Monday, July 28, 2008

CORN

Oh, people. The corn on the cob that WalMart in Billings is selling is superb (not to mention $.54 PER ear cheaper than Albertsons. I mean I know there's a corn shortage what with all the ethanol being produced these days, but seriously?). Run-don't-walk to buy some of this Walmart CORN, and eat it for dinner tonight. I just finished cooking some CORN for a salad tomorrow and after I cut off the kernels, I sucked the insides out that were left on the cob. From EIGHT of them ... and yes it's 10:00 pm. They are that good; I enjoyed them down to the last little innard that was leftover. I'm contemplating how I can work CORN into my meals for the rest of the week.

By the way, here's the fantastic recipe -- using CORN -- that I'm making for dinner tomorrow. It's the second time I've made it and the one repeat guest is practically slobbering in anticipation. And no, I'm actually not talking about Migo; it was too good to share with the dogs, even dogs who are convinced they're human.

Shrimp and Poblano Salad with Tortillas
TOTAL: 45 min.
4 servings

3 large ears CORN, shucked (I'm actually using 4, then doubling the recipe)
2 large poblano chiles
1 large red bell pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 dozen medium shrimp (about 10 ounces), shelled and deveined
Four 8-inch flour tortillas [I use way more tortillas -- like 3 or 4 per person; it's amazing how tasty grilled tortillas are.]

1. Light a grill. In a large saucepan of boiling water, cook the corn until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and let cool, then cut the kernels from the cobs into a large bowl.
2. Grill the poblanos and red pepper over high heat, turning, until charred all over and tender, about 5 minutes for the poblanos and 8 minutes for the red pepper (MER: this took much longer for me). transfer to a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Remove the charred skins, seeds and stems and cut the poblanos and red pepper into 2-by-1/2 inch strips. Add them to the corn.
3. In a small bowl, mix the 3 tablespoons of oil with the lime juice, cilantro and garlic. Pour the dressing over the corn and season with salt and pepper; toss well.
4. Brush the shrimp with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. [She actually has you wrap the shrimp with strips of salami because it is supposed to keep the shrimp more tender and infuse a rich, garlicky flavor to them, but I'm not sure the marginal improvement was worth all the effort and essentially wasting a package of salami, so I'm going to forego it this time.] Skewer 6 shrimp onto each of 4 metal skewers. Grill over high heat, turning once, until the salami is crisp and the shrimp are just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a place. Generously brush the flour tortillas with oil and grill over high heat until blistered and charred, about 1 minute per side.
5. Remove the shrimp from the skewers. Add them to the corn salad and toss well. Transfer the salad to plates and serve with the grilled tortillas.

MAKE AHEAD: The grilled chiles and red pepper and cooked corn can be refrigerated, separately, overnight.

Recipe is from Food and Wine, June 2008

By the way, food prep today was particularly fun because I was using things from Melodee, Susan and Karen V. Such cool stuff, and SO MUCH fun! Combine that with the CORN and I couldn't have asked for a better night (except maybe if my lawn mower had started).

3 comments:

Addie said...

Is CORN as exciting the next day? Either way, I want to try this recipe!

Melodee said...

It all sounds delicious! I was going to make tacos tonight, but you're making me want to swing by WalMart on my way up from work and get some CORN!

Molly said...

Have some CORN with your tacos!

One of the ways that they serve it in Latin America is by grilling it and then squeezing lime juice over it ... I think that would go quite well with tacos :)