and celery mixture has finished cooking, take off heat, let cool slightly, and add to cornbread mixture. Add seasoning and stir well.

5. Transfer mixture to greased baking dish and smooth top to ensure even cooking (and nice presentation!) Place on center rack in over and bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few small crumbs are fine). Serve immediately but be sure to save leftovers for second recipe below! Enjoy!

Stuffing, Round Two:

Eggs en Cocotte with Stuffing
Serves ? (Depends on how much you ate the night before…Count on 1 cup stuffing per portion)

Leftover Jalapeno Cornbread Stuffing- 1 cup, per person

2 Eggs, per person

1 Slice bacon, per person, cooked and crumbled, (optional) (Applewood smoked bacon is killer here)

1.5 oz Aged cheddar, per person, thinly sliced (optional, or substitute favorite cheese)

Pinch of salt, per person

Cooking spray, as needed

Maple syrup, hot sauce, or whatever you like, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Count the number of people you’re feeding and coat that many small oven-safe bowls with cooking spray.

2. Spoon about 1 cup (depending on the size of your bowl) cold leftover jalapeno cornbread stuffing into each bowl and press down with the back of a spoon or your hand to make a flat surface.

3. If you are using bacon, sprinkle it over the stuffing now. If not, move on to step 4.

4. Crack two eggs over each filled bowl, trying not to break the yolks. Sprinkle a little salt over the eggs (remember, only the stuffing has been seasoned so far).

5. Set directly in the oven, or place bowls on a baking sheet and then move to the oven. Bake for 15- 20 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, but thick. If you prefer firm yolks, simply cook 5-7 minutes more.

6. If you are using cheese, once the whites are nearly set, take the bowls requiring an addition of cheese out of the oven, place cheese slices on egg whites and return to oven for 2-3 minutes more.

7. Remove once the eggs are done to your liking, but be careful! The bowls remain very hot for some time after they’re out of the oven- warn your guests : ) Serve with desired accompaniments and enjoy!

-M : )

No, this isn’t the corny name of a new dessert I’ve created, but an expression of my excitement about having my Kashi Apple Pancakes named one of the best food blog recipes of 2007!! Amusingly enough, I found this out while perusing my blog stats and clicking on a link I was unfamiliar with. The link took me to a page of the Best of 2007- Foodblogger’s Recipe Collection. Entries came from many countries and I am delighted to be listed among such talented cooks and bloggers. My recipe is under the “U.S.” heading, of course, and is several entries down. How exciting- Happy New Year indeed!

-M : )

Healthy and decadent are two words that seldom appear in the same sentence, but this breakfast is entitled to both descriptions. While winter doesn’t offer as plentiful a bounty as the other seasons, there is no excuse to exclude fruit from your breakfast. When its cold outside and snow covers the ground, all we can think about is heavy food- stews, braised meats, and tummy-warming baked goods- but in reality, these foods take our bodies out of balance. Sure these foods are nourishing, but often, they are more comforting to our inner child than beneficial to our physical selves. What I mean is, the foods we eat during winter time weigh us down; they make us lethargic, sleepy, and slow. They require so much energy to digest that we feel drained after such heavy meals. So many casseroles, meats, sausages, and potatoes, and too little veggies and fruits- why do we put our bodies through this?

Perhaps I am more sensitive than many, but these foods truly wreak havoc on my body and after a winter of heavy eating, I spend all of spring just getting my energy back. Is that large breakfast worth the bloating you’ll suffer through an hour later? Try this oatmeal and baked pear breakfast combo and you’ll soon realize that satisfying (there’s 10 grams of fiber per serving!) and heavy don’t have to be synonymous. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Oatmeal with Baked Pears

Serves 6

Oatmeal:

1 small slow cooker

1 cup steel cut oat groats (these can be found in most health food or natural food stores)

4 cups water

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp chinese five spice powder (optional)

Method:

1. Dump ingredients into a small slow cooker, stir to combine, and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours. In the last hour of cooking, open top and stir in cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup and five spice powder, if using. Place top back on and finish cooking.

