Creamed Corn Marbled Cornbread + A Backyard Lobster Boil

May 04, 2016


It seems like spring (and maybe some hints of summer? But don't quote me in case I get blamed for jinxing us) has finally arrived in Rhode Island! Or at least that's precisely how it felt last Sunday when Charlie and I headed to our friends house for a back yard lobster boil.

We've eaten lobster since arriving in the States, and discovered it's a very different experience from eating lobster back home in that is doesn't come with a prerequisite that you wear you top hat and monocle whilst consuming the meal. 



I think the abundance and normalcy of lobster in New England can further be characterised by the ferociousness* with which Charlie strips the lobster of any edible parts. Back home, if you've mortgage your home to buy that bad boy you want to enjoy every meaty part of it; out here the head and extremities are pretty much just a really nice garnish for the easy to reach tail and claw meat.

*it's advised to keep a 6ft exclusion zone at all time when Mr Vine has the lobster crackers.


Twenty or so of us laid out picnic blankets (I actually perched on a chair as getting back up again wasn't a guarantee) and tucked in to a pot luck picnic of just boiled lobsters, fresh shucked oysters (for the non-knocked up), salads, grilled asparagus, coleslaw and my contribution of cornbread.


Now cornbread doesn't actually have corn in it. I know, insane. It's name is derived from the cornmeal in it, but having some corn that needed to be used after my 24 weeks pregnant Instagram photo, I thought I'd up the ante on both the -meal and real corn fronts.

Creamed corn might be one of the best foods in the world. Offensively simple to make, it's the savoury, sweet, rich, unctuous way to be assured you're eating your allotted portions of daily vegetables... and probably your weeks worth of butter and cream as well.


Ingredients:

For the creamed corn-

2 cups/350g corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons butter
2oz/60g american cheese/mild cheddar
1/2 cup/120ml heavy/double cream
salt and pepper

For the cornbread batter-

1/2 cup/120g salted butter
1/2 cup/100g white sugar
1 cup/150g cornmeal
1 cup/130g all purpose/plain flour
1 cup/240ml whole milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.

Start off by making the creamed corn. Fry the corn in the butter until it's cooked through and bright yellow, the cooking time will vary depending on if you start with fresh or frozen kernels. Pour the cream into the pan and stir in the cheese, allow to bubble and thicken, season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to cool whilst you make the cornbread batter.


Melt the butter then add in all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well, I'm very rough and ready when it comes to cooking so there may be recipes that call for a specific order- I find chucking it all in together and mixing well gives a darn good result!

Grease an oven proof pan really well and coat in a light dusting of flour. I like to cook my corn bread in a cast iron pan or skillet for presentation purposes, but a normal cake pan will do just fine- for this recipes you'll want a pan about 9inches across.

Spoon blobs of creamed corn onto the top of the batter, try and imagine how you'll cut the cooked cornbread to make sure each piece has a good amount of creamed corn on it.

Bake for 30 minutes. You want to have a lovely golden brown crust, and have a skewer or knife come out clean when plunged into the center of the bread.

Best served with lobsters and attractive lobster bibs.

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