Corn muffins

Going on vacation left me with a craving for lots of things I ate while there. The thing I wanted the most, of course, was good clam chowder — even in Massachusetts, it was surprisingly hard to find. But another thing I found myself craving was corn muffins — the innkeeper at the B&B where we stayed made them on our last couple of mornings there, and I realized, once I got home, that I don't actually eat them that often and hadn't quite gotten enough. But hey, the one good thing about knowing how to bake is that if you want something like that, you can just make some.

I didn't have a corn muffin recipe, though I do know that if you're feeling lazy, the cornbread mix from Trader Joe's is pretty good in muffin form. But I was looking for something a bit sweeter, more of a breakfast food, and I think I found it with this recipe. The muffins were tasty enough that I scarfed down two of them warm from the oven, and they freeze well, too: Just wrap one in a damp paper towel and microwave until warm.

Corn Muffins
From a Food Network recipe

1 c cornmeal
1 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 c honey

1. Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. In another bowl, beat together the milk, eggs, butter and honey.
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, stirring just until combined.
4. Evenly divide the batter between 12 greased muffin cups, then bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden.

Corn pancakes

Sometimes, a recipe just falls into your lap and cries out, "make me, make me right now!"

The other day, my boyfriend went to a dinner party, and of all things, he decided to bring me back corn -- two ears of leftover, already-cooked corn. What am I gonna do with this? No idea.

And then, Smitten Kitchen posted this recipe. And as I looked down at the sad little heap of leftover chow fun I'd been about to dig into for breakfast, I knew that it was fate. Pancakes, you would be mine.

I looked at the recipe, and then I wasn't so sure -- "I know I don't have any cornmeal," I thought. "Probably no buttermilk, either." But amazingly, I did have some buttermilk tucked away in the back of the fridge that was actually still good, and as for the cornmeal, well, while I'm sure the pancakes would've been even better with it, I used oat flour instead (got almost a whole bag to use up still after making granola bars) and they were still really tasty.

Corn Pancakes
From Smitten Kitchen
2 tbsp butter, plus additional for brushing pan
3/4 c kernels cut from an ear of sweet corn
1/8 tsp salt plus a pinch
1 egg
1 1/4 c buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 c flour
1/4 c cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add corn kernels and saute until slightly browned. Remove kernels to a bowl and wipe out pan. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the corn.
2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and remaining salt in another bowl.
3. In the bowl with the corn, add the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and sugar and whisk together. Dump in the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined but still lumpy.
4. Heat up the skillet and brush with butter. Ladle in a quarter-cup of batter or so per pancake. When they're dry around the edges, flip them over; cook until golden on both sides.