What We're Eating - A Food & Recipe Blog » corn

Knorr Homestyle Stock: Caramelized Onion-Roasted Garlic Jam & Chevre Corn Pudding

Amanda — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:26:42 +0000

Before I dive into this post let me just say how beyond full you guys made my heart! The last post was so hard to write and even harder to press the publish button on but OMG the out-pouring of love and support from all of you has been incredible. I am going to respond to every comment and already have a follow-up post formulating in my mind that I hope to get to very soon but other work has been sucking up my time! Oh time, isn’t there any way to double you?

This Knorr Homestyle Stock holiday post about a far from low-cal side dish may seem odd on the heals of what I wrote last week. But like I said – I eat both low and high calorie foods in my day-to-day life! It’s really all about moderation and portion size…Two things that only briefly cross my mind when I sit down to a holiday feast… for about half of a second before the dishes start being passed around! I always end up taking a small serving of everything, which generally means an overflowing plate once the dust has settled. But that’s why you make side dishes like these glazed carrots to go along with items like this corn pudding with rosemary, caramelized onion & roasted garlic jam and chevre. Did you just drool a little? I did, while typing it.

One little confession: I didn’t dream this one up all by myself! I put a call out to my awesome facebook friends to let me pick their brains for their favorite holiday dishes. One of my friends from high school, Suzanne, said that she always looks forward to corn pudding – a classic regional side dish in the south western part of Virginia where I grew up. Another friend, Ayla, suggested a sweet potato & caramelized onion-roasted garlic jam casserole. Bada bing bada boom! Why not merge the two? And throw in some chevre and while we’re at it. When is chevre a bad idea? It plays well with both sweet and savory, which this dish has aspects of both. So thank you, Suzanne and Ayla, for helping a sister out!

Now I want to pick your brain too! What are some of your favorite holiday dishes? One that makes me nostalgic is sauerkraut slowly braised with pepperoni and pork. Not a dish that most people would consider a traditional American holiday food, but it made an appearance at every Thanksgiving & Christmas of my youth due to my mom’s eastern European roots. Can’t wait to hear your what favorites are!

*I am a professional recipe developer being paid by Knorr as part of the Knorr 4 promotion. While Knorr is footing the bill, all content and opinions comes directly from my (sometimes offbeat and slightly cheesy) brain.

Recipes in this post:

Caramelized Onion-Roasted Garlic Jam & Chevre Corn Pudding

Honey, the Corn Exploded on Our Tilapia

Us — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:57:50 +0000

Tilapia, collard greens, grits, sausage, corn explosion

Some times you just have to return to your roots. That’s exactly why tonights dinner is an ode to the South. We’re eating baked tilapia fillets simply seasoned with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The tilapia is served on a bed of garlic sage yellow corn grits and braised collard greens then topped with sauteed corn, red peppers, onions, hot italian sausage, parsley, and sage.

Tasty tilapiaT: there was a lot going on with this dish.
A: heheheh yeah… maybe too much. it definitely looked like a tornado had deposited random shit all over the plate.
T: it looked like a las vegas christmas special exploded onto the scene.
A: thank god it didn’t taste like a las vegas christmas special explosion. i actually thought it was all really quite tasty. i enjoyed taking a bite with all the different elements but there were perhaps a few too many for that to be an easy task!
T: I think the corn was the straw that broke the camels back for me. It put it over the top. The fish was quite tasty, the collard greens were awesome, the sausage was delish, and the grits were scrumdiddilyumptious.
A: really? for me the corn part of the dish was really what enhanced the whole meal. i really liked the bright sweetness of the corn and bell peppers in contrast with the savory italian sausage and fish. i liked the collards alright but you know… they were still a little bitter and i just slightly overdid it with the sherry vinegar. together i thought it all tasted nice and balanced. still WAY too much going on though. i agree with that.
T: yeah. Folks have certainly eaten way worse than this. So… what do you rate the meal?
A: man, you know, i want to rate it high because i thoroughly enjoyed it and ate every single bite, but the overkill has to lower my rating some… i give this meal a 4.25/5. maybe if i had omitted the grits and toned down the sherry vinegar it would have gotten a super high score.
T: For me the meal would have gotten a higher score if the corn medley had been omitted. I would give each item a high score by itself, but I give the meal as a whole a 3.9/5. It just didn’t seem as cohesive as most of what you make. Tasty, but crowded.
A: yeah, four items was a crowd, but i disagree on the cohesion factor. i thought the elements went well together for the most part. when i had envisioned this meal, in my mind it was a really small portion with small neat layers of each of the items… kind of like the sea scallop app we blogged about last year. this thing just grew way out of control.
T: anytime corn, chopped up red peppers, and pieces of ground meat are poured over the top there’s the risk of it looking… digested.
A: eloquently put.
T: It is risky to pour it over the top of an already-full plate. We learn something new every other day.
A: sadly, i think today was the off day.

