Grilled Corn

Summer and grilling go hand in hand..which includes corn on the cob! I had tried grilling corn last summer and it turned out okay, but nothing extraordinary. But then Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen's country version) featured a "recipe" or rather method of grilling perfectly sweet and juicy corn. Cook's Country stated, "If your corn isn't as sweet as you'd like, stir 1/2 cup of sugar into the water along with the salt. Avoid soaking the corn for more than 8 hours, or it will become overly salty."

What's the best way to tell if your corn is sweet enough? Well taste it of course (uncooked that is)! This is something that I had always seen my Abuelita do whenever I would go shopping with her. She also "taught" me to always open the corn before buying it to make sure the kernels were still good, plump and not dried out. I have to admit though, since moving to Chicago, it is rare that I see someone open up the cobs to check out the kernels (in fact, the only other time that I have seen someone join me in the good corn hunt was at a Mexican grocery store and it was a "little old lady" as my abuelita to say, someone else's abuelita). But this hasn't stopped me from doing so. I would much rather look "picky" at the grocery store then come home and be greeted with wilted and sickly looking corn.

(now this is some good looking corn if I say so myself)

Anyway, back to the recipe/method. I saw this episode and decided to try it out that week. Without telling Brad what I was doing, I followed the directions and then handed it off to Brad later on that evening to stick it on the grill to compliment our meal for that evening. When it came time to eat, both Brad and Jacob said it was some of the juiciest and sweetest corn they had ever tasted. I then shared with them my little secret and decided that this will now be our go to method for cooking corn when we have the time/foresight.

Grilled Corn on the Cob
from Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen)

"If your corn isn't as sweet as you'd like, stir 1/2 cup of sugar into the water along with the salt. Avoid soaking the corn for more than 8 hours, or it will become overly salty."

Ingredients

	Salt and pepper
8	ears corn , husks and silks removed
8	tablespoons unsalted butter , softened, or 1 recipe flavored butter (see related recipes)

Instructions

1. In large pot, stir 1/2 cup salt into 4 quarts cold water until dissolved. Add corn and let soak for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

2. Grill corn over hot fire, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until kernels are lightly charred all over, 10 to 14 minutes.

Remove corn from grill, brush with softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Have I told you lately that I love blueberries? ^_^ They are by far the best fruit that God created.

Brad and I went blueberry picking again for my birthday this year and unfortunately, I wasn't able to control myself as well this year and ate a good majority of them before we ended up freezing them. Whoops! ::looks innocently:: By the way, what is the best way to freeze blueberries? Well let me tell you. Place your fresh blueberries on a cookie sheet or shallow pan in a single layer. Set berries in the freezer until frozen (this will take an hour or so). Once frozen, pour into a freezer bag and viola! Individually frozen blueberries that are much easier to remove and use in a recipe. Love it!

Anyway, I had wanted to make some fresh blueberry muffins and I didn't want my precious fruit to go to waste on some bland recipe so I went straight to Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. I have never been disappointed with any of the recipes that I have gotten from them and I had remembered seeing blueberry muffins being featured on the cover. However, of course I couldn't find my CI magazine. I did find a recipe on their website though but it called for jam, which I didn't want to do. So I did some more searching and what I found was a recipe from Cook's Country, another branch of America's Test Kitchen. I liked what I saw so I decided to give it a go.

Guess what? Another winner! I have to admit there were some muffins that had more berries than others, as well as some where the blueberries were more towards the bottom but I honestly think that was my mistake. Either way, I'm keeping this recipe around.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
from Cook's Country

Makes 12

To prevent a streaky batter, leave the blueberries in the freezer until the last possible moment. Wyman's brand frozen wild blueberries are our first choice, but an equal amount of fresh blueberries may be substituted.

Streusel
1 1/4	cups all-purpose flour
1/3	cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3	cup granulated sugar
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
	Pinch salt
7	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
Muffins
4	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for preparing muffin tin
2	cups all-purpose flour , plus extra for preparing muffin tin
1	large egg
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1	cup granulated sugar
1	teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2	cup buttermilk
1	tablespoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1 1/2	cups frozen blueberries

1. For the streusel: Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Drizzle with melted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout.

2. For the muffins: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup muffin tin. Whisk egg in medium bowl until pale and evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Add vanilla, sugar, and zest and whisk vigorously until thick, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in melted butter; add buttermilk and whisk until combined.

3. Reserve 1 tablespoon flour. Whisk remaining flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Fold in egg mixture until nearly combined. Toss blueberries with reserved flour and fold into batter until just combined.

4. Divide batter in muffin tin and top with streusel. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out with few dry crumbs attached, 23 to 27 minutes. Cool muffins in tin for 20 minutes, then carefully transfer muffins to rack to cool completely. (Muffins can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)