Creamed Corn

With Stephen Ryan

Chef Stephen Ryan of Emerson Inn by the Sea shares his recipe and tips on how to make your own creamed style corn this Thanksgiving. Perfect for serving with your turkey, you can make a few hours or a day ahead and re-heat by adding a little more heavy cream and reducing. If you do not have fresh corn, you can use frozen corn instead. Heat a sauté pan and add olive oil and butter. Saute the diced onions, adding salt and pepper, and add fresh shucked or frozen corn to pan. Chef Ryan adds a sprig of rosemary, a teaspoon of tumeric and a tablespoon of corn meal to add a little crunch. (By using a whole sprig you can remove the rosemary before serving and after it has imparted its flavor.) Add a pinch of sugar and for a seasonal flavor grate a little nutmeg. When liquids from the corn begin to boil add a cup of heavy cream and let simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes, reducing the liquid by half. Garnish with chopped chives.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced onions
salt & pepper to taste
4 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 sprigs rosemary
pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 tablespoon corn meal
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Heat a sauté pan and add olive oil and butter.
2. Saute the diced onions, adding salt and pepper, and add fresh shucked or frozen corn to pan.
3. Add the sprig of rosemary, a teaspoon of tumeric and a tablespoon of corn meal. (By using a whole sprig you can remove the rosemary before serving and after it has imparted its flavor.) Add a pinch of sugar and for a seasonal flavor grate a little nutmeg.
4. When liquids from the corn begin to boil add the heavy cream and let simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes, reducing the liquid by half. Garnish with chopped chives. To reheat, heat a little heavy cream in a pan and add corn until the liquids have all heated and reduced to the original consistency.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Stephen Ryan, Emerson Inn by the Sea, 2010.

A Massachusetts native, Chef Ryan started cooking professionally at age 14. He briefly attended Johnson and Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, but basically he learned how to cook in the “school of hard knocks”. He has cooked in Colorado, New York, Florida and all over New England.

In 2002 he decided to perfect his craft and went back to school at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners (ICIF) in the town of Piemonte, in Italy. While in Italy, Chef Ryan experienced a new way to cook utilizing fresh herbs, local vegetables and fish right of the boat. Near the end of his Italian journey, Chef Ryan interned on the Isle of Sardinia on the Mediterranean Sea. At that point he understood that cooking is a form of art and he wanted to become an artist and considers himself to be a culinary artist of sorts today.

As a true New Englander, Chef Ryan move back to the States and settled in his hometown of Boston. Once back in Boston, he worked at The Franklyn Café, where he managed to win several awards including 2002 Zagat- Top American Eateries, 2003 Improper Bostonian “Best Issue,” 2004 Phantom Gourmet “Great Ate” Award among many others.

After a few years in Boston, Chef Ryan moved to the historic, artsy town Rockport where he joined The Emerson Inn by the Sea and its restaurant “Grand Cafe” early this summer. At Grand Cafe, Chef Ryan’s sophisticated fare is the perfect combination to the quaint atmosphere of the Emerson Inn By The Sea.