The Bestest Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

May 13, 2016 Plate Fete

I do not think I have ever been so excited about a vegetable. Except maybe my grandmother's lima beans, they are pretty stupendous. But this corn, (insert the really, really happy emoji with the squinty eyes) is my new favorite Summer side dish. If I had to pick something to eat from now until September I'd ask for this corn and a bucket of steamed shrimp... Okay, maybe this pasta too; it's my favorite. And watermelon, but that is all.

Actually, I'd also like some hot dogs... I don't like this choosing game after all.

The Bestest Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter {Pedantic Foodie}

The point I'm really failing to make here is that this corn is one of the best and easiest things you will make and eat this Summer. It's really, really, REALLY good.

Does that sound braggadocious? I always hesitate slightly before claiming that something my crazy, carb-driven brain came up with is great, because, well, I made it up. But, I will happily give all credit to the ingredients here. With extra special thanks going to corn.

Corn, you’re pretty and I like you because you are sweet and starchy, but still pass as a vegetable, and because we both have unruly hair (except mine could never be called "silk") that ends up all over the floor. Ew. Moving on.

Do you like puns? I really like corn puns. You would be surprised hominy I can come up with. Heehee.

This corn has two surprises, the first of which comes in the form of Old Bay. That pungent orange powder is essentially fairy dust for Summer foods.

The smell of Old Bay transports me to warm July afternoons spent shelling boiled shrimp and spraying them with “butter” that came out of a bottle. When I was four that was the coolest thing ever, but now, well… it’s still kind of cool but I’m far too sophisticated to admit it.

A generous dose of Old Bay is mixed with a bit of olive oil and then slathered onto fresh sweet corn.

I like to coat the corn before I place it on the grill, and then give it several more coats as it’s cooking. If the cob is orangey after you take your first bite, you will know that you did enough. It's science.

While the corn cooks, run inside the kitchen and make some sun-dried tomato butter. Oh yes, that is the second surprise.

I will warn you now that this butter is my new favorite thing and it will likely be popping up in A LOT of Summer recipes around here. I would apologize, but after you taste it you really won’t mind one little bit.

I bought the olive-oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for this recipe, and I found that I greatly prefer their flavor and texture to the dry ones. They also have that tomato-saturated oil which adds a little extra flavor to this savory butter.

Tomatoes, along with a little oil, butter, and kosher salt go into the food processor to spin around, forming a smooth, fluffy butter.

This lovely orange butter has a very rich tomato flavor that couples impeccably well with the Old Bay-suffused corn.

I’m really excited about this.

The Bestest Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato ButterThe Bestest Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter {Pedantic Foodie}

I made this corn for Mother’s Day and my brother compared my mouth to a lawnmower after seeing how quickly I devoured these cobs of wonder. It was no time to be leisurely, the butter was melting off the sides.

This is, by far, my new favorite Summer side dish. I think I may love it even more than watermelon.

Now would likely be a good time to break out those floss picks.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

The Bestest Grilled Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

serves 4

for the butter

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil

- 2 teaspoons oil (taken from the jar of tomatoes)

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place butter in the work bowl of your food processor and pulse until smooth. Add sun-dried tomatoes, oil, and kosher salt and pulse until well combined.

Place the butter in a small dish and cover with plastic. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes, or until just set, but not hard.*

While the butter is refrigerating, prepare the corn.

*The butter will remain in prime condition in the refrigerator for about a week. Or, you can wrap it in parchment paper and freeze for up to a month.

for the corn

- 4 ears fresh sweet corn

- 1.5 ounces extra virgin olive oil

- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

Set grill on high heat.

In a small bowl, whisk to combine olive oil and Old Bay seasoning. Use a basting brush to coat the corn evenly with the spice and oil mixture.

Place the corn directly onto the hot grill and cook, turning every few minutes, for 7-9 minutes, until the corn is slightly charred. Continue brushing the corn with the olive oil mixture as it cooks.

Once the corn has cooked, remove from heat and allow to cool just slightly before serving with prepared butter.

Serve with (very) generous helpings of sun-dried tomato butter. Enjoy!

Dulce De Leche Coconut Cream Puffs with Raspberry Sauce

May 11, 2016 Plate Fete

I have a lot of kitchen failures. I make a lot of solidly good recipes. I make a fair number of great recipes. But then every once in a while I stumble unto something that is deeply, inscrutably, remarkable and I fall in love with food all over again. Last week, on a rainy, less-than-ideal afternoon, that happened, and I made what I, and my cream-puff-expert mama, declared to be the best cream puffs ever.

Coconut cream, I adore you.

Dulce De Leche Coconut Cream Puffs with Raspberry Sauce {Pedantic Foodie}

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold,

it would be a merrier world.”

- J. R. R. Tolkien

I know what you are thinking. If you have been following this site for any significant amount for time, you have heard me talk about how much I dislike (read: loathe) the texture of coconut.

There are just two things on earth that I earnestly want to love but cannot swallow without gagging; oatmeal and shredded coconut.

While that’s still true, about a year and a half ago I fell in love with a guy who LOVES coconut, so I have had to figure out a way to incorporate it into my baking.

I love the flavor of coconut, it’s just the limp, waxy texture that has always repulsed me. However, through experimentation I have discovered that as long as the shreds are crisp and crunchy, I can more than tolerate them, I can genuinely enjoy them.

Especially, when they are folded into rich, buttery coconut cream. Just before it is eaten mind you, otherwise they get soggy again.

Picky? A little...but that's a baker's prerogative, right?

If you are wondering just how fantastic this coconut cream could really be, it is the most perfect cream filling that I have ever tasted.

