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September 28, 2005
Shauna's "Salmon/Sausage Frittata and Watermelon Sorbet"
Wow, Food Fight Four is complete, and Shauna has submitted a beauty to close it up! I've excerpted most of her post at Gluten Free Girl, but go to her place for the whole thing, along with lots of other great stuff.
Shauna drew MC's Northwest Salmon with a Twist"" as her dish to interpret, and she definitely took the ball and ran with it. Apricot sausage? Watermelon sorbet? Right on.
She also said some nice things about yours truly that I'm not sure I deserve, but I really appreciate it. When I formulated Survival Spice™ for production, I was a maniac about sourcing premium ingredients. I wanted to produce an all natural product because it tasted better than anything else I tried, not because I was aware of Celiac Disease at that point. Happily, when I checked with my suppliers, they each said their ingredients were gluten free, so I felt comfortable spending the money to have it verified by an independent lab. There are lots of good resources on Shauna's blog for those with Celiac disease, if you know someone please pass her site on to them.
Shauna's "Salmon/Sausage Frittata and Watermelon Sorbet"
Cooking, for me, like writing, is a constant process of discovery. I had no idea, when I sat down at the computer, that I was going to write about this. I thought I was going to write about sausages. But it all comes spilling out. The same way I’ve been making up recipes.
Last night, I concocted a recipe I’ll gladly repeat, based on one by MC for barbequed salmon and sausages, as posted by The Pragmatic Chef, for Food Fight Four. (You have to love the name.) The idea was that we would all send in our own creations—mine was the grilled cheese sandwich with amaranth leaves and blackberry sauce from August—then receive someone else’s, and either re-create it or re-invent it. Since I’ve already been trying to teach my new students that the process of revision is to look at something new (re-vision), instead of just changing the bad punctuation errors, I thought I’d start fresh.
Also, I have no barbeque. As much as I love my spacious, second-floor apartment (the top of a house, actually, with windows in every room), I’m starting to mourn the fact I don’t have a little plot of land for a garden or a deck for a grill. Then again, it’s autumn now, and everyone is putting away the barbeque. And besides that, Scott asked everyone to interpret the recipes, so away I went.
The basic ingredients of the recipe were salmon, marinated with lemons and lime juice. I bought a half-pound of Washington state troll-caught king salmon. (I know that all my Alaskan friends would disapprove of my fish’s home state, and normally I only eat Alaskan, but my fish guy at the Wild Salmon Seafood Market recommended it to me on Sunday.) Plus creole seasoning. MC seemed to specify a certain brand, but I didn’t own that one. And I still had some of my own mix left over from the New Orleans red beans and rice I made a few weeks ago. So I doused the salmon in lime juice (temporarily out of lemons), and shook the pungent creole seasoning on top. And then I set it aside to marinate for hours. Toward the end of Sunday night, I sauteed it on high heat and resisted the urge to gobble the entire fillet down in that moment. I may have nibbled some of the rosy pink bits on the ends of my fingers, but that’s it. And then I put it in the refrigerator.
J Meats, here on the top of Queen Anne, makes these indescribably-good-but-I’m-still-going-to-try-because-they-deserve-it apricot sausages. Apricot? Yes, and blueberry. During the holidays, apparently, there are cranberry sausages. I don’t eat them often, because I shouldn’t make a regular habit of eating sausages, but when I do have some, I’m thrilled. And temporarily speechless. They’re filled with rich sausage taste, but not too fatty, with a mild sweetness. I wish I could eat them every day. So even though the woman behind the counter raised her eyebrows when I said I was going to combine them with salmon, I still bought them anyway.
So I made up a frittata, based on a basic recipe. I bought an ear of corn, but somehow I forgot to make it. After all, the kitchen was a bit of a mess and I was just home from school. Writing’s like that too. I think I’m going to address something specific, and then I find, in the act, that my original, stubborn point just wasn’t that important. So there was no corn, but I threw in fistfuls of basil, another summer staple.
While it was cooking, my friend Dorothy came over for a cup of tea. We hadn’t seen each other in weeks, since she had been in San Fransisco for a massive computer conference. (And of course, the first thing I asked her was, “So, how was the food?”) But we never did have that tea. Instead, we talked about food and cooking and favorite recipes and Cooking Light vs. Saveur. And since I couldn’t find a canteloupe this late into September, I spontaneously decided on a watermelon sorbet for this meal. And since Dorothy has made many more sorbets than I have, I asked her for advice: “So, can I just put in sugar? Or do I need to do something different?” She immediately stopped me, warning that just putting in sugar would make sorbet gritty. And no one wants gritty sorbet. So I grabbed the only clean saucepan in the kitchen and mixed half a cup of water and half a cup of sugar. Once it boiled, I threw it in the freezer to cool down.
