Corn Cakes with Tomato Relish

 

We've enjoyed so much farm-fresh produce through our farm market this year, and while I'm excited about fall being just around the corner, I'm really going to miss all the delicious local veggies we've been eating this summer.

These corn cakes are a tasty way to enjoy the last couple weeks of summer corn and tomatoes. The corn cakes are crispy, the tomato relish is very fresh and flavorful, and the ranch gives the dish the creamy finish it needs. We ate these as a light lunch, but they would also make a delicious side.

Summer won't be around for much longer, so enjoy this one while you can!

Corn Cakes

Yield: 12 Corn Cakes

Ingredients:
For the corn cakes:

• 3 large ears of corn, shucked
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornmeal
• ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp. buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

For the relish:

• 1 large tomato, cored and chopped
• 1 scallion, minced
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of half a lime
• 1½ tsp. olive oil
• 1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced (I did not include)
• Ranch dressing (optional)

Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and  place in a large bowl. Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in the food  processor and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but  still chunky. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the remaining corn  kernels. Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and  baking soda to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to  mix well. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and butter, and stir just to  combine.

To make the salsa, combine all of the  ingredients except the avocado in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days. Just before  serving, mix in the avocado.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat  until sizzling hot. Scoop the batter into the skillet a heaping  tablespoon at a time, cooking the cakes in batches of 4 or 5 so that  they are not touching. Fry 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer the cooked cakes to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining  batter.

Serve immediately topped with the relish and drizzled with ranch dressing, if desired.

Source: Annie's Eats, originally from Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen

Panzanella

Annnndddd..... I'm back. I've been trying a bunch of new recipes, but a number of them have been so mediocre that I felt it would be a disservice to share. (Maybe I'll throw together an outtakes post...)

Others have been placed in a "made, but not blogged" file, to remake, photograph, and share because they were delicious, but I just didn't get a chance to capture their loveliness with the camera.

But this, my friends, was a lovely summer salad that I had to share immediately. This was dinner tonight and was the perfect way to use up some farm market veggies. Imagine this: Crusty ciabatta croutons infused with a Dijon and garlic champagne vinaigrette, tossed with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, thinly sliced red onions, yellow peppers and a sprinkling of fresh basil.

Summer on a plate. Divine.

Panzanella

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• ½ loaf ciabatta bread, cut into 1" cubes (approx. 3 cups)
• 1½ Tbsp. olive oil
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 2 medium, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 cucumber, unpeeled, and seeded, sliced ½" thick
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded cut into 1" cubes
• ¼ red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 10 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped or julianned

For the vinaigrette:

• ½ tsp. finely minced garlic
• ¼ tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1½ Tbsp. champagne (or white wine) vinegar
• ¼ c. good olive oil
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 400º. Toss bread cubes with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper and bake for 8-9 minutes, stirring cubes halfway through baking. Set aside.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all ingredients together.

In a large bowl, combine the vegetables and basil. Add bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about a half hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Source: adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Harry Potter Inspired Recipes

I'm so sad that I don't have the time today to whip up any themed-deliciousness to celebrate the last installment of the Harry Potter films, but these are the recipes I would make if I had time! If you have the time and are as excited to celebrate the culmination of a fantastic series, might I recommend:

Butterbeer!

This Butterbeer Recipe from Cherry Tea Cakes also looks delicious (and easy!):

Butterbeer Cupcakes from Cooks Like a Champion. Seriously, how amazing do these look??

Butterbeer Cookies from Bake at 350. I really wanted to make these today, but it just isn't in the cards. Soon, though!

If Butterbeer isn't your cup of, well, buttery deliciousness, how about Pumpkin Pasties from Three Baking Sheets to the Wind? A pumpkin hand pie cannot be bad.

Or maybe some Chocolate Frogs from Ezra Pound Cake. (Their insides are filled with peanut butter. Now that's a frog I can get behind eating.)

Thank you to J.K. Rowling for a story that entranced, entertained, and enamored us to these characters from the beginning through to the end. I have loved every minute of the journey.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

There is a great little Chinese restaurant that we've been going to for over 10 years. They make the most incredibly delicious egg rolls from scratch daily, and they use all white meat chicken in their dishes. The owners are also incredibly friendly and hospitable. I love this place so much that I'm pretty sure that if they ever close up shop, I might go into mourning.

