Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Bobby Flay's Grilled Corn with Garlic Butter, Fresh Lime and Queso Fresco wows and amazes

On Sunday, I tried a Bobby Flay recipe for the first time.
   It was sensational.
   Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter, Fresh Lime and Queso Fresco (click for the recipe) is a definite winner. It will impress and please everyone.
   My husband ate it with such extreme relish it would have been entertaining just to sit back and watch him.
   But I didn’t, because I was too busy eating it, too. There’s a reason why Flay is so famous, I decided the minute I sunk my teeth into the corn – his food is terrific!
   The technique of grilling the corn with the husks left on after they’ve been soaked in water is a masterful stroke. It yields crisp-yet-tender corn, perfect for eating right off the cob.
   And the toppings are sublime – a trio of tastes that were made to go together. Garlic butter is brushed on a just-grilled cob, then fresh lime juice is squeezed on it followed by a sprinkle of crumbled queso fresco.
   It was the quesco fresco, a type of Mexican cheese, that prompted me to try the recipe in the first place.
   I had seen quesco fresco listed as an ingredient in some recipes I’ve come across, but I’ve never been able to find the cheese anywhere.
   That changed one day when I was in the local Sobeys store. There they lay – blocks of queso fresco.
   I grabbed a block and went in search of quesco fresco recipes, luckily surfacing with this one.
   This recipe says mild feta can be substituted for the quesco fresco.
   Despite the grilling of the corn and the presence of three toppings, this recipe is easy to make.
   The garlic butter is made by combining softened unsalted butter and minced garlic in a food processor or by hand. The butter can be made up to two days in advance.
   Cobs of corn, with the silks removed but the husks left on, are soaked in water for at least 10 minutes.
   The cobs are then cooked on a grill set on high for 15 to 20 minutes, until steamed through and hot.
   The husks are then taken off the corn. My husband and I worked as a team for this step. He pulled the husks off using oven mitts and I stood with an open garbage bag that the husks were thrown in. This is a task best done outside!
   The corn is immediately spread or brushed with the garlic butter. People can then use fresh quartered limes to squeeze juice all over their cobs, and then sprinkle on their own queso fresco.
   It may be easier to sprinkle on the cheese as you eat, ensuring it’s always on the top of the cob and not falling off.

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