Japanese Style Corn Rice

I like rice and corn and cooking rice with stuff in it, and the flavors of this dish sounded appealing so I wanted to give this a try.

Verdict: It was good but a significant amount of extra effort for how much I liked the taste. I think it would actually taste really good with Western style barbecue. If I had a lot of fresh corn to use up I might consider making it again.

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RECIPE: Corn Rice (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Corn Salad with Chile and Lime

This was one of those recipes that caught me in the right place at the right time. I saw it and immediately went out to buy the ingredients to make it.

Notes:

• I used my broiler to char the corn and it took maybe 7-10 minutes.
• I used feta cheese since I couldn't find cotija.
  
• I served it with marinated grilled/pan fried chicken.
  

Verdict: This was INCREDIBLY GOOD and I will absolutely be making it again, especially in August when the corn here is at its best.

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RECIPE: Corn Salad with Chile and Lime (Smitten Kitchen)

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Basil

Every year I buy corn when it's fresh (in August where I live) and then am not quite sure what to do with it besides boil it and eat it off the cob. This year I tried to find something a little different and settled on this. I love that you don't even have to cook the corn. It's good without the feta cheese but I think I prefer it with (it's a little more salty and I like the extra texture).

Notes:

• I made this more by feel with the amounts of ingredients I had than anything else.
• I used Tropea onion instead of red onion (the farmer I bought them from described them as "like red onion but sweeter and sharper", and they're delightful here).
  
• Used lime juice instead of cider vinegar.
  
• Added some ground chipotle powder for some heat (but you don't have to).
• You can make it vegan if you leave out the feta cheese.
  

Verdict: The first time I made it, it was so good I made it again right away after it was gone. It has a lovely mix of flavors, textures, and colors. Definitely keeping this one to make again.

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RECIPE: Fresh Corn Tomato Salad (Basil and Bubbly)

Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder

I tried this recipe because I wanted something warming and I was looking for ways to use up ingredients in my pantry (I sent my partner to the store for Thanksgiving dinner ingredients, and the only size of heavy cream at the store was an entire QUART, lol) and this checked all the boxes.

Verdict: This tasted OK. The soup itself was not particularly interesting flavor-wise. The crispy bacon on the top was probably my favorite part. I do like how colorful it is. I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again, but I would eat it again and I'm glad I tried it.

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RECIPE: Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder (Geoffrey Zakarian, Food Network)

Corn Pudding

This is the first year that neither my partner nor I have been severely ill over Thanksgiving in 4 years (! an unexpected silver lining of having to stay away from other people I suppose) so I cooked a fancy dinner. I saw this recipe and got very excited to include it in our meal because I wanted corn and I'd had something like this before, but felt better about this recipe because it didn't use any boxed mixes. My partner was very skeptical because of the name, but because I made it he said he would try it. I assured him it was going to be more like bread than what he would typically think of as pudding.

I made it as written, didn't change a thing, and used the honey butter. I even had the same dish as the one the author photographed it in (and promptly broke while washing it after cooking this in it, sad face).

this year's feast. pies are just out of view :)

Verdict: We both loved it. It was served with ham, cheesy potatoes, steamed green beans, and kale and apple salad. I would love to make it again.

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RECIPE: Corn Pudding (Smitten Kitchen)

Veggie Nachos

Tonight my cooking buddies Sarah and Caroline came over for some fun times before Sarah heads to France for 3 months. I had just sprained my ankle really badly and could barely stand up, and Caroline had quite a tumultuous first few weeks at her new science teacher job. Sarah had recently found Smitten Kitchen's Corn and Black Bean Weeknight Nachos and couldn't get enough, and wanted us to experience them too. We all worked together to get them in the oven as quick as we could, talking the entire time.

I didn't think it was possible, but it turns out I DO like radishes if they're pickled. Sarah finds a way for me to appreciate lots of things I thought I didn't like.

Cheesy food calls for cheesy entertainment. We brought the cookie sheet full of nachos into the living room, set them on the coffee table, and shared them while we drank red wine and watched Michael Bolton's Big Sexy Valentine's Day Special. (If you have not seen it, please do yourself a favor and watch it. Yes, it's dumb, but it's also amazing.)

Bon voyage mon amie.

RECIPE: Corn and Black Bean Weeknight Nachos

Bacon and Corn Okonomiyaki (Cabbage Fritters)

As a student of Japanese language and literature, one inevitably learns about Japanese food. Japan happens to have an incredibly rich food culture, and each region of the country has great pride for their local specialties. Okonomiyaki is a regional specialty of Osaka. At its simplest it is a mix of battered shredded green cabbage and scallion, fried like a pancake on a griddle, and brushed with a glossy, sweet-salty Worcester based sauce and topped with squiggles of Kewpie mayonnaise. Generally, if you go to a grill restaurant (teppanyaki) in Japan for okonomiyaki, you are provided with all the ingredients for your choice of type of okonomiyaki and cook it yourself at your table, which has a griddle built into it. Some people also make it at home either on the stove or a tabletop electric griddle, especially for parties because it is easy to make a lot and easy to share.

