While we were at Lake Rosseau in Canada we had a few family-style dinners with our friends. One evening we all went a bit overboard and created a fourteen-course meal for eighteen people. The courses weren’t full sized portions, but more appetizer-sized, so we could all enjoy what the entire family made. My favorite dish of the evening was a simple grilled corn with an outstanding butter made by my friend Carola, from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden. I believe I have shared a few recipes from his book, and if you’re a true vegetable lover, this cookbook has outstanding flavor combinations with recipes that are easy to do.
The second to the last night of our visit, we made this corn recipe and my husband helped out buttering the cobs after our friend Dan, grilled them to perfection. You gotta love when the entire family gets involved in the kitchen. What makes this corn so tasty is definitely the butter, which is a combo of butter, smoked paprika, dried chile flakes, pepper, salt and a dash of hot sauce. In the original recipe, pepperoncini were minced into the mix, but we didn’t have that ingredient and it certainly wasn’t missed. The warm melty cobs that came in a fan presentation, were so easily consumed by grabbing the charred husks as handles. If truth be told, I haven’t eaten a whole corn-on-the-cob in years, but I couldn’t stop devouring this one.
The following day, we decided to cruise the lakes around us, and I snapped a picture of an old church perched above the shore that I thought was just gorgeous. I could imagine the years of Sunday patrons worshiping in such a place – how delightful. We had a magnificent day in the sun boating, drinking milkshakes and laughing until it hurt. We ended the day in a delightful place, Crossroads Restaurant. It just so happened to be a stormy evening, but that didn’t keep us away and certainly not from dining outdoors under a canopy. As the rain gently hit the tarp, we enjoyed steamed mussels, crispy shrimp and this lamb and lobster dish with a creamy hummus, and grilled vegetables. The wines were not local that night, but nevertheless so enjoyed. The ride home in the pouring rain made the evening even more exciting, as our friend Dan navigated the bumpy waves beautifully. We look at little waterlogged, but than didn’t stop us from enjoying the last of the red wine, we brought home from dinner.
Ingredients
8-12 ears corn
Diavola Butter
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried chile flakes
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon hot sauce, any variety
1/4 cup minced pepperoncini, optional
oil for cooking
(Serves 8-12)
To Prepare:
- Place softened butter in a bowl, and add remaining ingredients. Roll butter up in parchment or plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until hard, about 2 hours up to overnight.
- Peel husks down and remove hair from corn. Leave husk down to use as handles for eating. Preheat grill to 400 degrees or grey coals.
- Oil corn with brush and place on grill. Grill on all sides about 5 minutes in total. Some of the husks will get a bit charred.
- Remove butter from refrigerator and peel down parchment. Rub with end of butter to coat all sides of corn. Repeat until all corn is buttered. Pile into a large round bowl with husks around the perimeter. Serve warm. Enjoy!
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