Tag Archives: corn

Corn and Bacon Bowls

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This fantastic weeknight dinner has been our number one go-to for the past year or so. And not just for reasons of desperation and because we want something quick and known to fall back on, but because we actually love it. It tastes friggin’ good, and requires (at this point) zero thought power to throw together.

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It only requires one skillet (and a rice cooker), so minimal dishes.

And it tastes much better than your shirt.

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Really, Alice. Bacon and corn versus some kind of tiered ruffly concotion? The choice is clear.

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What?

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You try to deny me my taste of shirt and I’ll . . . I’ll . . .

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WaaaaAAAAHHHH!

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Okay, okay–no one’s denying you anything, little one.

(Well, except for knives and pointy things, small things that you could choke on, papers that you could slobber on or tear up and eat, proximity to anything hot, proximity to any kind of stairway or precipice, foods you can’t chew due to your lack of teeth, your dad’s Club Soda, your dad’s can of beer, your mom’s glass of wine, your mom’s hot cup of coffee, the car keys since you bit the panic button and set off the car alarm, anything in the bathroom including soap, make up products and faucets; my hair, earrings, necklaces, and other pullable parts of my outfit, your dad’s glasses, the guitar, dishes and breakable items, anything you might destroy with your saliva, and anything that might destroy you with its saliva . . . wait, what? Anyway, other than these things it’s all yours, kid.)

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That’s more like it. You better remember who’s in charge here.

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Anyway, matters of household authority and the very persuasive “WaaaAAAH” power-play aside, welcome to our humble creation, Corn and Bacon Bowls.

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Ingredients

1 lb bacon, diced
2 cans sweet corn, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bunch green onions, diced
Cooked rice, to serve

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Fry diced bacon in a 12’ skillet over medium high heat, until browned. Remove most of the grease from the skillet (carefully!). Add the corn to the bacon and continue to cook over medium high heat until corn is browned, stirring only occasionally (so that it has a chance to brown) and adding the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as it cooks. Taste and readjust seasoning if needed.Turn off the heat and stir in the green onions. Serve over rice!

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Cajun Corn Chowder

Wow, you guys. I haven’t posted a recipe since . . . since . . .

I actually don’t remember when I last wrote about food. But I think it was sometime in the spring. What with being pregnant, moving, recording an album, and then having this little bundle in October, photographing what I cook and writing long involved stories about how I simmered something has been my last priority. Though for the record, I love reading other people’s long and involved stories about how they simmered something. And I may yet return to such simmerful chronicles at a future date. But for now, my new photographic priority is much more interesting than a half-minced clove of garlic!

And when she does this . . .

. . . oh man. A picture of chiffonading basil is the last thing on my mind.

Altogether, I had no plans of blogging about food this fall or winter. But then, last week, I got America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook from the bookmobile. And I landed on this recipe for corn chowder. I made it, LOVED it, and thought: I must share this recipe with my beloved foodie friends!

It’s worth noting that while there is a recipe and a printable link at the bottom, there are no step by step pictures, but that may be a thing of the past since I’m now cooking like this:

With a baby strapped to me.

I took this picture in the bathroom mirror as the soup was simmering. In fact, 15 minutes prior to taking this photograph I was chopping an onion while breastfeeding my baby hands-free, using the Moby wrap to support her. I couldn’t exactly bend over and mess with her feeding position, so everything had to be accomplished with a fairly immobilized torso, but’s it’s amazing what you can get done wihout bending your back!

And it’s also amazing what you can not accomplish . . . like leaning over the sink to do dishes. Enter: the dish-doing husband wonder.

Anyway everyone, this chowder is easy to make, fantastic to eat, and it’s probably going to be on the menu at our Christmas family gathering. My husband, who is not the chowder type (read: he despises New England clam chowder), loved it. And when I say loved, I mean that soup was gone the very next day. That’s right–we made short work of those so-called 6 servings. Heh heh. Think: spicy but not too spicy. Creamy but not heavy (the secret: blended corn). Delightful little bits of sausage, onion and pepper all swimming in a to-die-for broth. YES. This is what food is all about.

Cajun Corn Chowder

Serves 6

Ingredients

8 cups frozen corn, thawed
3 ½ cups chicken broth
8 oz andouille sausage, chopped
1 onion, chopped finely
1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
1 TBS vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp Cajun seasoning
1 ½ lbs red potatoes, cut in small cubes (about 1/2 inch)
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

  1. Put half the corn and 2 cups of broth in a blender, and blend for about 10 seconds; set aside.
  2. Put the oil, sausage, onion and pepper in a large pot, and cook over medium high heat for about 8 minutes, until vegetables are soft and a little browned, adding a little salt and pepper as they cook and stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
  4. Add the blended broth/corn, the additional 1 ½ cups of broth, the potatoes and cream, and stir everything together. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
  5. Add in the remaining 4 cups of corn, season to taste, and serve.

And on a completely unrelated note . . .

I love unrelated notes. Especially when they’re wearing tiny jeans with little pink bows.

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