It’s…. BACON! (and a bunch of other stuff)

Us — Thu, 24 May 2007 01:41:37 +0000

the whole enchilada

Wanna make anything taste good? Wrap it in bacon, that’s what we did. For dinner we’re eating chunks of turkey breast wrapped in bacon with a slice of both serrano and jalapeno peppers tucked inside. The turkey was baked until just cooked through then served with a corn salad. The salad consisted of roasted fresh white corn, sweet and tart granny smith apples, red onion, radishes, parsley, lemon juice, dijon, and olive oil.

Meat wrapped in meat (with spicy peppers)

T: this was damn good. Those turkey breast jalapeno poppers were soo juicy, spicy, and delish. The salad was great for lightening the whole thing up. I dug it.
A: me, freaking, too. serious yum. i mean, anything with bacon is yum, but these flavors really worked well together for me. the jalapeno/serrano morsels inside of the bacon-wrapped turkey set it off and the slightly sweet and tangy salad balanced the smokey savory out. i could totally eat some of this right this minute. damn shame we gobbled it all down at the time.
T: you mentioned while we were eating that the bacon helped keep the turkey from becoming dry. That certainly was true. The turkey breasts were very moist. And dry poultry really gets on my nerves so that was a good thing.
A: hehehe silly. while dry poultry doesn’t really “get on my nerves” necessarily, it does suck. sooooo…. do you have a rating for this particular little ditty?
T: Yeah, I give it a 4.59/5. Super tasty, very well cooked. It lost some points for being so bacon-oriented.
A: what are you crazy?!? you must be mad to deduct points for it being bacon oriented! bacon rocks!
T: bacon does rock, but, like you said, bacon makes everything taste good. So you lost points for difficulty. Plus, it’s not exactly healthy.

Big pile of corn and apple saladA: there was soooo little fat in the rest of the meal that the 1-2 slices of bacon you consumed made up for it not being a damn hamburger or rack of lamb. if you hadn’t binged on the turkey nuggets you wouldn’t feel like you consumed so much bacon! recommended serving size is 3-4 pieces! not 6.
T: Well. That’s doesn’t mean it’s getting a higher score, woman.
A: i also can’t believe you deduct points for bacon being flavorful without being difficult! hehehe you want me to smoke my own freaking bacon?!? buy me a smoker!
T: then you would lose points for being inefficient. There’s simply no need to smoke your own bacon. Unless you bring in a pig and have nothing else to do with it.
A: heheh okay crackhead. I give the meal a 4.65/5. I really really liked it. personally, when i was eating it, i cut up small pieces of the turkey-bacon-pepper nuggets and ate it with a forkful of salad. it really worked. like i said earlier, i would love to have some more and be noshing on it as we speak.
T: I enjoyed eating the turkey/bacon/pepper separate from the salad. Either way it was super tasty. Don’t get me wrong, I really like bacon wrapped around things, like, um, a lot. Feel free to wrap stuff in bacon anytime. I support you.
A: sweet! i’m gonna make bacon wrapped ice-cream sandwiches for dinner tonight!
T: now don’t be a crazy ho.

Recipes in this post:

Amanda’s Mexican Fusion

Us — Wed, 10 May 2006 01:33:26 +0000

Roasted Corn with Chipotle Lime Butter

Tonight we’re eating a mexican fusion meal. Corn roasted in its husks with a chipotle lime butter and layers of refried black beans, freshly roasted red peppers, avacado, and spicy seared chicken breast. The plate was garnished with a cilantro tomatillo salsa.

