For the first time, I tried a soup as a first course instead of salad. The soup I made is a Mexican classic called Crema de Elote. It is a simple but elegant soup made from corn and milk, often garnished with roasted poblano pepper. The recipe I typically follow is by Rick Bayless from his Authentic Mexican cookbook.
Here's the original recipe:
Crema de Elote - Fresh Corn Chowder with Roasted Peppers
Ingredients:
3 large ears of fresh corn or 1 1lb. bag of frozen corn, defrosted.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk
2 fresh poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cup Mexican crema or heavy cream
salt to taste, about 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish
Cut the kernels off the corn cobs, and place them in a blender jar, or if using frozen, just dump it into the blender jar.
Melt half the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 6 or 7 minutes, then add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Add the onion mixture to the blender jar along with the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Process until smooth, scraping down the jar as needed.
Melt the remaining butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. add the corn puree and cook stirring constantly until very thick. Whisk in the milk and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Strain the soup through a sieve. Rinse out the pan. Return the soup to the pan along with the poblano pepper and cream. Season with salt and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes stirring frequently adding a little milk if the soup seems too thick.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a tablespoon or two of the crumbled cheese and a little chopped parsley.
Serves 4.
I knew I'd be busy on Thanksgiving so I skipped a step or two from the recipe and cooked it in a slow cooker. I also had to triple the recipe to accommodate the crowd I was serving. I replaced 1/3 of the milk from the recipe with turkey broth, to lighten it up a little...and to use up some of the gallon or so of broth I had on hand. To do the slow cooker version, I simply pureed the milk and broth right in the blender with the corn, strained the raw puree through a sieve, and cooked it along with the poblano pepper in the slow cooker for about 4 hours on medium. Instead of adding the crema to the soup, I added a small dollop on top of each bowl of soup before topping with the cheese. The poblano peppers wound up a little on the soft side after the long slow cooking, but it was still a hit.
I always make pumpkin pie plus one additional pie for dessert. This year the second pie was pecan. My family isn't crazy about it because it's usually too sweet. I found a recipe for a piloncillo pecan pie on line, which I tried, with a small modification or two (one unintentional...forgot the flour), and it turned out great. Here's my version.
PILONCILLO-PECAN-COFFEE TART
2 cups chopped pecans
- 8 peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican (canela)
- 4 1/2 ounces piloncillo chopped
- 1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
- 1/3 cup strong coffee
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- Yolks of 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons half-and-half or cream
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, preferably Mexican
- 1 (10-inch) tart shell, blind baked
- Ice cream, to serve
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Toast the pecans on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Bruise the peppercorns and the cloves, crushing them slightly with a pestle, then combine in a small saucepan with the cinnamon, piloncillo, corn syrup and coffee. Bring to a boil. Simmer about 10 minutes until the piloncillo is dissolved. Add the butter, in pieces. Set the mixture aside to cool, stirring occasionally so that the butter melts. Strain the syrup to remove the chunky spices.
Beat the egg and yolks together. Add the cooled syrup to the eggs, along with the half-and-half, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
Spread the pecan pieces evenly across the bottom of the tart shell. Carefully pour the syrup over the nuts. Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake about 35 minutes or until tart is set. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Makes 10 to 12 servings.
A few more tidbits.
Say what you will about Martha Stewart, the recipes she publishes are among the most reliable ones I've ever used. She goes a little overboard with the gourds, wreaths, and ribbon, but in the recipe department, she never lets me down. I've become quite fond of her recipe for pate brisee, which is now my go-to pie crust recipe.
Earlier this summer, I was looking for a whipped cream recipe that would be stable enough to sit around for an hour or two and came across a great recipe for a cream cheese whipped cream by Cooks Illustrated. You'll need to be a member to follow that link, but basically you take 4 oz. of cream cheese, whip that with 1/3 cup of confectioners sugar a pinch of salt and a bit of vanilla, then add a cup of cream and whip to soft peaks. It is nice and stable with a slight tang from the cream cheese. I recommend it highly.
