America Loves Corn

 

 
     When I think of the 4th of July, too many memories come to mind. For me, this is just as much of a family holiday as Christmas.  The 4th of July's of my youth were either speant sittin' on the porch at my grandparent's house, with homemade ice cream and fresh picked boysenberries; Or at our cousins' property in Oyster Bay, New York, for extravagant soirees and dockside fireworks. In high school, I attended my first annual MacNaughton's 3rd of July party. My friend's family lived on a golf course that had a private fireworks show on the 3rd. We'd drink tequila 'til our clothes came off, literally, because we'd always end up in the jacuzzi or passed out in a bikini somewhere. Sadly that era has ended, but maybe it's better for the heath of us all. July 4, 2010, I was in Avignon, France, and I was alone. I celebrated by watching 2 hours of the show Kendra, dubbed over in French on France's E! channel. I like to think, that no matter where I am, I'm celebrating where I live, and where I come from.

     There's really no recipe that can blend all these stories together. I just feel that corn is such a quintessential summer food, that I decided to make some. My family loves preparing side dishes like grilled corn on the cob, creamed corn, and corn bread; but corn does not an entree make. Unless we're talkin' grits! Grits are American, right? Grits are made from ground cornmeal. The Italians call this "polenta," but both are made by boiling ground corn meal into a paste. I don't like that pasty texture, which is why I love this recipe. Adding fresh corn and cheese, gives much needed flavor and creaminess to this typically uninspired dish. Top with roasted vegetables or butterflied vegan sausage.

Fresh Corn & Cheesy Grits 

(Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's 'polenta with fresh corn' )

 

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup polenta or corn grits (Bob's Red Mill is a good call)
• salt
• kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 cup grated cheese
• chopped fresh chives, for serving

step 1.
     Bring the water to a boil in a large saute or saucepan. Slowly whisk in the polenta and a dash of salt. Turn the heat as low as it can go, and cover. Depending on your stove, and how creamy or grainy you like your grits, you may want to leave the lid lightly ajar to let some steam escape.Cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 5-10.

Step 2.
    Cute the kernels off two ears of corn. Add the kernels, milk, and cream, and cook on low-medium heat for 5 minutes.

step 3.
     Remove from heat, and stir in your cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and serve sprinkled with chives. You can sprinkle some more cheese on each serving as well.

Grits with sheeps milk cheese, chives, and roasted artichoke

   I served mine with some baby artichokes from the Farmer's Market that I steamed, halved, and roasted. But I ate my leftovers with butterflied vegan sausage. Field Roast makes Apple & Sage Sausage Links, and they're by far my favorite meatless replacement for sausage and hot dogs. You should find them at whole Foods near the tofu.

____________________________________________________________

"But you know what? The more cheese to me, the better." - Paula Deen

Featured Local

If you haven't figured it out yet, I love going to the Farmer's Market! Sometimes I just show up there with $20 and let the vendors tell me what I should be making for dinner. This week, I met a new vendor, and he calls himself The Milk Man.

His name is Chris, and he made me sample butter. That's right, a slice of butter. But thankfully, I also got to sample cheese. I can be pretty picky about cheese since that one semester that I worked at a cheese counter in Chicago. And I consider myself to know an above-average amount about cheese.  Chris sent me home with a delicious sheeps-milk cheese that I used in my grits. I love cheese, and I'm excited to visit Chris next week and try some new cuts. Here's what I got from the milk man this week:

MilkmanLA

Love where you live.

Happy 4th, friends.