Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The difference that fresh can make...

It has come to the last home cooked meal in Phoenix as the movers will be here tomorrow to pack up the place. I may not be able to post everyday as we will be dealing with the packers, flying out east and dealing with the closing. We will "officially" be in the new house next Friday - Woo! I've been making a few new recipes for lunch over the past few days that I need to write about, so we will be posting new recipes throughout the week.

Jeff told me a long time ago that he has never been a fan of creamed corn - but I think that is because he has only had it from a can. The fresh corn is just too good to pass up nowadays, so I thought I would give it a go and see if we could change his mind. The recipe, Creamed Corn, turned out to be delicious and was insanely easy to make. I used a combination of fresh yellow and white sweet corn that was pureed with milk, cornstarch and a touch of salt. A cup corn is set aside to lend some texture to the smooth mixture. Once the puree and whole kernels are combined, the corn is allowed to simmer until it thickens up and the kernels are tender.

I did have one issue... while I used a "medium" saucepan, I had a lot of problems with the mixture "burping" hot corn everywhere, as I think my pan was not deep enough. I ended up using a splatter guard, but it still made a mess... so be careful as the hot corn mixture does not feel good on the skin! Jeff ate more than his share and said "Why didn't you make this before? And just so you know, I get the leftovers! I love creamed corn now!!" Bah.... at least there is one more thing to check off that he will eat now!

I did finish using up all the leftover chicken from the freezer with the recipe Chicken Picadillo. You can use pre-ground chicken, but after using the food processor to make our own lately, I have come to the conclusion that I like the resulting texture a bit better. Not as mushy as I find in the store. Since I had to dirty up the processor anyway, I used it to mince the garlic first, then added the chicken and pulsed both of them together. This mixture is then browned with some seasonings and then the chipotle salsa along with golden raisins are mixed in. After cooking down, the mixture is finished with some sliced toasted almonds. The smoky chipotle salsa brought a fiery heat that was a perfect off-set to the sweet plump raisins and crunchy almonds. At first bite, I was unsure about the cinnamon, but as I ate, I found myself enjoying the complex flavor it brought. While you could serve this alone, this would be an awesome filling for tacos or placed on some flatbread.


19 comments:

  1. The picadillo looks good though a bit different than the Tex-Mex picadillo that I'm used to. I love creamed corn and am printing out the recipe to put in my "to try" file.
    Have a safe trip and a good move! I can't wait to read your recipes from the east coast!

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  2. Mmm... I LOVE creamed corn and yet have never made it from scratch. Thanks for the inspiration, Joe.

    Good luck with moving.

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  3. Travel safe!! Looking forward to all the cooking adventures of Culinary in Maryland!

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  4. Creamed or fried corn is one of my favorites that my mom used to make fresh from the garden.

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  5. Jim was the same way about Brussel Sprouts. Said he hated them (or at least the way his mom made them when he was a kid). I finally convinced him to let me make them one night and now he loves them!

    Good luck on the move. Hopefully all this rain we've been having will stop long enough for you to get settled in.

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  6. Good luck with the move Joe and Jeff! I hope it goes quickly and smoothly for you.

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  7. I hope you guys have a smooth move - I really can't wait to hear stories from your new kitchen.

    (I made the Chocolate And Peanut Butter Filled Peanut Butter Blondies yesterday for DH's coworkers and they were gone in 2 minutes!)

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  8. For the record, this creamed corn was phenomenal!! :)

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  9. Awesome pictue of the creamed corn!

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  10. Brenda - Yeah, it is a bit different - but a nice variation!

    Nerissa - I was happy we finally tried it - much better than I thought it would be!

    Jeph - Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting set up!

    Emily - Mine too... now!

    Barbara - Funny, Jeff was the same about Brussel sprouts too - he likes them now, but only in small doses.

    Erika - Thanks!

    Daniela - Thank you - glad to hear the blondies went over well!

    Catherine - Thanks!

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  11. Can't wait to try this, this summer.

    Happy Moving Day to you! The weather in PA today is sunny and 70. Hope the rain is gone for awhile so you can move in smoothly!

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  12. I love your blog. Looking forward to it when you get moved and settled.

    Your pictures are the best!

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  13. Good luck with the move! Phoenix won't be quite as tasty without you.

    Picadillo makes a great for stuffing- for peppers, in chile rellenos, potatoes, lettuce wraps, etc.

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  14. Crafty AP - I hear you on the rain, but I have to say it is nice to see it again!

    Fishtaxi - Thank you!

    tpc - Thanks for the stuffing tips, I didn't even think of the other possible stuffing ideas!

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  15. Hey guys! Travel safely! I'm sure you're looking forward to picking up the little ones.

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  16. creamed corn- that sounds great. Thanks for the recipe!

    Teddy

    Ps I'm back from upstate NY :)

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  17. Ed - Thanks! We got to stop off and see them... we should be picking them up in a week or two!

    Teddy - Let me know if you try it!

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  18. i LOVE creamed corn and have been looking for a good recipe... thanks!

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  19. barbie2be - Let me know what you think!

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