Corn Fritters

As requested by Michelle:

Corn Fritters (from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

4 ears fresh corn, husks and silk removed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 T all-purpose flour
3 T fine-ground cornmeal
2 T heavy cream
1 shallot, minced
1/2 t salt
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
1/4 c vegetable oil, or more as needed

Stand the corn on end inside a large bowl and cut the kernels from 2 ears of the corn, using a paring knife. Grate the remaining 2 ears corn over the large holes of a box grater into the same bowl. Using the back of a butter knife, scrape any remaining milk from the cobs into the bowl.

Stir the egg, flour, cornmeal, cream, shallot, salt and cayenne into the corn to make a thick batter.

Heat the oil in a skillet over med-hi heat until shimmering. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter into the oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the fritters to a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining batter.

Notes:

I like using fresh corn b/c it's crunchier.

The shallot it a must!

You can use canned corn in place of fresh. Just make sure you drain it completely.

If you use canned corn, you should probably add more flour and/or cornmeal to make the batter a little drier.

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

Love Panera Bread! LOVE THIS SOUP!!

If you don't have a Panera near you. I am sorry. We are bread people. Bring on the carbs. Hello Fontega Chicken Panini. Hello Cinnamon Crunch Bagel. Hello French Bread (for French toast). We <3 Panera!

Anyway, back to the recipe.

What I did...

I chopped the broccoli into tiny, tiny pieces.

I used bagged shredded carrots.

I didn't set the sauteed onions aside. One less dish to clean, the better.

I skipped the whole puree part. Again, less dishes to clean.

I didn't have any on hand tonight, but serve this with a yummy French bread baguette. When I'm in Panera I use my baguette as my spoon. :P

Pecan Pie Muffins

Holy PECAN! They weren't kidding. Make these. Make these now :P

Pecan Pie Muffins

And when you make them...

Please forget about eating healthy for just a little bit.

Please don't get confused when the recipe calls for softened butter. Just use melted like the blog shows you.

Please do not fill the cups more than 2/3 full. I'd probably even do half full, especially if doing them mini style like me.

Please remove them from the cups while still warm. They will get stuck. At least they did for me.

Please dot them with a little butter. Like I said, they weren't kidding.