It looked golden gorgeous, filled with chunks of salmon and lovely shreds of sausage. The basil had all risen to the top of the frittata, leaving flecks of green. We ate it, hot from the oven, along with a bowl of the heated-up tomato-fennel soup, much, much better the second day. Even more beautiful than when I wrote the post last night.
After eating, and savoring, we threw the chopped-up watermelon, lime juice, and the sugar syrup into the food processor, then poured the chunky mixture into the ice cream maker. I learned this trick from Nic: run the mixture in the maker for only fifteen minutes, then freeze it completely in the freezer. This makes the sorbet taste fully of the fruit, just short of bliss. But Dorothy and I had to eat some before it went in the freezer, so it was more like a granita. We munched on the pink icy treat in martini glasses and giggled.
So that was my version of MC’s summer salmon recipe. Salmon/sausage frittata and watermelon sorbet. I’d happily make it again. And I’m happy to participate in Scott’s competition. He’s a wonderful guy, that Pragmatic Chef. Early this summer, I wrote to him, responding to a post he did about celiac disease. And since then, we’ve been writing, about gluten-free foods and the joys/frustrations of having celiac. Because of this connection, Scott sent out his marvelous Survival Spice out to be tested, and I’m happy to report that it’s certified gluten-free! And therefore, you should all buy some. Now. Seriously.
It was, spontaneously, a wonderful evening with Dorothy. I love how life unravels in ways you don’t expect. Whether it’s cooking a new recipe from a skeptical set of ingredients and loving it, or meeting someone online who works to make his product gluten-free because of me, or writing something and feeling the sense of completion down in my toes when I thought I was just going to write something short this time—life always amazes me.
SALMON-SAUSAGE FRITTATA
1/2 pound salmon fillet
2 limes
2 tablespoons of creole seasoning
3 apricot sausages (or closest equivalent)
6 eggs
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
1/2 cup grated pargigiana-reggiano
splash of light whipping cream
dash of salt
fistful of shredded basil
° Sautee a half-pound fillet of wild-caught salmon, after marinating it in fresh lime juice and creole seasoning, in excellent olive oil, and a touch of salt. Sauté on high heat for three minutes on each side. Refrigerate for use the next day.
°Cook three sausages in an inch of water in a small pan in a 400° oven, for about thirty minutes. Drain from the water and sautee the sausages. Set aside for use later.
* Line a pie pan with parchment paper. Lay down your favorite fresh herbs (I used fresh thyme). This will be the top of the frittata.
°Mix the eggs, cheeses, cream, salt, and basil in an electric mixer until well mixed.
°Add the sausages and pieces of salmon to the egg mixture and stir gently.
°Pour the mixture into the prepared pie pan. Bake at a 400° oven for 25 minutes or so. Let the frittata sit for five minutes and watch it sag into the finished piece.
°Eat.
WATERMELON SORBET
1/2 fresh, ripe watermelon (seedless, if possible)
2 limes
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
°Prepare a sugar syrup by heating the sugar and water together until the sugar has dissolved. Cool, in the freezer or refrigerator until cold.
°Chunk up the watermelon into one-inch pieces and place it in the food processor, along the juice of two limes. Turn on the food processor and watch it liquify. As the pieces become liquid, pour in the sugar syrup.
°Pour the chunky liquid into an ice cream maker and turn on for 15 minutes.
°Place the sorbet in the freezer, if the sorbet makes it there!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:56 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
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September 27, 2005
Megan's "Elk Salad"
Wow, an Elk Salad? After a brief flashback to "Anne Elk", the Monty Python bit, I decided that I'm game!
Meg substituted elk for venison, with great results, in her interpretation of Matt's "Melonhead's Venison Salad". I really dug the way she noticed that her sauce wasn't working, and the way she worked her way out of it.
Her post at I heart Bacon is here, and her blog and terrific recipe section are daily surfing for me.
Megan's "Elk Salad"
Here is my entry for the latest Food Fight hosted by The Pragmatic Chef. This was a fun one because everyone submitted a favorite recipe and then the recipes were randomly assigned to the participants. With the luck of the draw, I was to make Matt’s “Melonhead’s Venison Salad”.