2. Place cooked oatmeal in a large container, cool, and score top of oatmeal with a knife to mark six even sections.

Baked Pears:

6 bartlett pears, ripe but not mushy

3/4 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup dried cranberries (the higher the quality the better)

2 cups boiling water

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp brown sugar

cooking spray

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray ceramic or glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Halve and core pears. Place cut side up in baking dish. Soak raisins and cranberries in 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes.

3. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a small dish and sprinkle over cut sides of pears. Drain raisins and cranberries, but save the liquid, and place in the holes in the pears where the core used to be. Pour soaking liquid from dried fruit into the bottom of the baking dish.

4. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 35-45 minutes, or until pears are soft and a knife pierced into a pear faces no resistance.

Pears soft and juicy after a long, hot bath in the oven!

Final preparation:

1. Place 1/6th of oatmeal in 6 separate bowls and add 1/4 cup of water (a little less if you like really thick oatmeal) to each bowl. Microwave each bowl on high for 2 minutes (approx) and top each with two stuffed pear halves. Enjoy!

-M : )

Tonight’s dinner was both simple and impressive- simple for the chef, impressive for the bf. Does weeknight cooking get any better than that? I named these pork chops “Autumn” since they share the plate with mushroom-stuffed tomatoes. Stuffing, in any form, epitomizes fall to me, and here, crammed inside hollow tomatoes, it enriches a would-be tasteless fruit this time of year.

The pan sauce is simple and efficient and there’s no need to follow my recipe if you don’t have cherry tomatoes on hand (they can be kind of pricey this time of year). Instead, replace the cherry tomatoes with the chopped innards you removed from the large tomatoes and save yourself 4 bucks. The point of adding tomatoes is twofold: color and acidity. While the pan sauce has thyme in it, the red perks up the color while simultaneously balancing the stock-based sauce. The sauce, having been thickened with flour, needs the acidity to draw it out of “dullsville,” as my mother would say. No need to go there- sliced cherry tomatoes, tomato scraps, or even some lemon juice, will keep you far away.

No story necessary for this dinner, its just good, fresh, healthy food. Oh, and the stuffed tomatoes are an excellent vessel for getting more veggies into your child’s diet (or your boyfriend’s!). An untrained palate will never know there are mushrooms hiding in there, but the body that mouth feeds will reap the benefits. Enjoy! : )

Autumn Pork Chops with Stuffed Tomatoes

Serves 2

2 boneless pork chops
2 3” wide tomatoes, insides removed so only 1/2″ thick shell remains
3 large mushrooms, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced, separated in two equal portions
2 ribs celery, diced, separated in two equal portions
1 tsp fresh thyme (dried can be substituted), separated into 2 equal portions
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp parmesean, grated
1/2 cup (about 8-10) grape tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 tbsp flour (all purpose works well)
salt and pepper to taste
oil for sauteing vegetables (about 2 tbsp)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place cover a small cookie sheet or ovensafe dish with a layer of aluminum foil.

2. In a small saute pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and add mushrooms and one portion each of onions and celery. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Saute until golden over medium high heat, about 5 minutes.

3. Turn the heat to low, add 1/2 cup chicken stock and mix well.

4. Take the pan off the heat, add breadcrumbs and 1/2 tsp thyme to pan, and once the mixture has cooled slightly, add the egg and mix well.

5. Using a spoon, distribute the stuffing evenly into the two tomatoes. Pack tightly and place the tomatoes on the aluminum foil covered baking sheet and transfer to oven. Cook for 25 minutes or until stuffing is golden.

Stuffed tomatoes ready for the oven!

6. While tomatoes bake, place heavy skillet over high heat and season pork chops with salt and pepper. Add pork chops to pan and leave undisturbed for 4-5 minutes, until topsides look very moist and the sides look cooked halfway up. Flip and cook other side until you have reached your desired level of doneness.

7. Remove pork chops to clean cutting board to rest and redistribute juices; reduce heat to medium high and add tomatoes and remaining portions of onions, celery, and thyme to the pan. Cook until golden, add flour and incorporate well, then add remaining chicken stock and raise heat to high.

Thickening the pan sauce

8. Cook until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon and turn off the heat. At this point the stuffed tomatoes are ready, so take them out of the oven and place one on each plate. Top each with 1 tbsp parmesean. Place one pork chop on each plate and spoon desired amount of sauce over each. Serve and enjoy!

