Creamy Corn Chowder

1 1/2 lb stewing beef, cut into chunks.  Sirloin or round is good for this.
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 large red potatoes, peeled, diced
5 ears of corn, kernels cut off (should be 4+ c. of kernels)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
6 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup half-and-half
1/2 c. sour cream

Sweet Corn Fritters

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp sugar
3 ears fresh corn, kernels cut from cob
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. buttermilk
pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Maple Whipped Cream
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 tsp mapleine (artificial maple)

corn or peanut oil for shallow frying
2 tablespoons cane syrup, or as desired (optional)

Whisk both flours, the baking powder, sugar, salt & pepper into a bowl with the corn kernels.  Whisk the egg yolks, cream, and buttermilk until smooth.  Beat the whites with cream of tartar until stiff and fluffy.  Mix the liquid yolk mixture into the corn kernels.  Fold in the whipped egg whites until the batter is light and loose.

Pan-fry the fritters with enough oil to cover the surface.  Cook until golden brown on each side.  Drain on a paper towel

These are great with maple whipped cream!

Asian Corn Fritters

Ingredients

Spice Paste:
2/3 c. coarsely chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped garlic
1 c. chopped fresh chives
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Body:
4 c. corn kernels, either from frozen or cut from fresh cobs
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. white rice flour
1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 eggs
4 oz chopped raw shrimp
3 tbsp red chile peppers (optional for spicy fritters)

Procedure:
Put the onion, garlic, spices and condensed milk in a food processor and pulse until it's a smooth paste.  In a mixing bowl, blend everything and add the spice paste.  Add enough water to make the batter slightly loose and no more.

In a skillet, fry the fritters in a 1/4 inch of oil.  This recipe called for deep frying, but I found shallow frying works just fine, and the fritters don't fragment.  Cook for 2 min. per side roughly, until golden brown. 

These are great by themselves or with a bit of sour cream.  There's probably some sort of Asian dipping sauce that would be great too.

Popovers

(requires popover cups for baking)

Popovers are a pastry that is crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside.  Alton Brown has a good eats episode that discusses this and how the steam from the milk puffs up the inside due to the unique shape of the popover cup.

This recipe is a good one for plain popovers or turning into a sweet treat with sugar and cinammon on the outside

1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 eggs

Optional sugar coating:
4 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinammon
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tbsp melted butter for brushing

Oven @ 450 F
Whisk the milk, eggs, butter, sugar and salt until light and frothy.  Add the flour and blend well until you have a loose batter.  Pour into 6 popover cups.  Bake for 15 minutes. 
After first 15 minutes, turn over down to 350.  Do not open oven.  Bake for additional 25 minutes.

If making the sugared variation, mix the sugar and put in a zip-lock bag for tossing.  Brush each popover thoroughly with melted butter.  Toss each popover in the bag of sugar and spice until thoroughly covered.  Eat.

Fruit Cobbler - Based on Grandma's

Cobbler, in my experience is a scrambled pie.  I've heard the meaning of the name refers to the batter bubbling up through the surface of the fruit and liquid and forming cobblestone-like features.  This is sort of true with this recipe.  Grandma's was a lot like that.  My auntie makes a great cobbler, but she uses store-bought pie crust and layers that.  Somehow it just doesn't jive.  Dad would disagree though; he loves auntie's cobbler more than any I've made.
Ingredients:

1 stick of butter in a dutch oven

Batter:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Fruit:
8 c. fruit
3/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Oven @ 350 F.

Put the dutch oven in the oven with the butter and let it melt.  Check periodically, remove once melted, or else it will start burning.  Reduce heat to 300 F.

Prepare the fruit (chop, hull, peel, pit, etc), add the sugar and lemon, stir and set aside in a bowl.

Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk till evenly blended.  Add the buttermilk and mix until you have a pour-able batter.  If it's too thick add a little more buttermilk.

Pour half of the batter into the dutch oven, evening coating the bottom of the pan.  Add half of the fruit, spooning it with the liquid over the top of the batter.  Add the remaining batter on top of that as a second layer, then spoon the remaining fruit over top.  Pour any excess juice over top as well.  Cover with dutch oven lid and bake at 300 F for 1 hour.

Pink Rhubarb Curd

Makes 18 oz, or three 6 oz ball-type jars of curd.

Ingredients
400 g chopped rhubarb
1/4 c. water

3 eggs large
3 tsp cornflour/corn starch
1/2 c to 3/4 c sugar
a drop of pink colouring optional
3/4 c unsalted butter cubed

Method
Put rhubarb, water and sugar in a medium pot on stove, over medium heat.  Cook about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.  While that cooks, break the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk them up. 

Once the rhubarb's broken down, put the cornstarch in a small bowl and add a couple spoonfuls of the rhubarb mixture, and blend it til smooth with a spatula.  Add food coloring to this if using. 

Temper the eggs by whisking constantly and adding a ladle at a time of the hot rhubarb mixture.  Do two or three of these until the eggs start to thicken.  Reduce the heat to med-low, and add the tempered egg and cornstarch mixture, blending and stirring it well.  Cook over the lowered fire for another 5 minutes, stirring smoothly. 

Remove from heat and add the cubed butter, stirring until they've all melted.  The curd is done and ready for jarring. 

Untested Custard Rice Pudding Recipe

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
3/4 cup white rice
5 cups whole milk
5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 to 34 cup raisins, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan with butter.

Using a double boiler over medium heat, cook the rice in the milk uncovered for 25 minutes, and then covered for another 25 minutes, until the rice is thoroughly cooked. If the rice is still a little too firm, let sit on the burner over low heat for another 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

While the rice is cooking, make your egg mixture by combining the egg yolks, vanilla and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add the egg yolk mixture, dry ingredient mixture, 3 tablespoons butter and the heavy cream to the cooled rice, mixing between each addition.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Add the raisins, if using. Set the entire pan in a water bath and bake for 1 hour. If you use raisins, halfway through the baking you have to stir the bottom by sliding a knife along the sides (this is so the raisins will not gather at the bottom) without disturbing the custard. Bake until the rice pudding is no longer liquid. It will have solidified and a slight caramel colored crust will have formed on top. Cool and refrigerate until serving.