Here is the recipe I was given:
“Slice Venison tenderloins into 1/4 thick medallions. Rub with olive oyl then sear. Add whatever variety of hot sauce or peppers suits your fancy. I prefer roasted jalapeno for the flavor. simmer a little then stir in a pinch of garlic, sesame seed and a couple huge spoons of peanut butter. When meat is done, serve over lettuce and garnish with mandarin oranges.”
Here is what really happened:
First off, I didn’t have any venison, but I did happen to have some elk that I picked up from Exotic Meats. Never having eaten elk before, I was surprised by how dark the meat was and by the thick striations. It resembled flank steak, so already I was thinking this might be one very tough cut of meat. I didn’t slice the fillets as directed because I wanted to treat them like steak and have a little color in the middle. I rubbed them down with salt and then olive oil and seared both sides over med-high heat. I didn’t have any fresh peppers so I threw in a dried hot chili and then two cloves of minced garlic. Next came about a half cup of chunky peanut butter.
I plopped the peanut butter into the pan and quickly realized that this wouldn’t work. Things were starting to burn and the peanut butter remained in a ball no matter how hard I stirred. I was picturing a creamy sauce, so I added almost a cup of water to get the consistency I wanted. It tasted like something was missing so I added a tablespoon of roasted red chili paste. The sauce was now perfect, but it was difficult making the sauce with the meat still in the pan; next time I’ll remove the meat after it’s seared and then make the sauce.
I let the elk rest while I prepared a simple salad of butter leaf lettuce and orange slices. I topped the salad with a little of the warm peanut sauce and thick slices of elk meat. I had forgotten to add the sesame seeds to the sauce, so I settled for a sprinkling on top.
My first bite of elk had me in disbelief over how tender it was; it was like eating an exceptionally good filet mignon, but with so much more flavor. The meat was rich, but not gamey and almost had a sweetness to it. The elk was assertive enough to stand up to the strong sauce and paired wonderfully with the spicy/salty/sweetness of the peanuts.
Delicious and unusual… thanks Matt, I will be making this one again!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:18 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
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TPCs Mediterranean Madness
(All photos: Mary, of TPC's Mediterranean Madness)
Okay, so I overdid it. Ana's entry really got me thinking about a style of food that I haven't prepared nearly enough, and it was time to correct that a bit. Ana's salad featured homemade falafel and pita bread, so I had to make those, but what else? Part of the charm of Mediterranean cuisine is all the wonderful side dishes- dips, spreads, salads, so I had to make some of those, too.
This was getting to be a lot of work, and I hadn't even gotten to an entrée yet! To keep it simple, I decided to grill a bunch of kabobs, chicken, shrimp and lots of veggies. Something for everyone, and some low/no carb options for those who requested it. I'll post some recipes later, lots of pics and comments are posted below. Thanks to Mary, a great photographer friend of mine, who took all these great pictures, despite inadequate lighting and all of us trying to steal food off the plates before she could shoot them.
TPCs Mediterranean Madness
Menu (all from scratch):
Pita, served with hummus, tabouli and tapenade:
Grilled shrimp, marinated in lemon juice, tons of garlic, oregano and Survival Spice™:
Chicken, squash, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, and red onion kabobs marinated in organic Tibvrtini Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva and Aceto di Vino Bianco, garlic, onions, organic oregano and thyme, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper, and lemons:
I was really happy with the way it all turned out.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:10 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
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September 26, 2005
Ana's "Harvest Moon Grilled Cheese"
Warning: Uncontrollable drooling ahead!
Oh, man. Ana has presented us with her take on Shauna's "Grilled Cheese with Amaranth Leaves and Blackberry Sauce". Made from a wonderful homemade bread, it's loaded with goodies.
Ana's "Harvest Moon Grilled Cheese"
Well. The deed is done. After a week's deliberation I riffed on the Gluten
Free Girl's grilled cheese. I kept thinking "greens, big hit of cheese, zing
of sweet". It was my mantra. But then I realized that I didn't have a chance
of improving on this combination so I bowed to the beautiful gluten-free
grilled cheese grail and went thumping down the path of seasonal goodness.
I present to you all for your tastebuddial pleasure the Harvest Moon Grilled
Cheese. Ta-Da!
