Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet summer corn (bada badaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa), good times never seem so good (so good, so good)!
So now that I’ve gotten “Sweet Caroline” stuck in your head for the remainder of the day (you’re welcome), let’s talk about corn. Sweet summer corn. Just doesn’t get any better than that! Back when I was growing up and had braces for the better part of my childhood (read: 6 years) I could never really enjoy corn on the cob the way that others could. There’s just something about biting into that first ear of corn, the kernels popping in your mouth under the weight of your teeth, the sugary starches flowing out, and then the subsequent flossing that will have to occur.
You know you’ll have to floss, right? ALMOST makes it not worth it. Almost.
Back to my story though: I always had to eat the corn after my parents cut it off the cob for me. It doesn’t make the corn any less sweet or delicious, but the experience man – the experience is what it’s all about. This brings me up a couple years to college when I was living in an apartment with roommates for the first time. Having to pay for my own place was quite the wake-up call, so we would always do our grocery shopping together and split the things that we all enjoyed. Think: chicken Ramen with cheddar cheese, marshmallows, and ice cream.
Then one fateful early summer day we happened upon a grocery store with fresh sweet summer corn on the cob for 5 cents an ear. 5 cents an ear. We’d be crazy not to swoop in on that deal! So we bought a reasonable 6 ears total so we could each have 2 over the following week. Well my friends, the second we ate the first ear we were starting to cook the second and within a matter of about an hour we were back at the store buying a dollar’s worth of summer corn apiece. That’s 20 ears per person.
And yes, I pulled out the calculator for that one. No shame.
Suffice to say going to the bathroom was – ahem – interesting over the following week. But cheap corn has never tasted so good as it did back then!
- 4 green onions, sliced finely
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3 cups chicken stock
- kernals from 3-4 ears of fresh husked summer corn
- 1/4 cup sour cream (optional; you could also use Greek yogurt)
- salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy bottom saucepan melt the butter and oil together over medium low heat. Saute the green onions and garlic together for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly to insure it doesn’t burn. Add the rice and saute until the rice starts to brown a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and stir until all of the liquid is gone. Add the stock 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring each time until the liquid is completely absorbed. When you have 1 cup remaining add the corn to the mixture. Make sure you test the rice for doneness; you don’t want it to be crunchy in the middle still, but not mushy either. If it’s still hard in the center add another 1/2 cup of water until it’s done. Stir in sour cream if using. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot!
There’s nothing like the promise of summer to bring back some crazy fun memories of life…get ready for the ride!
Mmmm…..sweet corn in the summer!! Never thought to put it in risotto.
This totally cracked me up! We had our first corn of the season a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t local, but it was damn good. We grilled it, but I’d love to try it in risotto!
How creative! Looks delicious!
yum! that looks awesome!
Three of my favorite reasons for summer: corn, peaches and watermelon. This looks delightful.
I heart Corn! It’s my favorite veggie, I try to put it in everything! And the fact you added sour cream, I heart you!
Corn on the cob is one of my favorite parts of summer! (Though I hated having it cut off the cob when I had braces too, and my siblings always taunted me about it.) I’ve never added this to risotto before. I definitely need to give it a try!
I love that song and I LOVE this dish. It sounds so comforting!
I can’t tell you how bad my addiction is to corn in the summer. Okay maybe I can… its bad 🙂
Oh, I remember the days when my parents cut the corn off the cob for me….such sad times…haha
I love creamed corn too….it’s sooo good on a cold day!
This looks delicious 🙂
Very smart way to make use of summer corn! Sounds so creamy dreamy.
I’ve never put corn in risotto… this sounds awesome!
I love sweet corn!! I look forward to corn season every year! I bet M would LOVE this dish 🙂
LOL! You’re hilarious!
College days and food … good times. 🙂 We saved more money for booze. :/
Delicious dish… I love risotto, just never thought to put corn in it … thank you for the idea!
I feel ya on the braces thing – I had mine 7 years and to this day I still cut the corn off the cob – I hate when it gets stuck in my teeth!
I would have never thought of corn in my risotto. Genius!
YESSSS!!!! We bought our first two ears of summer corn last night at the grocery store, fresh off the plane from France…it made me happy to be back in America 😀