Spicy Sautéed Sweet Corn

What do you do when you've got a bushel of corn from the farmer's market and aren't feeling steamed corn on the cob yet again?

If you have a few chilies and a sharp knife you can make a quick sauté that packs a shocking amount of flavor. Using brown butter adds depth, and finishing the dish with the scraped, starchy pulp from the cobs and a splash of olive oil creates a creamy mouthfeel, just in case you were craving creamed corn but didn't want all the calories.

Spicy Sautéed Sweet Corn

Cooking Time
20 minutes

Serves
4 shuckers (as a side dish)

Tools
Chef's knife and cutting board
Mixing bowls
Heavy-bottomed skillet

Ingredients
5 ears sweet corn, shucked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher or sea salt
4 small chili peppers (medium heat), thinly sliced
1 large handful cilantro (including stems), thinly sliced
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Steps
1. Cut kernels from corn with a sharp knife, working over a large bowl to avoid making a mess. Using the back of your knife, scrape the remaining flesh and pulp off the cobs into a separate bowl. Discard stripped cobs.

2. Heat butter in skillet over medium heat until very fragrant and starting to brown. Add  corn kernels, season lightly with salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until deep golden in color, about 7 minutes.

3. Add scraped corn, chilies, and 1/4 cup water to skillet. Bring to a boil and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Simmer until liquid has thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

Weeknight Fish Tacos for Friends Stopping By

Our friend Lana makes beautiful YouTube videos on microwaveable mug cakes--instant gratification desserts. We collaborated on a video recipe for fish tacos when she visited us from Boston a couple of weeks ago, tripod, mics, and cameras in tow. An embarrassing number of takes have been condensed into a snazzy video thanks to her mad editing skillz. 

  

Click on the link above (for fullscreen viewing!) or watch the embedded video to see how much fun we had and follow along as you make these tasty tacos yourself.  

 

All images courtesy of Hello Lana

Weeknight Fish Tacos for Friends Stopping By

Cooking Time
20 minutes or 2.5 hours if you're filming a YouTube video

Serves
3 friends

Tools
Chef's knife and cutting board
Mixing bowls
Cooking chopsticks or tongs
Heavy-bottomed skillet
Sheet pan and wire rack

Ingredients
1 lb. cod, cut into ~1" chunks
Kosher salt
Canola oil (you can substitute any other neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as corn or peanut)
1 cup potato flour (you can substitute any very finely ground flour such as rice flour, Wondra flour, or 00 flour)
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 flour tortillas, warmed (you can warm them in a microwave or rice cooker/steamer layered with damp paper towels or just throw them in a hot pan for a couple seconds on each side)
2 limes, cut into wedges
1 large handful cilantro, leaves picked from stems
1/4 head green cabbage, shredded
4-6 radishes (depending on size), thinly sliced
2 avocados, cut into medium dice
1/3 cup sour cream, whisked with sriracha to taste

Steps
1. Heat 1/3" oil in heavy-bottomed skillet (we use a 10" cast iron skillet and 1 cup oil) over medium heat. Heat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Season cod lightly with salt and toss with 1 tablespoon canola oil to coat.

3. Whisk together potato flour, smoked paprika, cayenne, black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in mixing bowl. Add cod and toss until thoroughly coated in flour mixture.

4. Fry cod in batches, making sure not to crowd the pan. For each batch, flip cod pieces as soon as the first side is crispy, about 1 minute, and then cook until second side is crispy, about 1 minute more. Cooking chopsticks work well here.

5. Remove cod from cooking oil and transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan (a perforated broiler pan works too). Sprinkle with salt and transfer to oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining batches.

6. Serve cod in warm tortillas with garnish to taste, sprinkled with a little more salt and drizzled with lime juice.


***Be sure to check out Lana's website Hello Lana***

Kale and Barley Salad with Spicy Candied Nuts

What do you do when you have 6 lbs of dried cranberries leftover from a cranberry muffin recipe development assignment?

You make kale salad. 

Salad recipes are often just "this combination tastes good together!" But you, dear reader, are getting a two-for-one deal: one recipe for the salad itself and one for the candied nuts. The nuts are kind of a pain in the ass to make, but taste totally worth it. If you don't feel like making them, just use store-bought honey-roasted whatever.

This is an excellent salad to bring to an outdoor picnic or a potluck since it doesn't need to be served cold. It's actually best eaten slightly cooler than room temperature. Kale also doesn't wilt like other salad greens, and the barley soaks up the vinaigrette so you're not left with a watery mess over time.

Kale and Barley Salad with Spicy Candied Nuts

Cooking Time
15 minutes or about 1 hour if you're making the nuts

Serves
3 (maybe 4) people who need a good jaw workout

Tools
Microplane
Baking sheet
Silpat or other heatproof lining
Chef's knife and cutting board
Large skillet
Saucepan

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/3 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup raw almonds
3/4 cup raw pecans
Kosher or sea salt
1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked from stem
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, finely grated
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt

1 cup barley
Kosher or sea salt
10 oz. Tuscan kale, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey 
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
3 scallion whites, very thinly sliced
2/3 cup dried cranberries

Steps
For the nuts:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat canola oil in skillet over medium heat. Add pepitas, almonds, and pecans and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic and just starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in rosemary and transfer to Silpat-lined baking sheet. Transfer to oven and cook until nuts are thoroughly roasted all the way through, about 15 minutes (taste one to check). Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 225 degrees.

3. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Add sugar, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper flakes, garlic, and 1/2 cup cool water and season lightly with pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until a thick caramel has formed, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nuts.

4. Spread caramel-coated nuts on Silpat-lined baking sheet and return to oven. Cook until caramel is very thick and only slightly runny, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle nuts with Maldon salt, and let cool before using.

For the salad:
1. Cook barley in boiling salted water until al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch.

2. Massage kale in mixing bowl with your hands until bruised and soft, about 1 minute.

3. Whisk together mustard, honey, and vinegar in small mixing bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in olive oil to form an emulsified vinaigrette. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

4. Toss together kale, vinaigrette, scallions, cranberries, and cooled barley. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with nuts (we add all but 1/2 cup and nom the rest).

Classy Semolina Pancakes with Macerated Blackberries

All too often pancakes are cloyingly sweet and anemic in texture. When we take the time to griddle some for breakfast (like during the 4th of July holiday weekend), we like to make them big and hearty with seriously browned crusts. Semolina flour and brown butter make this a very grown-up pancake, at least so far as breakfast food can feel grown up, and sweet-and-savory macerated blackberries, fragrant with lemon zest and pomegranate molasses, are the perfect counterpart.

If you don't have the ingredients for the topping, these pancakes are equally delicious with maple syrup or raspberry jam. If you don't have any semolina flour, just use all-purpose. Happy 4th of July! 

Classy Semolina Pancakes with Macerated Blackberries
Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook

Cooking Time
45 minutes

Serves
2 morning people

Tools
Mixing bowls
Liquid and solid measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Whisk
Rubber spatula
Microplane
Chef's knife and cutting board
Nonstick or cast iron skillet or griddle

Ingredients
6 oz. blackberries
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Kosher or sea salt
Black pepper
1 small handful mint, picked from stems and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons canola oil

Steps
1. Combine blackberries, sugar, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Let rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally (you can be a little rough; it's okay if the blackberries break up), until pancakes are ready. Stir in mint just before serving.

2. Heat butter in skillet over medium until browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl to cool down.

3. Whisk together flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and cooled melted butter. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Pour in buttermilk mixture and mix until just incorporated; batter should be lumpy with a few streaks of flour remaining.

4. Grease skillet with 1 teaspoon oil and heat over medium. When pan is hot, add 1 cup pancake batter and spread into a circle about 8" in diameter with the back of a spatula. Cook until first side of pancake is well browned and batter is peppered with little holes, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until second side is well-browned and pancake is cooked through (a skewer or chopstick inserted into the middle of the pancake should come out clean), about 5 minutes. Cooking times will vary here; we've found each pancake can take anywhere from 9 to 12 minutes. Just keep an eye on the heat, adjusting as necessary to get a nicely browned crust and prevent burning.

5. Repeat with remaining batter, re-oiling skillet as necessary (you will end up with four big pancakes). Serve each pancake hot out of the pan topped with plenty of blackberries and eat it as the next one cooks.

We couldn't decide which close-up was better, so here you go.

Actually Good Chicken Breast

Chicken breast usually sucks. Once you take it off the bone and remove the skin, you're basically looking at protein-rich sawdust unless you brine and deep-fry it. But chez Bake and Baste, plain ole roasted chicken breast is one of our favorite meals. We keep the skin on and slowly roast the meat on the bone to keep it moist, which makes it the perfect chicken for tacos or a salad—that is, if you don't just eat all the meat with your fingers straight off the cutting board. 

You need a meat thermometer here; no guesswork allowed with this much juiciness at stake. You can get a perfectly adequate meat thermometer for under 10 dollars, and it's so handy to have around that it easily justifies the cost. 

Before putting the chicken in the oven, we start with the cold pan technique to slowly render the fat from under the skin, gently crisping it to the point where it will literally crunch under your knife as you slice the meat.

Actually Good Chicken Breast

Cooking Time
45 minutes

Serves
2 breast friends

Tools
Nonstick skillet (must be oven-safe up to 300 degrees)

Spatula or tongs
Scissors or poultry shears
Meat thermometer
Chef's knife or slicing knife and cutting board

Ingredients

2 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon canola oil

Steps
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Trim excess skin, fat, and rib bones from chicken breasts. Gently loosen skin from flesh with your fingers, being very careful not to tear skin. Salt chicken under skin, over skin, and on flesh side.

3. Spread oil all over pan with wadded-up paper towels or a clump of plastic wrap. Arrange chicken skin side-down in pan and place over medium-low heat. Cook until skin is light golden in color and releases from pan (gently lift chicken to check), 8 to 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook until skin is well-browned and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Transfer pan to oven and roast for 20 minutes. Flip chicken skin side-up, return pan to oven, and roast until chicken registers an internal temperature of 145 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Let chicken rest skin side-up on a plate for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat pan over medium high to boil away rendered liquid and heat fat. Place chicken skin side-down in pan and cook until skin is very well-browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan, slice, and serve immediately, garnished with whatever you like.