It begins with the following ingredients: butter, Cabot extra sharp cheddar,
Boar's Head Cream Havarti sliced thin, Blazing Star Pear (just a red pear, I
think, would do), Peruvian sweet onion (Vidalia is better), English Walnuts,
and home-made 100% whole wheat bread with sunflower seeds and walnuts. Now
this could well be made with gluten-free bread with equally good results. I
just happen to love this whole wheat bread recipe so that's what I have
around and use for practically everything. So I used it for this.
First I started to caramelize the onions. But then as I was reading about
the texture of caramelized sweet onions I decided that I needed something a
little less melty so I cranked up the heat a little and ended up with
caramelized and slightly crunch browned onions. Sweet, with a good depth of
flavor. And good texture for this application. Truth is, I would eat
caramelized onions off the sidewalk. No matter the texture.
Then one thick slice of the whole wheat walnut and sunflower seed bread cut
into two rectangles. I layered a slice of Havarti (creamy and mild) with
about half an ounce of the extra-sharp cheddar (nice bite). Then thin and
broad slices of perfectly ripe pear, the onions, chopped walnuts, and a
final slice of Havarti. Topped with the other half of the bread and grilled
with butter in a non-stick skillet.
Good stuff.
--Ana
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:15 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
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September 21, 2005
Matt's "Everyman's Edible Sliders"
(Photo: Matt's version of Diana's "Everyman's Edible Slider")
Wow, another great version of an original entry! Matt kicked up the chili sauce and ground his own beef tenderloin, resulting in a truly 'drool-worthy' effort. I dig the guitar pick, and the Les Paul in the last picture!
Matt's take on Diana's Everyman's Edible Slider is below the fold.
Matt's "Everyman's Edible Sliders"
The start of the slider making is making the chili sauce. Diana recommends making a large batch and canning some. I wasn't up for that and consider it a near mortal sin to cook fresh vegetables, so I made a half-batch and served it fresh. I made some other un-authorized changes, as well (I don't take direction well, duh!). I only used about 1/8th of the sugar Diana put in, I doubled the garlic, I substituted red wine vinegar for the cider vinegar and instead of cayenne I used chipotle. I really prefer the smoky flavor of the chipotle to the raw heat of cayenne.
The tomato chopping is the best part. We have this Zyliss™ chopping thing where you just put the article to be chopped underneath it and then whack on the top until you have achieved satisfactory choppage. This recipe called for lots of whacking and chopping.
The next part of the recipe was mixing the meat. Since I'm a lazy bastard, I finished chopping all the fresh veggies and spices before doing the meat. This way I didn't feel guilty about not washing the cutting board between ingredients. To grind the herbs up really fine, I used my handy dandy Braun™ coffee bean grinder which really works in a pinch for fine chopping. Mmmmmmm, my kitchen started to smell really good!
The next step was the meat. Diana calls these Everyman's Sliders but the main ingredient is almost a pound of tenderloin. TENDERLOIN I tells ya! So I doubled it and got a pound and a half. Yummy! It looks like someone got ahead of himself though and started nibbling a little early. It's a damn shame to actually cook this meat if you ask me.
I gave it (begrudgingly) the bopper-chopper treatment and felt like I had committed a criminal act,then everything got mixed together and formed into nice little square patties and (begrudgingly) waved near the heat. Diana called for grilling but we had some mighty big thunder bumpers over head and I don't have one of those George Foreman thingies so I used the skillet. I really do think it was a crime to cook this meat so I seared it for as short a time as I could to make it look to evilwife like it had actually been cooked. After the meat, I did a quick deglasse on the onions and that was that.
Assembled, with fixin's and crumbled blue cheese:
Somehow or another eating these things only made me hungrier and we finished them all but one. Diana's recipe called for six and I made twelve. The kids sure wolfed theirs and now they're hitting the Fritos™ pretty hard.
They're all gone now but one. Where the hell is Major John when you need him?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:59 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
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September 20, 2005
MC's Grilled Gumbo
(Photo: MC's Grilled Gumbo)
Another entry in for the Interpreted part of Food Fight 4. MC drew the Gumbo I submitted and really made it his own. While 'tipping' the hat to the gumbos taught to me by my friends from Mississippi, Matt and Jerry, MC made it his own by using Northwest ingredients, incorporated his passion for grilling, and did a wonderful job of photographing it. Good stuff, Mac!
Matt has submitted his version of Diana's "Everyman's Edible sliders", which I'll post tomorrow, so that each entry has a full day to be ooh'd and aah'd over.
There ain't no shrimp in this grilled gumbo!