If that worse case scenario happens, at least I now have one yummy Chinese take out recipe I can fall back on. This chicken was sweet, glazed beautifully and turned out quite tasty. The only changes I may make next time would be to use a little less sugar in the sauce and add a little red pepper flakes to give the sauce a little kick.

I will warn you that this recipe is a bit of a labor of love, but one that is well worth it if you have a craving for some Chinese take out. Now if anyone has tips for egg rolls, I'm all ears!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients
For the chicken:

• 3-4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil

For the sauce:

• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• ½ cup vinegar (preferably rice or white)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 325°. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Working in two batches, toss the chicken pieces in cornstarch and then coat with the egg. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and again in two batches, brown the chicken, turning it so that all sides are browned. Place the chicken in a single layer in a 9×13 baking dish.

Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour evenly over the chicken. Turn the chicken to ensure each piece is coated. Bake for 1 hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Buttermilk Waffles

I'm not sure why, but this morning just screamed "waffles". After a quick search in a fantastic cookbook that I was sure wouldn't let me down (America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book), I was ready to go. (Cookbook courtesy of the Westerville Public Library... Libraries are an awesome cooking resource. You can check out a book, make a couple recipes, and if you love them, you can support the author and pick up the book yourself. Or you can just re-check out the book. :) )

Back to the waffles: They were crispy on the outside, chewy and delicious on the inside, and all had that beautiful, coveted golden-color. My kiddos all wanted seconds (and thirds), and they were filling enough that we only needed a very light lunch.

This recipe is a little dish-intensive, but the end result made it more than worth it.

Buttermilk Waffles

Makes 6 - 8 waffles (depending on the waffle iron)

Ingredients:

• 2 c. (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal (optional)
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs, separated
• Pinch cream of tartar

Heat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal (if using), salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, and egg yolks together. In another medium bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip the whites to stiff peaks, 2 to 4 minutes.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well, and gently whisk together until just incorporated with a few lumps remaining (do not overmix.) Batter will be very thick. Carefully fold in the whipped whites using a rubber spatula until just combined with a few streaks.

Spread the appropriate amount of batter onto the waffle iron and cook until golden brown, about 3½ minutes. Transfer the waffles to the wire rack (do not overlap), cover with a clean kitchen towel, and keep warm in the oven.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Before serving, remove the towel and let the waffles crisp in the oven, about 3 minutes.

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Peanut Butter Fruit Dip

My oldest is not a fan of straight peanut butter. She'll take a thin layer of it on her PB&J's, thankyouverymuch, and don't even think about asking her to dip her apples in it. No way.

Until today.

My secret weapons for changing her mind? A little honey and vanilla yogurt added to the peanut butter. They both sweeten and smooth out the grainy natural peanut butter, and for my oldest, make it edible. My youngest (who loves peanut butter) naturally loved the dip because the peanut butter is still a predominate flavor. It's just tastier.

*If you are making this with an already-sweetened peanut butter (like Jif), you may want to use a plain yogurt and reduce the amount of honey to taste.

Peanut Butter Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

• ½ c. vanilla yogurt
• ½ c. nut butter (peanut or almond)
• ¼ c. honey
• Fruit for dipping

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, nut butter, and honey. Serve with your choice of fruit for dipping.

Source: This Homemade Life

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

It's official. These pancakes are now our family's favorite pancake recipe.

They are a quadruple threat: They have amazing taste, terrific texture, are easy to make, and turn out beautifully. They also happen to taste like a decadent morning treat, but without any of the work usually involved. The pancakes were ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.

And the icing... How often do you get to eat pancakes with icing? Half of us enjoyed the icing, the other half thought maple syrup tasted the best. I would recommend trying both and deciding. The icing definitely thickened up a bit as the butter in it cooled, which I actually preferred, so next time I'll make the icing as I mix up the batter for the pancakes.

It is an amazingly delicious splurge, and one that you should not put off any longer. I promise you'll love it, and I'm a woman of my word. Now what are you waiting for? The print-friendly button is below. ☺

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Yield: 12 3-inch pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1½ c. flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1/4 c. melted butter
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Add the wet ingredients and whisk together until well combined.

Preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Cook until brown on both sides. Serve with maple syrup or icing.

Icing
Ingredients:

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter
• 2 Tbsp. milk

Whisk the ingredients together until smooth and a pouring consistency. Icing will continue to thicken as it sits. If the icing is too thick, add more milk. If it's too thin, add more sugar.

Source: Baked Bree