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food detective

Categories: Veggies and Sides, Supper, Dinner Party, Sources, Posted on August 5, 2018 by Sandy Bergsten

Summertime in southern Ohio it’s easy to believe that sweet corn will always be around. But as the dog days of summer come to a close, so will corn’s window. It’s always a sad moment when I drive by the farm stand on Stroop Road and their wooden cart is bare. Because once the corn is gone, it’s gone for good.

But while it’s still here, I am going to take full advantage of the local crop. One of my favorite ways to prepare freshly picked corn is a recipe by Thomas Keller. The secret to his creamed corn is freshly grated lime zest and big spritz of lime juice. 

If you’ve never cooked out of one of Thomas Keller’s tabletop cookbooks you’re missing out. This famed chef from Napa Valley’s French Laundry and New York’s Per Se has hit a homerun with Ad Hoc at Home.

With a sharp knife, holding the cob of corn vertically, slice off the kernels.

Place the kernels into a large bowl. Here’s a Keller tip. Dip your hand in a small bowl of water then run your hand through the cut kernels. Rinse your hand in the bowl of water to get rid of any loose silks from the corn. Repeat as needed.

Hold each cob over the bowl and with a large spoon scrape any remaining corn and milk from the cob into the bowl.

Grate the zest of the lime with a microplane grater, set aside. Cut the lime in half.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the corn and squeeze about one tablespoon of lime juice over the corn and season with salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the corn begins to sizzle, about 15-17 minutes.

Stir in ¾ cup cream, the cayenne and the lime zest. 

Continue to cook for 6-8 minutes until the cream is absorbed by the corn. 

Add salt to taste and stir in the freshly chopped chives.

Once you give this recipe a try I’m sure you too will find it is truly the cream of the crop.

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