Vegetarian Maque Choux Food

MAQUE CHOUX - CAJUN

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook it until it is browned up and crispy, approximately 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon, with a slotted spoon, to a paper towel lined plate so it can drain.
• Add butter and onions to the pot and cook until soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add the Creole seasoning and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Increase the heat to med-high and then add the okra, bay leaf, thyme, black pepper and cayenne. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until the okra is crisp tender, approximately 5 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring once and a while. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes. Last, add the salt and reserved bacon, stir to combine and serve!

VEGETARIAN MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• Remove the husks from corn; scrub with a stiff brush to remove silks.
• Rinse.
• Use a sharp knife to remove corn from cobs, cutting two-thirds of the way to the cob.
• Scrape cobs with a dull edge of a knife.
• (You should have about 4 cups.) In a 3-quart saucepan, cook onion and green pepper in butter or margarine about 5 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in corn, tomato, salt, black pepper, and red pepper.
• Cover and cook over low heat about 20 minutes or until corn is tender.
• Season to taste.
• Enjoy!
• Makes 6 side-dish servings.

CAJUN CORN MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• 1. Cut the kernels off of the corn into a large bowl. Using the back of the knife, scrape the sweet corn milk from the cobs to extract about 3 tablespoons and add it to the bowl. Set aside.
• 2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until the fat renders and the bacon is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside. Add the butter to the skillet and when melted, add the celery, bell peppers and onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the milk, scallion whites, garlic, tomatoes and corn. Cook until thickened, 10 minutes.
• 3. Serve garnished with the scallion greens and reserved bacon.

CAULIFLOWER MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F
• Toss cauliflower with oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a bowl. Spread in 1 layer in a shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan and roast, turning over with tongs halfway through roasting, until golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Transfer cauliflower with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then carefully pour oil from baking pan through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl.
• While cauliflower roasts, bring hominy and cream just to a simmer in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat butter and 2 tablespoons strained oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook ham (if using), stirring, 2 minutes. Add onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add vinegar and stock and simmer briskly, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by about half, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in hominy mixture and corn and simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and salt to taste and simmer, stirring once or twice, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in parsley.

MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• Working with 1 corn cob at a time, set the ear of corn upright in a medium bowl. Shave the corn from the cob by slicing down the sides using the tip of a sharp chef's knife, holding the knife almost vertical. (This gives you neat tablets of corn that land squarely in the bowl and keeps the kernels from scattering all over the counter.) Using the back of the knife, scrape each cob to release all the nibs and the "milk" of the kernels into the bowl. Repeat with remaining ears of corn, then snap the cobs in half, and add them to the bowl.
• In a large, deep sauté pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat until foaming. Add onion and celery, and season with 1 or 2 pinches of kosher salt. Stir constantly until softened and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons butter and the bell pepper, poblano and serrano, and stir constantly, adding another pinch of kosher salt, letting the butter melt and the peppers soften and become translucent, about 2 or 3 minutes. You will smell the peppers' sweetness and their mild capsaicin releasing.
• Add the final 3 tablespoons butter and the corn mixture from the bowl, cobs included, and another pinch of kosher salt. Stir constantly to coat with the butter and combine thoroughly.
• When everything starts to hiss and sound hot, but isn't cooking so hard as to take color, add 1/2 cup water and a healthy few grinds of black pepper, and cover the pan for a couple of minutes to steam/shallow braise the mixture.
• Remove the lid, and stir well, noticing the corn releasing its liquid and the kernels softening, and the cobs turning somewhat translucent, if however vague. You will notice a general softening and melding together. Return the lid, and let cook a few more minutes, noticing the water evaporating and the remaining liquid reducing and gaining some "body" and gloss. Discard the corn cobs, but do suck them before tossing - those buttery juices make a nice cook's treat.
• Taste for salt, and serve. It should be sweet, spicy, a bit wet and surprisingly complex, given the few ingredients and their ordinariness. If you want a smoky taste, add a good pinch of smoked paprika.

MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• Saute the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno pepper in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in corn, tomatoes, and Creole seasoning; reduce heat to low.
• Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

CORN MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add corn; sauté 2 minutes. Add cream, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Mix in green onion, parsley, and basil. Season to taste with coarse salt, pepper, and more hot pepper sauce, if desired.

CORN MAQUE CHOUX (FRIED CORN)

Steps:

• In the skillet, heat the butter over medium low heat until melted.
• Add the onion and saute until wilted but not brown.
• Add the bell peppers and the corn and stir to coat everything with butter, sprinkle with some salt, pepper, and cayenne, and continue cooking over med-low heat, stirring frequently, until all liquid (if any) completely evaporates, the vegetables start to take on a slight caramalization and the whole room smells really, really good.
• (This should take about 20 minutes).
• Taste, adjust the seasonings if you need to, and serve.
• Note: I say to use a cast iron skillet because, as with cornbread, I believe this dish suffers in flavor if it is not cooked in one.
• However, if you don't have one, you can use another skillet- just know that it would be much better cooked in a cast iron skillet.