A stack of corn cakes filled and garnished with apricot preserves with morsels of chevre (goat cheese) introduced for some tartness.
This week’s First Friday with Dorie recipe is the answer to every Iowa girl’s dream. Since I’m a born ‘n bred Iowan and more than a lil’ bit country, I consider myself an authority on CORN.
Dorie, did you know:
1. In 2011, Iowa corn farmers grew almost 2.3 billion bushels of corn on 13.7 million acres of land.
2. Iowa has produced the largest corn crop (most of it field corn) of any state for almost two decades. In an average year, Iowa produces more corn than most countries.
3. Corn has been the dominant crop in Iowa for more than 150 years!
The Sprout character was introduced in Green Giant® advertising in 1973. He is an apprentice to the kindly Green Giant® and helps the Giant tend the vegetables. The Jolly Green Giant® is the third most recognized advertising icon of the 20th century, behind Ronald McDonald and the Marlboro Man. (greengiant.com)
In fairness to our neighbors to the north, I’ll concede that the Jolly Green Giant and his sidekick, Sprout, raise more sweet corn for the consumer market than we Iowans. That’s why the canned corn you use for this recipe might have grown up in Minnesota.
Yes, for this recipe we are using canned corn, those sweet little krammed-with-karbohydrates kernels. Dorie suggests we find a can that is without sugar or corn syrup. Although corn is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, 82 percent of the calories in this food are from carbohydrates. It is, however, a good source of dietary fiber, thiamin and folate.
But I digress. French housewives have been using canned corn to make these little pancakes for years. Who knew? They were first introduced stateside in the mid-Eighties after world-famous chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten arrived here. He paired them with crème fraîche and caviar. Of course he did! Although they are fine as an hors d’oeuvre, they also are an interesting accompaniment to any meat dish to replace potatoes, rice, or noodles.
Mise en Place, the ingredients for making corn cakes. Just a few are needed for this simple delight.
For these little wonders, throw three ingredients, corn, eggs, and flour, into your blender or processor. Salt. Then use a tablespoon to drop the batter into a skillet well-lacquered with grapeseed oil (or, any mild oil). Once you achieve a golden color on each side (2 minutes per side), pat off the excess oil and transfer to the warm cookie sheet waiting in the oven.
When making pancakes for breakfast, my Mother would call these “silver dollar” pancakes in size.
After making the pancakes and cooling them to room temperature, I tried three different versions. Serving them with guacamole as a garnish to accompany my lunch of chilled corn and crab salad was delicious. For dessert, I made them into a Raspberry-Crème Fraîche Shortcake. So tasty. If crème fraîche is too strong a taste for you, try whipped cream instead. I just thought the three flavors, sweet fruit, tangy sauce, and corny cake, played well together.
Corn pancakes, garnished with guacamole and served as an accompaniment to chilled corn salad and crab.
For dinner, just needing a snack, I used apricot preserves as a filling for a corn pancake stack to which I introduced morsels of chevre (goat cheese). This idea was actually my favorite taste.
Corn pancakes filled and garnished with crème fraîche and added raspberries.
Although we don’t share recipes from “Around My French Table”, because we would like you to buy the book, I believe you’d make good corn pancakes by blending a 15-ounce can of corn with 2 eggs and 6 tablespoons of flour. Don’t forget the salt. To see how my colleagues, who probably aren’t “corn-fed” did with this week’s recipe, go here.
The world-famous Iowa State Fair butter cow is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As a kid, I would visit the butter cow during our family’s annual trip to the fair. As a Mother, I made sure my girls never missed the fair. (Rodney White/The Register)
Agreed, it’s an unusual combo: Mint Chocolate Ice Cream and Seaweed Sablés. Both recipes are by David Lebovitz.
Sometimes Dorie takes us waaaay out on a limb. For example, remember the Sardine Rillettes or the Spiced Squash, Fennel and Pear Soup? Even the Caramel-topped Semolina Cake and Gerard’s Mustard Tart were a stretch for an Iowa girl like me. Luckily, more often than not, the limb doesn’t snap and we end up with a tasty morsel.
This week Dorie decided to take us for a swim. Since water is not my friend, I never even learned to dog-paddle, I’m a bit reluctant to dive right into this recipe choice.
But dive I must……
A first for me, purchasing packages of toasted Nori.
The Japanese call it “nori”. Here in the United States, it’s just plain old seaweed. For this recipe Dorie is suggesting we put 3 tablespoons of seaweed into a sweet, buttery shortbread slice-and-bake cookie. Why would anyone do that?
Because David said so.
According to Dorie, who is a Parisienne part-timer, it’s playful, chic and attention-getting to turn sweet into salty. Choosing unusual add-ins for this very traditional French shortbread cookie is all the rage. Adding olives, cheese, even bacon, I understand. But it was American cookbook author and pastry chef David Lebovitz who suggested seaweed.
The shortbread mixture after the nori has been chopped finely and added. Admittedly, it does look pretty.
The shortbread cookie dough, rolled into one very long log.
The dough, as for all sablés, is simple to make. Butter, salt, confectionary sugar, egg yolk, olive oil and flour. Next, add the 3 tablespoons of finely chopped toasted nori. (I found this at my local Whole Foods.) Roll the dough into logs. Chill or freeze. When you’re ready to bake them off, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on each one and bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
A tip from COOK’s Illustrated magazine: Prior to freezing slice-and-bake cookies, put the logs into toilet paper or paper towel rolls to get perfectly rounded cookies.
The paper roll trick worked quite well.
Although these sablés are cocktail fare, I first served them with luscious and delicious Mint Chocolate Ice Cream which my granddaughters and I made. What was my rationalization for coupling rich/creamy mint chocolate with salty/savory seaweed? Simple. These are both Lebovitz’s recipes and can hang out together!!!
This little cocktail cookie complements the Lillet. A nice duo.
Next I served these with Lillet, a French aperitif which is a blend of Bordeaux wines and citrus liqueur. The salty cookie blended well with the lovely Lillet.
Although I’m glad I met and baked with toasted chopped nori for the first time ever, these aren’t nibbles I’ll make again. This is a little too playful , chic and attention-getting for me. The mint chocolate ice cream, however, is spectacular.
Odds are, when you’re planning a Sunday supper menu, homemade pizza with Lime Honey Beet Salad would not appear in the same sentence. Just not palate-pleasing, huh? Let’s follow that with dessert, homemade-homemade Limoncello Sorbet. The first homemade is for the limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur, which two neighbors and I produced during the last two months. The second homemade is the sorbet we made using Little Darlin’, our ice cream maker.
Scrubbed, roasted, peeled, sliced and mixed with cider vinegar, lime zest and juice, honey, olive oil and spices, result in a very tasty colorful beet salad.
Probably this is a meal to serve only blood relatives, those family members who already love you unconditionally. That’s why my neighbors, Michelle and Adriana, and I invited only our families to supper. For safety’s sake, Michelle suggested we throw a green, leafy salad into the mix. Why not?
Adriana’s husband, Bob, served as grill master, sommelier and Bob-of-all-Trades
Agreed, it was a mishmash of flavors and tastes but everything seemed to work. If you recall, we have 50 pounds of pizza flour to use this Summer so we got busy and made six different kinds of Sicilian-crust pizzas. What was especially delightful was the long and lazy supper, taking our time to evaluate a pair of pizzas before grilling more. Enjoying the beets, the greens and the conversation.
We sprinkled our paddles with corn meal so the pizzas could be easily transferred to the stones. This time, a classic margherita and a Provencal pizza.
Those little pesky grape tomatoes, on the roll……..Adriana to the rescue.
After tasting that limoncello sorbet, it’s going to be hard to keep me down on the farm. I just may have closed the barn door on my perennial favorites, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Sunday supper with family? What could be better than that? If you want to make this beet salad, go here for the recipe. If you wish to see the improvisations of other Doristas this week, beet a path to this site.
Limoncello Sorbet
Recipe by Adriana Scrima
Preparation:
10 minutes + cooling time, 25 – 30 minutes chilling time; 2 hours to ripen in freeze minimum. Makes eight 1/2 – cup servings.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 – 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest from one of the lemons used (use a vegetable peeler to remove the colored part of the citrus rind)
1 – shot glass of Limoncello
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 – 5 minutes. Cool completely. This is called a simple syrup, and may be made ahead in larger quantities to have on hand for making fresh lemon sorbet. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
When cool, add the lemon juice and zest; stir to combine. Turn the machine ON, pour the lemon mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes and maybe longer if you are going to add Limoncello because it is alcohol and it does impede the freezing process.
When adding Limoncello the alcohol needs to be added during the last two minutes of the freezing process.
Since the holidays are just six months away, I’m starting to put together and create note cards, gift enclosures, and a food label collection for my personal holiday giving. This year I’m doing a set and playing with culinary words (the beet/beat idea) and wanted to share them with you. Thank you for indulging me and being guinea pigs.
Popeye’s girlfriend, Olive Oyl, a comic strip character created in 1919 by Elzie Crisler Segar. Credit: distortedframes.onsugar.co
Yes, I just had to do that.
Of course the first thing that popped into my mind when I noticed the FFwithD recipe this week was Popeye the Sailor Man and his girlfriend, Olive Oyl. Created in 1919 (Olive Oyl) and 1929 (Popeye) by cartoon illustrator Elzie Crisler Segar, these two beloved fictitious characters were part of my brother’s and my childhood. Luckily for those of you unfamiliar with Olive Oyl, a new comic book series was just released last month.
Let’s be clear. This week we’re making Olive Oil Ice Cream and Popeye didn’t participate in its selection. We know that because there is no spinach involved in this recipe. None at all.
Mise en Place, everything in place, à la Ben & Jerry’s
Admittedly a skeptic, I’ve already bailed on sardine rillettes (4/12/12) so wasn’t inclined to go rogue again. Honestly, I don’t venture much beyond vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. But after gathering together the ingredients and dusting off Little Darlin’ (my christened name for the ice cream maker), I put together the custard base.
If you’ve ever created ice cream, making the custard is standard. Bring the milk and cream to a boil and pour it into the egg yolk/sugar mixture. Acclimatization is the key technique here. Add salt and then pour the entire mixture back into the pan. Cook until thick to about 180 degrees. There will be a custard coating on the back of your wooden spoon. After removing the pan from the heat, strain the custard.
Stirring the cooking custard or Stirring the custard cooking.
Are you ready for the olive oil? It’s time. Pour olive oil as well as vanilla extract into the strained custard and stir together. I used my Olea Orange Blush Olive Oil to add more flavoring into the mixture. Refrigerate, about an hour.
Doing time in the refrigerator.
Once cooled, it’s showtime for Little Darlin’. Carefully pour the custard into the bowl of the ice cream maker and let it spin (mine took 30 minutes). With this ice cream, after removing it from the maker, it’s nice to let it freeze an hour or two.
Little Darlin’, spinning.
Just from licking the paddle, I knew I was in love. Olive Oil Ice Cream is delicious. Consensus, one and all. I served this ice cream with two different toppings: 1) a drizzle of orange blush oil topped by a pinch of fleur de sel; 2) a topping of Eleven Madison Park’s Granola. I favored the granola but will also try it with toppings such as salted caramel sauce , strawberries with balsamic vinegar as well as plain chocolate sauce.
Olive Oil Ice Cream, topped with orange blush olive oil with salt and topped with Eleven Madison Park’s Granola.
If you don’t own Dorie’s cookbook, Around My French Table, I urge you to buy it. Can’t wait to have this recipe? Try this site. If you want to see how others in our clan did this week, go here.
Packed with cherries, pistachios, and coconut flakes, Eleven Madison Park’s granola provided a sweet and salty topping for the rich ice cream.
Lentil, Lemon, & Tuna Salad with a Garnish Bonus of Tomato & Pepper Salad. It’s French Friday with Dorie X Two.
My repertoire of salad recipes, those I mix together often, totals three: Tossed, Caprese and Marshall Field’s Wedge. I’m not particularly proud of this and don’t usually admit to it. So glad I’m among friends.
This year I’d already decided to turn over a new lettuce leaf (Just had to do that.)and make this my Summer of Salads. Each week I am going to create a delicious and nutritious melange, using ingredients outside my comfort zone. By the end of August I will have added fourteen salads to my repertoire of three bringing me to a more respectable seventeen. Blast Off!!!
That’s why I was especially pleased to kick off my Salad Summer with this week’s FFWD choice, Lentil, Lemon, and Tuna Salad. To be honest, I made two salads this week because I also made Dorie’sTomato and Pepper Salad. Little credit, please. She suggested we use this as a garnish for flavor and color. A good idea.
Mise en Place. All my ingredients are set out on my table.
The Snob of the Legume Family, Green Lentils from LePuy A.O.P.
The salad gives birth as lentils du Puy (from the Auvergne region of France) which I found at my local Whole Foods. After putting the lentils in a strainer and rinsing them under cold water, I brought them to a boil and let simmer for forty minutes. The lentils cooked quite happily in a chicken broth filled with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, clove and bay leaf. At the last moment, I even sweetened the pot with a tablespoon of Cognac. After draining the liquid and removing the softened vegetables (my choice), I added a minced shallot and salt/pepper.
The veggies and herbs are ready to be added to the chicken broth.
After the lentils were cooked, I drained the liquid off and removed the mushy vegetables.
It was simple to add a tasty dressing of mustard, tapenade, red wine vinegar and Lemon Blush olive oil to the warm lentils. Instead of using a preserved lemon (which I didn’t have), I substituted lemon zest, capers and scallions. Once everything was blended, I used a fork to flake drained tuna over the salad. Salt. Pepper. Toss. Done.
While the salad was chilling, I put together halved grape tomatoes, diced raw red pepper as well as roasted red pepper with some olive oil and a dash of cumin. I think it was a colorful garnish, perfect for the rather dowdy-looking lentils. What this dish lacks in color, it makes up in flavor. It is delicious and can be served on a bed of greens or plain, chilled or at room temperature. LLT can be a starter course, a luncheon dish or spread over crackers for nibbles with cocktails. Versatile. Delicious.
If this Lentil, Lemon and Tuna Salad appeals to you, go here. The Tomato and Pepper Salad, a colorful garnish or accompaniment, is great to have in your arsenal for its many uses. To see what others mixed together this week, stop by our FFWD Site.