-M : )

picture courtesy of HSN.com

Ok, I’m embarrassed to admit this, but a few weeks ago while sleeplessly flipping channels late at night, I came across a special on the Home Shopping Network that I couldn’t turn away from. While I readily accept that I am a food tv-aholic, I have a hard time admitting that I purposefully watched a channel that sells useless trinkets and gimmicky makeup 99% of the time. However, when I saw Todd English, famed executive chef and restaurateur, selling GreenPans, I abandoned my usual assumptions about the HSN and set the remote down. I was sucked in, eyes wide, jaw on the floor, as Chef English and his team demonstrated the pan’s mind-blowing properties: 100% non-stick, non-toxic, and oven-ready, up to 900 degrees. No other piece of kitchen equipment can boast this trifecta.

I say mind-blowing with full confidence. Have you ever cracked an egg into a un-greased nonstick pan thinking that the pan, new or old, might actually live up to its name, and yield you a neat, whole, over-easy, only to find yourself making “i-meant-to-do-this” checkerboard scrambled eggs a minute later? Yeah, you know what botched eggs I’m talking about. Sure, they still taste good, but you’re not giving that to a guest. For the seasoned cook, this mishap will mean nothing, just a re-do, with some oil in the pan next time. For the beginner cook, this could mean discouragement and possibly less interest in cooking (clearly not a good thing!). So, when I saw Todd English and his team cooking with these pans, using no oil or fat to “saute” fish, make pancakes, and flip crepes, I knew these pans would be the perfect tool for a beginner cook in my life: my boyfriend. Since it seems to be the trend in blogs to not use real names, we’ll call him D.

D starting cooking in earnest about 6 months ago and has successfully ventured into the worlds of paninis, pastas, and omelets. In an effort to encourage him to continue cooking, I bought him a GreenPan and he’s never been happier or more confident in the kitchen! Not only is the GreenPan insanely non-stick, it can also withstand temperatures up to 900 degrees! Even with the gas flame maxed out, your stovetop doesn’t get hotter than that, and your oven and broiler can’t get close to 700 degrees, let alone 900. Unlike other non-stick pans that are coated in teflon (toxic at anything above a medium-low flame!), GreenPans are “Thermolon-based” and release no toxins into the atmosphere if overheated, thereby reducing our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. If you’re skeptical about the harmful effects of teflon, check out this article, or google “harmful teflon” and see what pops up. I assure you, you’ll never spend $35 more wisely.

So of course, even though it’s D’s pan, I was dying to test it out for myself! When I made brunch last weekend I gave it the ultimate test: sunny-side up eggs, with no oil/fat in the pan to lubricate them. When making sunny-side up eggs, its only the egg white, pure protein, that touches the pan, so if these didn’t stick, nothing could. The result? Perfect, intact eggs. In fact, foods are downright slippery on this pan’s surface, even with no fat present! No makeshift scrambles in sight.

Corn fritters shallow-frying in the GreenPan (I did use oil for these)

*No recipe this week, but here’s a pic of the resulting brunch dish I made from the sunny-side up eggs: Corn fritters (yup, same recipe as my earlier post) topped with guacamole, crispy applewood-smoked bacon, sunny-side up eggs and slices of raw milk cheddar.

Sunny-side up eggs on corn fritters for breakfast, yum!

Oh yeah, did I mention the health benefits of not needing fat to cook in this pan? No? Well, D and I figure, if we’re not using fat to cook our eggs, we might as well enjoy them with some bacon ; )

-M : )

Summer Corn Fritters with Mixed Fruit Salsa

People constantly ask me, “What’s your favorite thing to make?” As if I, having gone to culinary school, should have a set answer for this question. As if I’m not a great cook if I don’t have an answer. Please. The reason I don’t have an answer is because this is an unanswerable question. Do you ask a parent which child is their favorite? I hope not. How could someone choose a favorite dish? With every dish I make again and again I gain mastery of it, and with every new dish I make or create I expand my culinary repertoire. While these feelings of mastery and novelty are equally as satisfying in their own ways, I constantly find myself more inclined to cook a new dish over one that is tried and true.