But, there's almost everything else!
My assignment for 'interpreted dish' at the current Pragmatic Chef contest is Scott's own "Gumbo with chicken, sausage, and shrimp". Wait! I'm supposed to interpret the master? Shudder the thought!
Oh well, might as well give it a try. Scott's such a great guy that he probably won't make too much fun of me. Let's get started shall we?
I made one significant substitution to the recipe at The Pragmatic Chef (TPC). I can't eat shrimp so instead I'll use one pound of cooked crawfish (Did you know that we have fresh wild crawfish as a staple fisheries crop in the Northwest? Well, now you do.), and a half-pound of fresh cooked Dungeness Crab (our indigenous crab species in the Northwest)...
Oh yeah, don't forget the chicken and okra (You gotta have okra in gumbo! And Scott's right, once it cooks up in the gumbo, it's no longer 'slick'.)
The key addition that I made to the TPC recipe is cilantro. I'll explain as I go...
In terms of cooking style, because I'm a grill nut - I chose to make the gumbo on the grill. I'll explain this as well. I started the roux in a large cook pot on the side burner. I used corn oil. Feels traditional.
Scott mentioned in his recipe that the roux will get very hot so that you have to be very careful in adding the initial ingredients. I thought I'd help the process along a little bit and mitigate the roux entry by heating up the initial ingredients on the grill a little. I cut the andouille sausage into 1/4 rounds - then placed those in my cooking basket - which grips the contents between two grates. So while stirring the roux, I'm browning the sausage - once I got the sausage nicely browned I just put the basket up on the upper grill level to stay warm.
I also wrapped all of the diced vegetables in aluminum foil and just dusted them with corn oil - no spices or anything. I wrapped them tightly and put them on the grill - turning as necessary (I used minced garlic from a jar, so you garlic watchers won't see it here - there's a good amount in the final product). I went to 'just past overdone popcorn smell' for the roux - I thought it well golden - and the pot was so hot I couldn't touch the handles without potholders - this stuff is HOT!
The eye under the pot gets turned off. The sausages go in right out of the basket - that way I get to stand at arms length as they sizzle in. Then the veggies - they aren't cooked, just a bit steamed in the foil - because we've preheated them, there's no water inside, so they go into the roux without a fuss. They smell great!
Eye back on and up to medium again. We stir all that up a bit and get the roux thouroughly engaged with these ingredients. After getting the celery to about half crunchy, I added the chicken stock and the beer. Added the okra at this point as well. Oh, and for the beer, I used a local micro brew - Bullfrog Ale from Issaquah brewery. This is a nice dry ale, and unhomogenized because it is local. I also used a 24 ounce bottle. I guess that might be substituting some beer for water :) After a long simmer and a few taste tests, I added one cup of water.
I added the suggested seasonings and the chicken after everything was pretty tender. I also added a little cilantro at this point as well. The roux, beer, okra, and thyme make a great and complimentary case for the base flavor of this dish. Used sparingly, the cilantro adds a little bit of sweet counterpoint to the base flavor. Don't overdo it. A little cilantro will do just fine with the strong base flavors.
Within five minutes or so of being done, I added the crab and the crawfish (since they were already cooked), having cleaned the crawfish tails (and claws where I could) and keeping them with the crab chilled to this point. I turned up the heat just slightly and stirred in the seafood for about five minutes.
I made a cake of long grain (with wild) rice by firmly pressing it into a one cup measuring cup and placed it in the middle of a deep plate, ladled on the gumbo and garnished with green onion and a bit more cilantro.
I enjoyed making and eating this gumbo very much. Though I have read lots of recipes that combine chicken and seafood, this was the first one I've tried - and the combination is quite good. I used a few Northwest ingredients and they worked out very well - the crab adds a nice richness, the crawfish some traditional 'boil' flavoring, and the local ale a nice compliment to the roux. I'm amazed at how very pungent the roux is, given that its ingredients are only oil and flour.
A note on the photos: These were all shot with an on-camera flash with an attached diffuser set at about a thirty degree andle - and utilizing a remote flash (though an umbrella) about 8 feet to the left (or behind the subject) as well. [TPC note: Mac is a wonderful photographer. I won't link directly to the home page of the political blog that he contributes too, because I just don't do that here, but I will link to the photography category, where you can check out more of his work.]
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:59 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
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September 19, 2005
Paul's "Su Dong Po Pork"
Here's Paul's version of Megan's entry.