My mom actually walked in the door as I was finishing these puffs and decided to pipe the filing into her mouth. She’s a very graceful woman, until coconut cream comes into the picture.

I never thought cream puffs needed improvement, until now. From here on out it’s coconut cream forever and ever. Amen.

Oh, and did I mention that these tiny puffs are also filled with a spoonful of one of the most wonderful substances known to man? Dulce de leche - a rich, creamy caramel, is tucked under the clouds of coconut cream and sandwiched between airy pate a choux shells.

While you could make your own dulce de leche, I took a short cut and bought mine. Next time, it will be homemade, but this time I really just wanted to get these little lovelies into my mouth.

This recipe is entirely a product of spontaneity. I went to the market with a wholly different recipe in mind, but while hungrily standing in front of the dry goods aisle, I spied coconut cream and a tiny, tempting jar of dulce de leche. Matcha powder suddenly looked suspiciously salubrious - something I was not in the mood for on a Monday afternoon.

These puffs were born.

One of my favorite recipes of all time, stemmed from an impulsive, craving-driven decision.

While further adornment was not needed, a simple raspberry sauce added an acidic punch that elevated the rich and decadent flavors of the dulce de leche and coconut.

I told myself that these were a gift for my fiance. I told myself that after I ate each one.

In cooking, there are so many times for things to go wrong, but that only makes it all the more delightful when something goes really, really right. This is that time. Break out your piping bags!

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

Dulce De Leche Coconut Cream Puffs with Raspberry Sauce

makes 12

for the pate a choux

- 8 ounces water

- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

- 4 ounces unsalted butter

- 4 ounces all-purpose flour

- 4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, salt, sugar, and butter. Place over medium high heat and stir until the butter has melted. Bring the pot to a simmer and then whisk in flour.

Cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and quickly whisk in eggs, one at a time, until the batter is smooth and very thick.

Place the batter in a piping bag and pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds, swirling several times to create tiny honeycomb-shaped puffs, unto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. The shells should be deep golden and should feel stiff and hollow when tapped gently.

for the coconut cream filling

- 1 cup heavy cream

- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

- 1/2 cup coconut cream

- 1 cup shredded coconut

Place shredded coconut in a small nonstick skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until the shreds are a rich, golden brown. Remove from heat and roughly chop. Set aside.

Combine heavy cream and confectioner’s sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently beat in coconut cream and toasted coconut.*

Transfer the filling to a piping bag.

*You can make the filling in advance, but I like to fold the toasted coconut into the cream just before I am about to serve the puffs so that it stays crisp.

for the raspberry sauce

- 1 cup fresh, or defrosted frozen raspberries

- 1/4 cup water

- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Place raspberries and water in the work bowl of your food processor and pulse until smooth.

Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the mixer, removing the seeds.

Sift the confectioner’s sugar over the raspberry sauce and whisk until smooth. The sauce should be relatively thick.

assembly and garnish

- 1 cup dulce de leche

- fresh raspberries, optional

Slice the cooled cream puff shells in half horizontally and place about a tablespoon of dulce de leche in the bottom shell of each puff.

Pipe a thick layer of coconut cream filling over the dulce de leche, and cover with the top half of the shell.

Drizzle with raspberry sauce just before serving and top with a fresh raspberry. Enjoy!

You can fill the puffs in advance, but they will become soggy after several hours. I like to make my puffs just before I am about to serve them. Just keep the cream and raspberry sauce in the refrigerator and cover the pate a choux shells with plastic wrap. They will last up to two days.

Spring Onion Buttermilk Ranch Dip [ Farmer's Market Treasures ]

May 7, 2016 Plate Fete

Last Saturday morning presented me with two options; unproductively thinking about wedding things I cannot fix, or moseying down to the Farmer's Market. The choice was clear.

Spring Onion Buttermilk Ranch Dip {Pedantic Foodie}

Amidst the stalls of fresh goat cheese, local honey, and over-priced asparagus, these jewel-like globes immediately captured my gaze.

Papa, my maternal grandfather, taught me how to eat radishes - quickly, with unreserved crunching and an ample sprinkling of salt.

That is all.

While that simplistic and familiar option will always be satisfying, I am a very fickle lady, and this time, I really wanted something fresh and creamy, that would exquisitely accent my peppery red globes.

I also had a handful of spring onions that I simply could not resist, and they begged to be included in the fun.

And by fun, I mean buttermilk.

I get really, really excited about vegetables this time of year. I love coming home from the market with a straw bag filled to the brim, and bursting with more color than the hardware store's paint department.

Spring onions are a particular favorite of mine. Their resplendent ombre palette is almost as delicious as their subtle flavor.

Before preparing my dip, I trimmed and washed my radishes - those leaves tend to hold lots of sand and dirt that you certainly do not want to bite down on, and then I soaked them in cool, salted water for about thirty minutes.

Keeping the radishes cool, preserves their crisp, crunchy texture that my Papa and I so adore.

While the radishes chill in the refrigerator, we can prepare the dip.

Onions are sliced thin, and everything is swiftly dumped into that magic blender of all things delicious - the food processor.

You will likely want to use smaller, young garlic cloves in this recipe, since it will not be cooked at all. The larger cloves tend to be a bit spicier and can sometimes overwhelm the other flavors.

In about two minutes, we will have created a rich, creamy, onion-scented dressing, perfect for dipping.

While salt alone was always a good option, I think this may actually be a better one.

I think Papa would approve.

If you're a mama, I hope your weekend is filled with all kinds of pampering. If you are an offspring, then you better get your act together and buy some flowers. Dip is extra credit, cupcakes are even better.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie