Sides to Celebrate! And, the Vidalia's and Rubies are In!
Awaken your Seasonal Sensibilities with these dishes.
We’re going to open with corn dishes, because here in the Low Country, the grocery stores are getting fresh, sweet corn; this triggers memories of my grandma’s garden and summer for me. Oh, the glory of chins dripping in butter and salt as we chowed on those cobs!
But let’s be civilized here in Delicious Bits. We’re going to do the labor of cutting fresh corn from the cob for these recipes.
1. Fiesta Corn
This dish brings color and flavor to the party.
Ingredients
Fresh corn- 6 ears
Spices-Cumin, paprika, garlic salt OR Tajin, honey Aleppo pepper and smoked salt
Mayonnaise (about ½ cup)
1/2 C chopped mixed bell peppers
¼ C chopped onion
Italian Parsley and/or Cilantro
¾ C Mexican crumbling cheese
For the Dressing
Juice of one fresh lime
¼ C The Pineapple Coconut Shrub (from Rhoot Man) or ¼ cup pineapple juice
Balsamic glaze (2T or a generous squeeze)
½ C good olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Grab a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Slather the shucked corn in mayonnaise using a brush.
Choose two or three spices from your spice drawer. The mayonnaise layer will help hold these spices in while the corn bakes. Word of caution on the smoked salt, go light on this because it’s easy to get an overly salted taste. This is the Queen of Salt speaking, so you know when I issue a warning about too much salt, take it seriously.
I use a toaster oven to roast my corn, and it takes 20 minutes at 350° and then 10 minutes at 450° to start to brown.
While your corn is cooling, mix the dressing. Combine corn with chopped peppers and onions, fresh herbs, and crumbled cheese, then add dressing. This is one of those dishes that it’s nice to dress in advance, so the flavors can meld. Serves well either chilled or at room temperature.
2. Homemade Cream of Corn
Discover how delicious creamed corn can be without the can! I was not expecting this!
Ingredients
Fresh corn (7-8 ears works best)
¼ Stick butter
¼ C flour, scant
Either 2 C whole milk OR
1 ¾ C whole milk + ¼ C heavy or regular whipping cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
Garnish-crispy bacon, sliced mini pepper
Instructions
For this dish, roast the ears of corn on your baking sheet after slathering mayonnaise and seasoning with salt and pepper. 350° for 20 mins, then 450° for 10 more minutes. Slice the kernels from the cob into a bowl.
Make a roux with your flour and butter, cooking until bubbly. Then slowly add the milk or milk and cream. As it thickens, grate some nutmeg into the mix. You could add a bit of honey Aleppo pepper, but totally optional. Mix in the corn, then check and adjust the seasoning.
This makes a sizable heap of creamed corn, but it keeps nicely in the freezer. Maybe you’ll want to set aside one cup for the next recipe, the Onion Shortcake below.
3. Onion Shortcake
This is a crowd-pleasing side to serve when you’ve worn out Mac n’ Cheese and are tired of potatoes. It has the comforting, warm factor you’re looking for in a side dish, and is a wonderful complement to beef, pork, or shrimp!
Ingredients
1 large or 2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced. Rubies or Vidalia’s highly recommended!
3 T butter
1 C sour cream
8 oz shredded cheddar-set aside 4 oz.
Pinch of dried dill
1 Jiffy box cornbread mix, or 1 C of other cornbread mix. (I used Krusteaz honey cornbread.)
1/3 C milk
1 egg
1 C homemade cream of corn, or 1 can.
Sautee your onions in butter until translucent. Remove from heat, and mix in sour cream, 4 oz. shredded cheese, and a pinch of dill.
Combine your cornbread mix with the milk and egg, then add the cream of corn. Spray a 9 X 9 casserole with compressed olive oil. Put the cornbread mixture in the bottom, then layer it with your onion mixture. Cover the top with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake at 425° until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly, about 35-40 minutes.
4. Easy Pepperoni Peppers
I recently made these as a brunch appetizer. An appetizer for brunch? Yes! Because some sleepyheads come late to brunch, and the rest of the folks are hungry. Yeah, they’d go great with a Bloody Mary, too.
I found a bag of nice “medium-sized” mixed peppers that worked perfectly for this, but you might be able to make it work with the smaller-size peppers as well.
Ingredients
Mixed Bell peppers, cleaned and sliced into single boats.
1 block of cream cheese at room temperature.
Garlic salt
1 C ricotta cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Shredded mozzarella
Sliced pepperoni
Instructions
Spread each pepper boat with a layer of cream cheese, then sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Combined the Italian seasoning with the ricotta and spoon on top of the cream cheese. Top with shredded mozzarella and sliced pepperoni. Bake at 425° until cheese melts and pepperoni slightly browns, about 10 minutes.
The Susan Onion
For today’s final Delicious Bit, I will share what we call The Susan Onion. I make these regularly in my toaster oven, and it seems that even if we are out of veggies, I’ve always got onions to make a veggie side.
Ingredients
Onions, sliced in half horizontally, and trim if needed so they lay flat.
Olive Oil
Minced garlic
Shredded cheese (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Havarti, and Gruyere all work well.)
Cracker or breadcrumbs
Instructions
Put sliced onion halves on parchment paper and baking sheet. Brush each one with olive oil and minced garlic. Cover the top with cheese, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake at 325° for an hour. Note: You can speed these up if you have less time, but the onions are sweetest when slow-baked.
Rubies vs. Vidalia’s? I gave a slight edge to the Rubies for more onion flavor. They tasted a hair stouter than Vidalia’s. But it was close.
Oh my, Susan! These recipes look awesome. Can’t wait to try them.