side dish

Crazy Delicious Creamed Corn

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This was the side dish for last night’s dinner, but I could have eaten this as my meal and been very happy and satiated.  While contemplating dinner I had to consider a few things.  What did we have the last  few nights?  Thai curry and spaghetti casserole.  What kind of food is appropriate for the weather?  It’s cool, but not quite soup or chili weather yet.  How much time do I want to spend?  An hour tops.  Should I make something that is left-over friendly?  Yes!  Always yes.  After carefully considering all of these issues, I chose a Mexican style chipotle chicken and creamed corn.

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The chicken was delicious, and served double duty in chicken tacos the following night.  However, the creamed corn was the star of this meal in my opinion.  I used canned whole kernel corn instead of corn cut fresh from the cob because I am lazy.  It still turned out great.  The preparation and total cooking time are minimal.  Using canned instead of fresh corn makes it even quicker.  I really liked the combination of whole kernels and creamy corn puree.  The contrasting textures are wonderful.  This side probably serves 4-5, but is great re-heated and would easily double, so go ahead and make a double batch.  It is that good.

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Brown Butter and Chive Mashed Potatoes

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I saw Julie and Julia a few weeks ago and thought it was great.  I loved the past and present switches and how their lives seemed to intertwine across decades.  Seeing this movie also increased my passion for cooking.  I love to cook.  I love to cook things I’ve never cooked before and I love to share food with people.  After Ben and I left the theater I was inspired and demanded that we go to the grocery store and get something to make for dinner.  There was just no way that a frozen pizza was going to do it for me that night.

Since it was after 6 when the movie got out, we decided to grill steaks and make some quick side dishes.  Thank God for the iPhone!  Without it I wouldn’t have been able to find this yummy mashed potato recipe on Epi.  Salad would have been another easy side, but I opted to make something a little more exciting; sautéed green beans with toasted walnuts.

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Monster Zucchini Part II: Zucchini Fritters

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With the mound of shredded zucchini I could have made 3 batches (6 loaves) of zucchini bread.  I could have done this and frozen loves, or given them to friends.  But lets face it, I just don’t have that many friends and my freezer just couldn’t take the load!

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If I would have been thinking more clearly I would have shredded half of the ginormous squash and then sliced the rest and grilled them or sauteed them to serve with the leftover mac and cheese.  We cannot change the past, so I decided to make zucchini fritters.  I looked at a few recipes.  All used shredded zucchini, at least one egg, flour, and salt and pepper.  From that base I found that the possibilities are endless.  Some recipes used Parmesan or other cheeses in the mix, some used panko or some type of bread crumbs, some used onions (scallions or red), and the seasonings that were used ranged from simple S&P to 6 different herbs in one recipe.  I mixed and matched based on what I had at home.

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