The idea of okonomiyaki can be difficult to explain concisely to people unfamiliar with Japanese food. I prefer to make it for them first so they can taste it without expectations. I usually call it "vegetable pancakes" since "cabbage pancakes" can put some people off. Cabbage seems to get a bad rap where I live (though after living in an Asian country and especially after trying okonomiyaki, I think cabbage is incredibly underrated by Americans in general). The okonomi in the name translates to "what you like" but that doesn't explain at all what's in it.  I've also heard it called "Japanese pizza" which on one hand is misleading because the main ingredients are totally different from the food we know as pizza, but on the other hand it's conceptually very similar to pizza in that it lends itself to a huge variety of topping and filling ingredients that each diner can vary to their diet and preferences to enjoy their food to the fullest.

However you choose to wrap your head around the concept of okonomiyaki, it's delicious and worth trying!

This particular recipe is not exactly authentic but it embodies what I love most about okonomiyaki. It was developed by a friend who didn't have much first hand experience with Japanese food but likes to cook, and I like his better than any other okonomiyaki recipe I've ever made. The batter clings to the ingredients nicely but isn't too thick or floury tasting, and cooking the meat beforehand and mixing it in ensures that it gets fully cooked, you get some of the flavor in each bite, and it doesn't awkwardly fall off when you try to eat it or cut the pancake. The bacon adds salty, savory, and smoky flavors, and the corn adds some sweetness. If you don't like or can't eat bacon or corn, you could easily substitute those for any number of other ingredients that suit your diet and tastes.

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RECIPE:

Bacon and Corn Okonomiyaki
adapted from my friend Eliot's recipe
Makes 4 pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup water
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 green onions, including tender green parts, roots removed, chopped fine
Dash of seasoning salt
1 tbsp sake or plain vodka
About 1/3 medium head green cabbage, chopped into ½” pieces (4-5 cups)
1 cup corn, canned (drained) or frozen (no need to thaw)
½ cup Rice Krispies cereal (optional)
¼ to 1/3 pound uncooked bacon (4-5 strips), chopped into small pieces
Okonomi sauce, for serving
Japanese mayonnaise, for serving (optional)
Aonori or shredded toasted seaweed, for serving (optional)
Bonito flakes (katsuobushi), for serving (optional)

Combine flour, water, eggs, garlic, green onions, seasoning salt, and sake in a large mixing bowl. Stir cabbage, corn, and Rice Krispies into batter until just incorporated. 

Fry bacon pieces in a large skillet until almost crisp (8-10 minutes). Remove bacon pieces from the grease and stir bacon into batter.  Reserve grease (pour into a mug or small heatproof bowl). Wipe any grease drips off the underside of the pan.

Heat skillet again on medium heat with ½ tablespoon bacon grease in it. When hot, put about 1 ½ cups batter into skillet and spread to create a 6-7 inch circle (don’t make it too big or you will have trouble flipping it without breaking it). Fry for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown, then flip and repeat on other side. Slide onto a plate. Top with 1-2 tbsp okonomi sauce, a few squiggles of mayonnaise, aonori or toasted seaweed, and bonito flakes. Repeat with remaining batter, regreasing pan each time. Serve hot. Makes about 4 pancakes.

If storing for later, fry the pancakes but do not add sauce or toppings, let cool, cover, and place in refrigerator. Reheat in 350°F oven or toaster oven for 10-15 minutes.

Tea Parties Vol. 1: A Birthday Party, and Being Unapologetically Yourself

One of my other hobbies besides cooking is dressing up in an alternative street fashion. One of the things groups of people who are interested in this fashion do is go to tea services while dressed to the nines in fancy, frilly clothes. I had recently left my local community because I felt weird being almost 30 and hanging out with a bunch of high schoolers I wasn't sure I'd ever have crossed paths or be friends with otherwise, and was lamenting the fact that I really wanted to host an event at my house, but wasn't comfortable inviting these people into my home and also felt weird asking my actual friends to come over where I was all dressed up in strange clothes.

Cue Sarah finding out about my fashion hobby and giving me one of the greatest pep talks of my adult life. Indeed she is right. The people who like you already aren't going to abandon you over your taste in clothing, and even if they're not into it personally, they will be happy for you that you're enjoying yourself. I'd read something to this effect and agreed with it before, but I guess I needed someone to say it, out loud, to me specifically.

I then told her about this tea party idea and since we like to cook together, she offered to help me cook for this party. I decided my birthday was a good excuse for the party so I invited my friends and took care of the scheduling and communication, and made drinks and cupcakes and hosted. Sarah made and brought the soup, sablés, gougères and nectarine bars. It was a lovely afternoon.

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RECIPES

• Roasted Corn Gazpacho with Cilantro Crema (from Tara O'Brady's cookbook Seven Spoons)
• Cheddar Cheese Sablés (originally from Chad Robertson's cookbook Tartine Book No. 3; the recipe linked from Scratchin' It is very similar but not the same as the one Sarah made)
• Rye-Cocoa Gougères (originally from Chad Robertson's cookbook Tartine Book No. 3)
• Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting (from Brown Eyed Baker; I additionally topped each one with a chocolate covered espresso bean and chocolate jimmies)
• Nectarine Frangipane Bars (from Smitten Kitchen; Sarah used nectarines instead of rhubarb)
• Matcha Green Tea Mojito
• Spiked Lemonade Iced Tea
• Bonus: Kentucky Tea Julep (from Elmwood Inn; I tested it with a neutral store brand black tea which was probably orange pekoe, and I liked it but we did not end up making them for the party because we had plenty of other drinks)

Other things we served that were not made from scratch:

• Various fancy cheeses
• Wine