22 December 2013

Bookshelf: Mexican Corn from Ripe, A Fresh Batch



Hi! It has been a little while.  The silly season well & truly kicked in & something had to give; amongst all the lunches, parties & holiday festivities.  Sadly it was cooking & so this little blog became a little neglected.  The good news is Santa came early with a new toy



And just like that my cooking mojo returned.  I want to BBQ, smoke or roast everything on this little baby!  The first foray was eye fillet.  I kept it simple with just a few wood chips to add that wonderfully smokey flavour that only a charcoal BBQ can deliver.  It was just, well delicious; tender, moist & smokey. Loving the new BBQ.



And then on the side this corn.  You have to try this corn.  I first had it at a Gourmet a Go Go cooking class the other month with Grant, his team & Pip Wylie from Ripe. It was the star attraction amongst all sorts of tempting summer dishes.





Corn is blanched, smeared in mayo, rolled in Mexican seasoning & then the final touch, a little Parmesan before heading to the grill. Sweet & spicy I reckon it will be making frequent encore appearances over Summer.  These are most definitely finger licking good!

Mexican Seasoning

This versatile rub is amazing with the corn but would also work on all sorts of kebabs or even fish to spice things up a little.

Makes 1/2 a cup

Ingredients

3 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional...but highly recommended)
3 tsp dried Mexican oregano* or regular dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

*You’ll get dried Mexican oregano at mexicanspecialities.co.nz


Directions

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl, mix well & store in a clean jar with an air tight lid.

Mexican Corn

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 corn cobs, husks on
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1 lemon
1/4 cup good mayonnaise
3 tbsp Mexican seasoning


Directions

Pull the husks back from the corn, but leave them attached.  Remove any stringy silk & set the cobs aside.  Fill a large pot with water & a pinch of salt & bring to the boil.  Blanch the corn, with husks attached, for 3-4 minutes.  Fill the sink with cold water & plunge the corn in the water to cool.  Drain well & pat dry with kitchen towel.

Place the Parmesan & Mexican seasoning on plates.  Cut the lemon in half & rub the juice all over the cobs.  Spread mayonnaise over the cobs & then roll in the Mexican seasoning & then in the Parmesan.

BBQ or grill the cobs for 1 or 2 minutes, turning often. And serve.



If you like these you might like this Fried Caprese Zucchini Blossoms
Three years ago Christmas Muffins


Enjoy!

03 December 2013

Honey & Orange Glazed Salmon


Last week was the first National Honey Week & I was lucky enough to be asked along to celebrate in style at Vinnie’s where Geoff Scott & his team treated us to a wonderful lunch.

This was pheasant…breast & terrine; with globe artichokes, guava jellies & honey & rosewater yoghurt




Chocolate & honey, panacotta & honey, blue cheese parfait & honey….honey works with everything!

Led by Airborne Honey, NZ’s oldest honey brand, it was been launched to raise awareness & support of New Zealand’s sweetest natural resource & to encourage more Kiwis to include it in their diets. 


Manuka honey is NZ’s most popular honey, just ahead of Clover. In the nationwide survey launched by Airborne Honey this month; 40% of Kiwis named Manuka as their favourite & 29% chose Clover.  And how do we like to eat it? Most of us like to eat it on toast. I also like it in a hot toddy when I have a cold.  That is after all the only thing good about having a cold!

So in honour of NZ Honey Week, which I really should have done last week but life got in the way,  here’s a savoury way with honey; honey & orange glazed salmon. It’s hardly even a recipe....but a speedy supper you can whip up in minutes.

Honey & Orange Glazed Salmon

Serves 2

1 large or 2 small fillets of salmon
Juice & zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp Airborne Manuka Honey
1/2 red chilli, finely diced
Salt & pepper


Directions

Pre heat your oven to 180C / 350F

To make the glaze mix together the orange juice & zest, honey & chilli & season with a little salt & pepper.



Drizzle the glaze over the salmon & pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until just cooked through.  Cooking time will depend on the size & thickness of the salmon fillet. So it may need a little less if small & thinner & a little longer if enormous & thick like the one I had. Seriously it could have fed 3 people.

I served mine with some char grilled asparagus & fresh peas for Spring on a plate & lighter supper amongst all the festivities as the silly season gets in to full swing.

The Manuka is the star with the orange delivering a little citrus to cut through the rich salmon, & for me as always; a welcome hit of heat from the chilli.



If you like this you might like this Hot Smoking
One year ago Matakana
Two years ago Sweet NZ Round Up

*Airborne Honey is New Zealand’s oldest honey company.  Behind each jar is 100 years of experience, plus 25 years of laboratory experience & a comparative database containing more than 31,000 records. Airborne Honey adheres closely to the principles of being Honest, Undamaged and Traceable. Specific numbers on Airborne Honey packaging relates to the honey’s actual pollen count, the HMF level, plus others, giving Airborne the ability to trace the honey right back to its source, as well as pinpointing any damage from processing & identifying its active ingredients. Airborne Honey has also patented a unique, breakthrough technology that almost entirely minimises heat damage to honey and delivers to the consumer the most natural and undamaged honey possible. www.airborne.co.nz


Enjoy!

01 December 2013

Sweet New Zealand #28

And it is December!  Here's the round up of last month's Sweet New Zealand. Our 28th month! 

First up this pretty as a picture crepe cake from Alessandra with edible flowers & alpine strawberries straight from her garden...crepes & cointreau infused butter cream sounds pretty heavenly to me.


Second my contribution; my take on pay…pear belle helene pav....so really somewhere between a meringue & a pav...a little chewy & a little crunchy topped of with whipped cream, pears, bittersweet chocolate...& oh yes....just a little salted caramel sauce!




And then there are these elderberry flower fritters from Alessandra....every so pretty & delicate.



Next up what could be the perfect raw caramel slice from Frances over at I Bake Club. Caramel - check. Chocolate - check! It is hard to believe that it is gluten, sugar & dairy free.



Could these possible be the prettiest cupcakes you’ve ever seen?  Hydrangea cupcakes from the just as gorgeous Arfi at Homemades. And hidden under the ever so pretty topping gluten free chocolate brownies


From Lesley at Eat Etc we have her take on Linzer Torte by way of these delectable Linzer biscuits, nutty biscuits sandwiched together with jam.  I’d imagine perfect with a cuppa.



And now we move in to the completely decadent with this amazing banana nutella cake...yes you heard right! Banana cake with a nutella coating!


Summer is almost here & strawberries are here! And they make for the perfect little tart as you can see by Alli over at Pease Pudding’s contribution. Perfect little strawberry tart tatins with a vanilla syrup. Now that is a dessert perfect for Summer.


Carrying on the Summer & strawberry theme check out these beautiful looking morsels from Sue over at Couscous & Consciousnessroasted strawberry custard tarts.  I want one...Now!



And with Christmas on the horizon how about these Christmas Caramel Slices from Nom Nom Panda....they’s make the perfect festive gift!


And finally these gorgeous looking pistachio orange & cardamom biscotti...these would also make a the prefect festive gift....if they lasted that long.  I love cardamom so these are right up my alley!


With Christmas just around the corner I am sure you will all be cooking up lots of festive sweet treats.  Be sure to send them on to Alice at Alice in Baking Land who will be hosting December Sweet NZ.

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