Since I don’t cook much in my apartment in New York, when I go down to DC to visit my boyfriend, I love taking advantage of his larger kitchen and surprising him with new dishes. I also love the challenge of cooking something new. I don’t come from a family that has a rich culinary heritage, so when I started cooking when I was 12 years old, I started with a pretty clean slate. Sure, my mom taught me how to measure, mix, bake, and saute, and my dad taught me how to grill and make a mean dish of lox, eggs, and onions, but the food we ate was largely based on what we found at the supermarket that was fresh and healthy (and often, organic), rather than on recipes passed down through generations.

As a result, I feel no duty to keep certain dishes alive, nor do I feel compelled to learn family dishes before I delve into making others that truly pique my interest. I am in the clear. I can cook what I want. Maybe that lack of responsibility to pass down culinary traditions is what frees me to cook simply what I’m interested in cooking. I suppose I take full advantage of this freedom by cooking something new nearly every time I cook. Maybe not something completely new, but I always have to add a new twist. The only real exception to this is my omelet- which I have down to a science- but that’s for another post.

So the more “new” dishes I cook, the more I realize that creating a satisfying meal is more than just finding a balance in its taste elements (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami); it’s also about finding a balance- or an appropriate contrast- in its temperature. Often, we take this for granted. For example, aren’t most fried foods served hot with a cold sauce? Have you really ever thought about how pervasive this is? I have, and here are some examples: crab cakes with remoulade, fried fish with tartar sauce, falafel with hummus, chicken wings with blue cheese dressing….I could go on and on. The thing is, all of these cold elements aren’t healthy (save, hummus), so while they add a cold contrast, they only really serve to make an already unhealthy food even unhealthier. My solution was to create a healthier fried dish with an even healthier cold element to satisfy my craving of having a dish with a contrast in temperatures: corn fritters with mixed fruit salsa! The corn fritters are sweet and savory, as is the salsa, which includes peaches, mangoes, pineapple, red onions, lime juice, and cilantro. Serve this as an appetizer, as a vegetarian entree, or add grilled shrimp, for a heartier meal. Enjoy! We did : )

Summer Corn Fritters with Mixed Fruit Salsa

Yield: 4 Servings

For Salsa: (hint: make this first so it can macerate in the fridge while you cook the fritters. The flavors will meld and yield you a better result. Adjust the salt right before serving. )

2 yellow peaches, diced

1 large mango, or two small mangoes, peeled and diced

1/2 pineapple, trimmed of rough exterior and inner brown seeds, diced (eat the other half as a snack or save for later)

1 small red onion, minced

1 lime, juiced

1/4 cup cilantro (or to taste), minced

1/4 cup canola oil

slightly less salt than desired, to taste

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to macerate, at least 30 min, but up to 5 hours.

For Corn Fritters:

3 ears fresh corn (white, yellow, or mixed), shucked, kernels cut off the cob with a large knife.

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal (don’t buy cornmeal just for this, you can substitute 1/4 cup flour if you don’t have it in your pantry)

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (or buttermilk, if you’re feeling adventurous)

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/8 cup cilantro, minced

1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced (optional)

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

Canola oil (or peanut oil, if no one’s allergic), for frying

Method:

1. Mix flour and cornmeal in a large bowl. Mix the egg and milk in a separate bowl until well incorporated and add to dry ingredients. Mix gently, leaving some flour in clumps. Fold in corn kernels, cilantro, jalapeno (if using), and 2 tbsp canola oil. Be careful to only mix to incorporate the ingredients, no further. Over-mixing will activate the gluten in the flour and yield you a tough fritter rather than a delicate one. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Batter will be very thick.

2. Heat enough oil in a large pan to come a 1/2 inch up the sides, over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, test a spoonful of the batter to check the seasoning, and adjust the salt/pepper/cayenne as necessary. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and spread each with the back of a spoon to a diameter of 2-3 inches. They should be about a 1/4 inch thick. Shallow fry on one side until golden brown, flip, and finish browning on the other side. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with the salsa piled on top, or served on the side.

*Note: These are also excellent with guacamole! (Guacamole: Mash 2 avocados, add 1/2 small onion (minced), 1 small tomato (seeded and diced), the juice of 1/2 a lime and 2 tbsp minced cilantro, and adjust salt to taste. Add 1 minced jalapeno (seeds and ribs removed) or 1/2 minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce, if you want it spicy.)

Enjoy!

-M : )