Mexican Fusion Seared Chicken BreastA:so, what’d ya think of dinner tonight?
T:I enjoyed it. My favorite part was the tomatillo salsa stuff.
A:which i don’t think we actually have a picture of. that stuff was rocking. I really thought the whole meal had a freshness… or lightness, to it that a lot of meals i fix don’t have. i fresh roasted the red peppers and corn. I’ve been getting all of my produce from a local california produce market. trying to do the eat locally thing!
T:yeah it did taste pretty fresh. It’s funny because the beans weren’t fresh at all.
A: I know, but they had soooo much lime in them when i initially made them (back in like, february, or something) as a black bean soup, at your mom’s request. I just defrosted the leftover container and buzzed them with the hand blender and voila! refried black beans with an oh-so-fresh flavor!
T:wow I didn’t realize it was from that soup. Freezers are amazing contraptions.
A:yup! i thank mr. “i’m the first man who made a freezer” everyday!
T:Yeah, thanks Mr Imthefirstmanwhomadeafreezer. You’re awesome.
A:WOOO HOOO! Maybe we could give out a whatwereeating award to him. seriously. I have saved SO much money by freezing leftovers.
T:Yes, we should award him a whatwereeating award. What will the “trophy” be? A piece of cheese?
A:sounds about right! maybe we can shellack it and he can keep it forever… in his grave. he is dead right?
T:umm… heheh, I was thinking it would be a “virtual” trophy. You know, a digital one. And I don’t want to be the one who digs up his grave so he can have a piece of shellacked cheese in there with him.
A:but what if he really wants a shellacked piece of cheese in his grave? isn’t it our duty to give it to him? he did win the award you know.
T:alright well you can have a conversation with him, find out what he wants, dig up his grave, whatever! I don’t want to hear about it… in fact, I think it would be best if you kept that as your own little secret.
A:WHAT! You think i’m crazy don’t you? okay, maybe a little. i guess i can agree on a virtual award.
T:The alternative would be to put the shellacked cheese in the freezer. You know, in honor of the freezer.
A:hmmm… i think you’re on to something. can we use a piece of cheese i don’t want to eat. i have one of those we can shellack tomorrow (then freeze).
T:We could use American cheese. Nobody wants to eat that.
A:i actually have a piece of bleu cheese in the fridge that i was thoroughly unimpressed with…i know… me…unimpressed with bleu cheese?? it is really not good.
T:should we shellack it? how do you shellack something, anyway?
A:i think it’s like a varnish. you can find it in any hardware store.
T:I’m liking this idea. Let’s go for it.
A:Awesome! weekend project! well, now that we’ve fully honored mr. thefirstmantomakeafreezer or whatever his name was, let’s focus on the blog. I give this meal a 4.2333/5. It was refreshing and light…not at all greasy. I would eat this meal again in a heartbeat (if i were to ever make it again, which probably won’t happen)
T:yeah, you would have to make the soup first. it wouldn’t be as quick as it was tonight. Well, I give this one a 3.7/5. It was enjoyable, but I didn’t like it as much as most of the meals you make. I think what got me was the pureed beans. They aren’t my fav in general. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, just wasn’t as magical as some of what you make.
A:it wasn’t but i really did enjoy the flavors. I am a lot more of a bean fan than you . You mainly like them saucy and whole right? i like them refried, mushy, whole, firm, saucy, dry, or anyway they come. yum!
T:Yeah I love them whole, and with a lot of liquid. Like, soupy bean soup!
A:which these were until i gave a nice buzz! oh well, you can’t win ‘em all. This meal focused on a few flavor and didn’t really try to mask anything. just accentuate the ingredients.
T:well I’d say you won! just because i’m a picky bean eater doesn’t mean this wasn’t a success.
A: i don’t mind having a few losses. not that i consider this a loss, a rating in the 3s is a pretty darn high rating.
T:yeah. It is. The tomatillo sauce alone would have gotten a very high score. You should share that recipe with the folks out there.
A:i certainly will! and think i’ll give the recipe for the roasted corn with chipotle lime butter.
T:oh, yeah. Maybe you should make more of the tomatillo salsa just to make sure you remember how to make it
A:that can be arranged. We’ll see how close i can come to reproducing it tomorrow!

Kwaherini mabibi na mabwana!

Recipes in this post:

Roasted Corn w/ Chipotle Butter

Chipotle Glazed Meatloaf