Trading Corn for Mangoes
My current corn series began yesterday with Corn for Supper. However, last night I found out that I’m a finalist in the National Mango Board Mango Mentor Contest.
That’s right, I could be your very own Mango Mentor. Just go to this Facebook page, scroll down to Christine, click play and vote for me while you learn how to cut a mango.
It feels strange to be talking corn when I’m thinking mango. I’ve decided to give in. Next week I’ll be talking all mango all the time. If you were looking forward to more corniness, don’t worry. I’ve got some corn and mango ideas that I want to try. And, to show that I do care about your corn-love, I’ve got my favorite ever corn recipe for you today.
Spicy Creamy Smoky Sweet Corn
Printer-friendly version of the recipe
This recipe is adapted from one I observed Kevin Bevington, BBQ champ extraordinaire from HomeBBQ.com, making at a BBQ class. I didn’t write anything down and so I had to recreate it from memory. Memory and my own twists (fresh corn toasted up, fresh jalapenos instead of jarred, the addition of cilantro, way less butter and cream cheese) resulted in a perfect summer BBQ side dish.
Serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of corn (you can either shave it* from 3-4 cobs of corn or defrost some frozen stuff)
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper, finely chopped
-
1/3 cup of finely chopped red onion (green onions work too!) - 2-3 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely minced (decide how many jalapenos to use based on how spicy you like things)
- a handful of cilantro leaves, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tbsp butter
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
-
Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the corn kernels and spread them in a single layer. Ignore them for a few minutes. Check their undersides for browning. If browned, stir them up and neglect them for another couple of minutes. Repeat this until all the kernels have light brown spots. Remove from heat. (Note, you can instead grill the corn on the cob like this and then shave off the kernels as directed at * below. Or, if you use frozen, you can skip the toasting step. It’s still good just not quite as good.) - In a medium casserole dish, combine the corn, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper.
- Squidge the cream cheese and butter into a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 20 seconds. Stir. Repeat until the butter is melted and the cream cheese and butter are a smooth white cloud. Pour the hot bowlful of goodness over the corn mixture. Stir. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.
- Note: This recipe can be made ahead and then refrigerated before baking but it will then take a little bit longer to heat through. If you leave it in your fridge and forget about it until after the steaks are ready, no worries. You can heat it in the microwave! Two minutes on high then stir. Repeat until heated through.
*When shaving corn kernels off a cob they have a tendency to go spattering all over the kitchen. Get yourself a large shallow frying pan or a jelly roll pan. Hold the cob inside of and perpendicular to the pan. Use a knife to carefully shave off the kernels, cutting them off from top to bottom. The kernels will clink into the pan and thankfully not all over the kitchen.
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Check out my other recent Corn Posts:
A Mad Dash for Corn on the Cob (or for some other unrelated purpose)
This looks fabulous. I’ve made a salad similar to this with the addition of black beans. It’s amazing how fresh corn can really make a dish. Love it!
Thanks Mikaela! This would be great with black beans too, I think. I honestly do like frozen corn (defrosted). Or at least I always think I do throughout the winter. Then the summer corn arrives and I realize that they are two different species.
I know what tomorrow is!
The Mrs recently posted: Lets Talk About Free Stuff- Baby Yes Again And yes Finally
I can tell you tomorrow is not when I become the new Mango Mentor :(. That fabulous title has gone to Molly Chester of Organics Park. Oh well. She was pretty awesome. And it turns out all the finalists will be in the official mango-cutting video. Thanks for all your support and the post about me. You’re too amazing.
I’m sure she’s a lovely person but we were all rooting for you.
adventuresindinner recently posted: Food Waste Friday and a dreamy dessert
Thanks Jane!
Mango-licious! I’m going to do a shout-out on my blog for you (taking the cue from the Mrs. ). Hope it helps.
adventuresindinner recently posted: Small house big garden
Thanks Jane! I really appreciate that. Voting ends tonight. I have my fingers and my toes crossed.
Wow this looks so yummy, the falvours in this dish are oozing! I love the combination of flavours in here.
Raymund recently posted: Kangkong with Bagoong
Thanks Raymund! It is a very flavorful dish.
Just this morning at the farmer’s market, my friend asked if I like corn. I said, “yeah,” but when I tried to think of a recipe I drew a blank. But not anymore.
secretmenu recently posted: chickpea omelet with fried tomatoes
Maybe you drew a blank because plain old corn on the cob with butter and salt is so darned good. I have several corn recipes but when I bring home sweet cobs I almost always stick to those tasty basics. If you do try this recipe, let me know how you like it.
cream cheese and butter … will have to try this one. great photography! off to check out the FB thingy … cheers!
Thanks Steve! I think the corn would make a great side dish for your wondrous beer and maple brisket. Thanks for going to FB to vote :).
This corn looks absolutely amazing!! I’m bookmarking it and can’t wait to give it a try! ;)
Great! If you try it, let me know what you think.
Uh, there was some funky fake html in that comment about wailing…but looks like it was close enough to the real thing to get rendered as such.
If your computer starts wailing, it’s because I commanded it to. With my made up HTML.
Laughing now. No wails here though.
You, and your mango-jango-ness, are all over The Mrs today. It’s a Christine-fest, if you will.
WHY can’t I have a kitchen in my office?
It’s complete awesome awesomeness. I love your post and the publicity you’re giving me. Thank you thank you thank you. And it was just so darned sweet, I cried. Readers, if you haven’t seen it, head to http://www.themrs.ca/2011/06/we-interrupt-this-blog.html to check out the post that my wonderful blogger-friend has written.