Creamed Corn

Creamed corn is one of those old school foods that totally brings me back to my childhood. I had never cooked or eaten homemade creamed corn until now and my goodness it was so good. It tastes so much sweeter and fresher than the canned version.

If corn isn’t in season when preparing this, adding sugar will help sweeten up the dish but it shouldn’t be necessary during corn’s peak. Use your instincts and taste buds. If you think the corn needs it, add it.

This is the perfect simple summer side dish for any main course. I especially love it with grilled barbeque chicken because it was another childhood favorite. This will definitely be gracing our table over and over this summer.

Creamed Corn
recipe from Taste and Tell

8 ears fresh corn
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half, whole milk, skim milk, or heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or white pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

1. Cut kernels from the cob and scrape the cobs with the edge of a spoon to extract as much juice and material as possible. You should have 5 1/4 cups of corn.

2. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet until frothy. Add corn and stir constantly for 1 minute.

3. Pour in half-and-half. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring vigilantly until the liquid has thickened to a dense, yellowish sauce, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and let steam for 2 minutes. Serve immediately, and be sure to pool some sauce around each serving.

Pork and Ginger Potstickers with Honey Soy Dipping Sauce

I adore potstickers and have to order them whenever I see them on a menu. So when I was creating my Top 100, I knew they had to be on the list since they are one of my favorite appetizers and I had never made them before. I browsed around the internet for the perfect recipe and I’m pretty sure I found it. I was feeling a bit lazy after a crazy, busy day and decided to use wonton wrappers instead of making the homemade dough indicated in the recipe. If you are feeling ambitious, the link below provides the dough recipe.

These were deliciously crispy on one side and steamed to perfection on the other! The pork was moist and tender while the cabbage kept a bit of its crunch. Rather than dipping them in regular ‘ole soy sauce, I mixed up the Honey Soy Dipping Sauce below and am glad I did! I find soy sauce salty and just too much on its own so the honey really helped mellow it out and the red pepper flakes added a nice zing.

They were surprisingly easy to throw together and with Joel’s help only took about 5 minutes to fill and seal. I made a double batch and froze half for another time. I’m assuming (and hoping) I can cook them in the same manner from the freezer. I will update you once I find out!

Pork and Ginger Potstickers
recipe adapted from Food Network

1 cups chopped Napa cabbage
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 egg
1 to 2 cups chicken stock or water
Wonton wrappers

1. Sprinkle cabbage with the 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the cabbage on a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth and squeeze out any water. The dryer the cabbage the better. In a large bowl thoroughly mix the cabbage with all of the other ingredients, except the chicken stock.

2. Place a small mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper. (Be very careful not to touch the edges with the filling as this will impede proper sealing of the dumplings. Nothing is worse than dumplings breaking during cooking.) Fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle shape. Wet inside edges with water then press closed tightly. Rest the dumplings with the folded edges straight up.

3. In a hot saute pan coated well with oil, place pot stickers flat side down and cook until the bottom is browned. Have pan cover ready and add 1 cup of chicken stock, cover immediately. Be careful, the liquid will splatter! The stock will steam the potstickers. Check them in 5 minutes as more stock may be needed. The trick here is that once the dumplings are firm and fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will crisp-up again.

Honey Soy Dipping Sauce
recipe from Food Network

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons orange blossom honey
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk together soy sauce, honey, ginger, sesame oil and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Just before serving stir in sesame seeds.