Corn Flan With Smoked Salmon Food

CORNMEAL WAFFLES WITH SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Make the batter: In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in buttermilk, eggs and butter. Beat briefly to produce a thick batter. Set aside at room temperature.
• Prepare the condiments: Stir together crème fraîche and lemon zest, and transfer to a serving dish. On a platter, arrange the smoked salmon, caviar, chives and dill.
• Heat the waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. When hot, ladle in a scant cup of batter. (This amount is for a round waffle with a 7-inch diameter. Adjust quantities for irons of other sizes.) Close the iron, and bake each waffle for 4 to 5 minutes, until well browned and quite crisp. You may hold waffles uncovered on a baking sheet in a 250-degree oven, for up to 20 minutes.
• To serve, lay a slice of smoked salmon in the center of each waffle. Top with a good dollop of crème fraîche and a heaped teaspoon of caviar. Sprinkle with chives, dill and a bit of black pepper. (To serve as appetizers, assemble a platter in the kitchen: Cut waffles in quarters or wedges, and top each with a small piece of salmon, a dab of créme fraîche and some caviar. Garnish with herbs and pepper.)

CORN FLAN

Steps:

• Strip kernels from corn. Combine them with milk in a blender, and blend. (Mixture will not be perfectly smooth.) Pour into a saucepan, and heat gently until steam rises, about 5 minutes. Cover, and steep 10 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 300 degrees, and set a kettle of water to boil. Grease bottoms and sides of four 6-ounce ramekins with butter.
• Strain corn-milk mixture into a large bowl, and discard contents of strainer. Add salt to taste to the milk in the bowl. (Oversalt just a bit.) In a small bowl, beat eggs and yolk together, and add a little of the strained milk to warm. Pour the egg-milk mixture into the milk. Add spices, and pour into ramekins.
• Put ramekins in a deep roasting pan or an ovenproof skillet, and add boiling water about halfway up their sides. Bake about 20 minutes, until barely set (still quite jiggly in the middle). Leave flans in ramekins or remove them by inverting each over a plate about 15 minutes after they come out of the oven. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix together salt, sugar, brown sugar and peppercorns. Spread extra-wide aluminum foil a little longer than the length of the fish and top with an equally long layer of plastic wrap. Sprinkle 1/3 of the rub onto the plastic. Lay 1 side of the fish skin down onto the rub. Sprinkle 1/3 of the rub onto the flesh of the salmon. Place second side of salmon, flesh down onto the first side. Use the remaining rub to cover the skin on the top piece. Fold plastic over to cover then close edges of foil together and crimp tightly around the fish. Place wrapped fish onto a plank or sheet pan and top with another plank or pan. Weigh with a heavy phone book or a brick or two and refrigerate for 12 hours. Flip the fish over and refrigerate another 12 hours. Some juice will leak out during the process so make sure there's a place for the runoff to gather. Unwrap fish and rinse off the cure with cold water. Pat salmon with paper towels then place in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until the surface of the fish is dry and matte-like, 1 to 3 hours depending on humidity. A fan may be used to speed the process. Smoke fish (see Note) over smoldering hardwood chips or sawdust, keeping the temperature inside the smoker between 150 degrees F and 160 degrees F until the thickest part of the fish registers 150 degrees. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, wrap tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Cook's Note: Trout, mackerel, and bluefish also smoke well.

CORN FRITTERS WITH SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Trim both of the zucchini as follows: by cutting lengthwise, remove the outer 1/4-inch of flesh all around. Discard the central core. Cut the outer sections into 3/4 by 1/8-inch julienne. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the corn, onion, basil, parsley, and zucchini and toss to mix. Add the flour and toss with your hands, seperating all the ingredients to be sure they are all coated evenly with the flour. Add the salt, pepper, and sparkling water and combine well. The mixture should be airy and light, not wet; do not overmix. In a large heavy saucepan or deep-fryer, heat a generous amount of vegetable oil to 375 degrees. Gather the batter into loose, free-form fritters (about 3 inches in diameter) and fry them, 2 at a time, until they are golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. With a skimmer or kitchen tongs, gently transfer them to paper towels, drain, and place in the warm oven while you finish cooking the other fritters. Place a fritter in the center of each of 6 warmed breakfast plates and lay the salmon in a circle around the base of each. Place a few dollops of sour cream on the salmon and drizzle Basil Oil around the edges of the plates. Serve immediately.

SALMON IN CORN HUSKS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water and rice to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 18 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain excess liquid, if necessary. Transfer the rice to a medium bowl.
• Melt the butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their juices, about 5 minutes. Uncover the skillet. Increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir the mushroom mixture into the rice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Season salmon fillets on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Working in batches, put 2 corn husks lengthwise in front of you with the wide side in front of you, overlapping each other on the long sides. Divide the rice into quarters. Put 1/4 of the rice in the center of the husks. Put 1 salmon fillet on top. Fold the long sides and ends over the rice and salmon filling. Tie with kitchen string. Continue with remaining rice, salmon, and corn husks. Arrange them on a baking sheet and bake until the salmon is fully cooked, about 25 minutes. Serve with dill sauce.
• Dill Sauce: Combine the clam juice and wine in heavy small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the crema. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, then stir in the dill and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

CORN BLINI WITH SMOKED SALMON AND CHIVE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine sour cream and chives in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
• Cut kernels from ear of corn. Scrape remaining pulp from cob using the dull side of a knife blade. Discard cob. Set corn aside.
• Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and cornmeal in a medium bowl; make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine milk and egg yolk in a small bowl, stir well with whisk. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir with a whisk until just moist. Stir in corn, salt, and pepper.
• Place egg white in a bowl, beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Gently fold egg white mixture into corn mixture.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 1 tbls. batter per blini onto pan, spreading to about 2" diameter. Cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges begin to set. Carefully turn blinis over, cook for 1 more mintue. Transfer blinis to a serving platter, and arrange in a single layer; keep warm. Repeat process with the remaining batter. Top each blini with with 1 piece salmon and 1 teaspoons sour cream mixture. Garnish with chopped chives, if using.
• Makes 8 servings.

SWEET CORN FLANS WITH TOMATO-CORN RELISH

Steps:

• Make flans:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook corn in a pot of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool.
• Cut off kernels with a sharp knife into a bowl, scraping ears. Reserve 3/4 cup for relish and purée remainder in a blender with milk until smooth. Force corn purée through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding skins.
• Whisk together eggs, salt, and cayenne until blended and whisk in corn purée.
• Pour flan mixture into lightly oiled ramekins and bake in a hot-water bath just until set, about 40 minutes.
• Remove ramekins from water bath and cool on a rack. Chill until cold, about 2 hours.
• Make relish:
• Stir together corn, tomatoes, onion, and basil. Stir in oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
• Run a thin knife around edge of each flan, then invert flans onto plates. Spoon relish over them.