Nicely done, Paul! I need to get one of those kickass steamer baskets so I can make this properly some day. The home grown bell peppers look amazing, too.
So Paul, by the way that Mojo was sniffin' the ginger, does this mean that Mojo is a "Mary Ann" kind of dog?
I have one more entry in so far, I'll post it tomorrow. Please remember, all entries should be in by next Monday, I need to get cracking on mine, too.
Paul's "Su Dong Po Pork"
I got the luck of the draw!. 'Chilebrown', is my stage name,but Bacon is my game!! My wife, 'Ms. Goofy', and I, have 'Road Tripped' to Bend, Oregon, to "A&B" butcher shop for bacon. I have cured my own bacon with Pork Butt and "Buckboard Bacon Cure". We have gone to extremes to get good bacon. I drew a recipe with pork bellys. I did not bribe the Pragmatic Dude. I followed the recipe pretty close.
I was worried about finding Pork Bellys. Our local Safeway would never carry them. I went two miles down to the "International Market" in San Pablo,Ca. No problem,they had Pork: snouts,hoofs,tails,tongues,and bellys.This market is beautiful place to find meat and seafood for a reasonable price. You just have to learn the 'inns and outs' about a language barrier. I enjoy going there.
As far as the original recipe goes, I only added a little sugar in the marinade. I served it with peppers from the garden. My dog Mojo is sniffin the ginger. He said I should of added some more Liver. (Dog Critic). Peace,Paul
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
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September 15, 2005
Diana's version of Paul's Puffy Corn Omelet
Our first 'interpreted' dish is in. Diana has submitted her version of Paul's Puffy Corn Omelet and did a great job customizing the original Gourmet recipe to the ingredients and kitchen equipment available. I really like the fact that she kicked up the heat a bit, but still kept the spirit of the dish.
She apologizes for the picture quality, but I believe her when she said it tasted great! Nice job, Diana!
Keep those interpreted dishes coming in by emailing them here. All interpreted dishes will be available in the FF4- Interpreted category in the side bar.
I'll open the voting on the 'Original' submitted dishes category tomorrow, so take a few minutes to review the entries!
Diana's version of Paul's Puffy Corn Omelet
I can't believe I forgot the Canadian Bacon!!!
I can't believe I did that ... me bein' Canuck and all that that entails!
Comment: This uses way too many bowls and too much equipment for a frikkin' omelet!
Well... "Paul's Puffy Corn Omelet" got minor adjustments. It's actualy ended up being an omelet in a pot. Scott at The Pragmatic Chef! has challenged "proof of the pudding", so to speak. Paul's original recipe from "Gourmet" was this (with my adjustments in Italian):
3 Ears of Corn
4 1/2 TBLS unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp black pepper
4 Large Eggs (separated)
1 TBLS finely chopped fresh chives (I've used finely sliced green onions)
I added approx.
1/4 sweet red pepper (finely chopped),
1/4 sweet green pepper (finely chopped), and
1/2 jalepeno pepper (seeded and finely chopped)
... these I sauteed for about 5 minutes in a bit of butter, just to soften 'em.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 (325) degrees. (I've got a new Bosch Convection oven so I've used 325).
Add corn to a 4-quart of boiling salted water. Then remove from heat and let stand, covered 10 minutes. Drain and cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife into a bowl. Then scrape cobs over bowl to extract milk.
Melt butter in a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet. Remove from heat and transfer 3 TBLS melted butter to bowl with corn. (leaving remaining butter in skillet to cool). Toss corn and 1/8 tsp salt and pepper.
Whisk egg yolks with remaining 1/8 tsp of pepper and 1/8 tsp salt in a large bowl until combined. Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl using an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold stiff white peaks. Fold one third of whites into yolks to lighten. Then fold in remaining whites gently, but thoroughly. Gently fold in corn mixture.
Spoon mixture into skillet (souffle dish, greased with a pat of butter) and bake until pale golden and set 10 to 12 minutes. (Now, I've had to use about 40 minutes in the souffle dish). Loosen omelet with a heat proof rubber spatula and slide onto a plate. Serve with sprinkled Chives (finely sliced green onion).
Mmmmmm ... peaches & cream! Soooo sweet!
Pretty good! I added a bit of a twist with the peppers. The little bit of heat is nice.
Since I pretty much suck as a photographer, the photos are overexposed ... it actually looks much better!
It's pretty good cold, too!!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:17 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack