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Today, being Wednesday, marks the weekly occurrence of Slow Food in the Tetons’ People’s Market at the base of Snow King from 4-7 p.m. If you’re like me, then you’re stuffing your reusable bag with the abundance of produce that is currently on display at all the local farmers’ markets. Last week, I found myself a little stuck on what to do with all the corn I had purchased. Sure, you can grill it on the cob or make a simple salad, but I wanted to try my hand at something more creative. These two recipes from our foodie tour of Scottsdale, Ariz., helped me put all those kernels to good use.
Southwest Mac & Cheese
August 15, 2018
Ingredients
- 2 pounds rigatoni
- 3 ears corn on the cob
- 2 Poblano chilis
- 1/2 pound Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 pound smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 pound deli ham
- 1 quart heavy whipping cream
- 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
Instructions
- Cook rigatoni al dente, cool down and set aside.
- Bake cornbread, cool down and set aside.
- Roast corn, cool, then cut off of the cob.
- Roast poblano chilis, peel, and remove seeds, julienne into strips.
- Saute garlic for a minute over medium heat, add heavy cream and bring to a simmer.
- Fold in all of the cheese.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Julienne ham into about 2″ x 1/4″ strips.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the rigatoni, roasted corn, chilis, ham, and the cheese sauce.
- Add remaining shredded cheese and mix well, then transfer into a casserole pan.
- Crumble the cornbread over the top and bake in a 300 F oven for 20-30 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
Scallops with Roasted Corn Relish
Ingredients
For the relish:
- 3 ears of corn roasted and shaved off the cobb
- 1 green bell pepper roasted, peeled and seeded
- 1 red bell pepper roasted, peeled and seeded
- 1 yellow bell pepper roasted, peeled and seeded
- 2 jalapenos, minced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce
- 1/4 cup of your favorite store bought white wine or herb vinaigrette
For the scallops:
- Diver or U-10 scallops (2 per person)
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
For the relish:
- Cut the finished peppers into 3/4 inch squares.
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Set aside and refrigerate.
- Tip: the best way to roast corn and peppers at home is to put them directly over an open flame. If you have a gas stove, you can put it right on the burner. Make sure to rotate them frequently, but make sure you get them roasted until they are nice and dark. If you do not have a gas stove, you can roast them in the oven on the broil setting.
For the scallops:
- Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel, lightly salt and pepper.
- Sear them in a sauté pan with the oil over medium-high heat for two to three minutes on one side until you can see the scallop turn brown on the bottom edge.
- Turn the scallop over, cook for an additional two minutes and add the butter.
- Remove from heat, and baste scallops with butter by spooning the melted butter over the scallop, repeatedly, to let the butter enhance the flavor of the scallops.
- Turn scallops over and let set in pan for additional two minutes.
- Serve over a chilled corn relish.
- Don’t shake the pan when searing scallops; you want the scallop to get a nice brown sear on it which will not happen if the scallops move while cooking.
- If scallops cook all the way through, their juices run out and the taste and tenderness suffers; you want to cook them medium rare.
- Poke the scallops with your finger and remove them from the heat when they reach the feel of poking a rare steak as it is being grilled.
