Roasted Cob Corn and Other Southern Favorites

You remember that Three-Day Southern Fried Chicken, right? Today we fry it up. It’s Sunday, and National Cob Corn Day. We’ve got corn, and a whole lot more.

Growing up, Chicken Suppers were very much a part of the Sunday landscape. Roasted Chicken in the winter, fried in the summer. We even had a picnic table out back. In those days, homes weren’t built with the modern comforts of central heat and air. There was a swamp cooler in my parents’ bedroom window. Their room was as cold as ice, as was the hallway just outside the room. Rarely did the swamp cooler manage to cool the rest of the house. So gathering outside, under the massive shade trees and having a picnic on Sundays was always nice. Often we were joined by extended family and close friends. Badminton or Croquet were the games of choice. The woman played Mahjong, while the men played cards. Life was simple back then.

To this day, I want sweet cob corn with fried chicken. Is that a southern thing? All I know is that we grew our own corn. And it was always sweet. Dad doesn’t grow much these days. He’s ninety, confined to a wheelchair and is half-blind. Even so, he’s a wealth of information and still as sharp as a tact. He’s also my source of Southern Pride.

Today is National Corn on the Cob Day. Fresh cob corn is a symbol of summer. Corn stands once popped up all over the valley. Roadside stands, not farmer’s markets. Everyone it seemed grew corn. It was a family business. I can remember, once Dad stopped planting corn, we would drive the 30 minutes it took to reach Slough House and the Davis Ranch. A dozen ears for a dollar. The sweetest corn around. Now Davis Ranch is a huge farmer’s market. People still drive out there – it seems quaint, but most of the vegetables sold aren’t locally grown. It’s just a glorified vegetable market without walls so you feel more connected to the outdoors.

Still, Corn on the Cob is special and should have its own day of recognition. But any good southern cook knows there’s more to Sunday Supper that fried chicken and sweet corn. This menu has it all – except maybe dessert. But after a meal like this, maybe a nice piece of fresh picked fruit would do.

Life should be celebrated every chance we get. These moments won’t come again. Savor them.

Southern Sunday Supper
Three-Day Fried Chicken
Sweet Oven-Roasted Cob Corn
Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
Simple Mashed Potatoes with Fried Chicken Gravy

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Note: See Three Day Fried Chicken for complete recipe.

Day Three Southern Fried Chicken
2 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
Black Pepper to taste
Oil for frying

In a shallow bowl, mix flour, baking powder, garlic powder, Old Bay, cayenne, Seasoning Salt and black pepper.

Remove chicken from buttermilk bath. Shake off excess buttermilk. Lay chicken out on a baking rack placed inside a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the buttermilk bath into a bowl and set aside.

Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture, dip back into the buttermilk, then coat again in flour. Let chicken rest on the rack for the coating to adhere.

In a large, deep cast-iron skillet, heat about an inch of oil to 375 degree. Place a second wire rack inside another rimmed baking sheet. Place this inside an oven, heat to 300-degrees.

Fry the chicken in batches until golden and cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels, then place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat until all the chicken has been fried.

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Sweet Oven-Roasted Cob Corn
4 ears Corn on the Cob
2 tablespoons Sugar, optional
4 tablespoons Butter, soft
Salt to taste
4 pieces Aluminum Foil

Remove husks and silk from corn. Trim ends. Place corn in a large pot. Cover with water. Add sugar only if you are unsure of the natural sweetness of the corn. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Note: If you like, remove the thicker husks, leaving enough attached to the corn for wrapping. Remove all the silk, pull husks back into place and secure with kitchen twine. Skip the foil, soak ears and roast directly in the husks.

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Cut pieces of foil large enough to fully enclose corn, set aside.

Remove corn from water. Pat dry, slather each ear with about a tablespoon of butter. Season with salt. Wrap each corn cob individually in the foil.

Place corn on a baking sheet, place in the heated oven on the middle rack. Let roast until tender, about 30 minutes. The pre-soak will keep corn moist and give off steam from within during cooking. This is especially important when roasting in the husks.

Remove foil, serve and enjoy.

Note: If you have an oven-roaster, this will work great without heating up the house too much, and leave the oven free for the biscuits.

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Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
6 tablespoons Butter
2 cups Flour
1 tablespoons Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Buttermilk, well chilled

Heat oven to 450-degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

Cut butter into small pieces. Place butter on a plate, place in the freezer to chill well. White the butter freezes, prepare the dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, measure flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pulse several times to combine well.

Add frozen bits of butter to the dry ingredients. Pulse a few more times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Transfer flour mixture to a large mixing bowl. Create a well in the center of the crumb mixture.

Add buttermilk to the well. Gently stir until a dough is formed. It should be slightly sticky or tacky. If too sticky, add a bit more flour. Gently stir, taking care not to over-work the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

Lightly flour a cutting board. Lightly flour a 2-1/2 inch round biscuit cutter and set aside. Turn dough out onto the floured work surface. Pat dough into a rectangle about 8-inches long. With the long side facing you, fold the right side toward the middle, then fold the left side, creating a tri-fold of dough. Rotate the dough a quarter turn, pat into the same size rectangle. Repeat the tri-fold, then rotate, pat and fold again. The more this is repeated, the more layers there will be in the biscuit. Three times should be a nice point to stop.

Pat dough down into a rectangle one last time, about an inch thick. With the floured biscuit cutter, cut biscuits from the dough with a straight downward push, do not twist. Combine left over scraps, pat down to an inch thick and cut again. You should have 8 biscuits.

Note: If there are leftover scraps after a second cut, discard as the dough may be overworked.

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, barely touch one another. This will help biscuits to “climb” as they bake.

Place in the heated oven and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown and baked through. Serve warm, with honey butter for a real southern treat.

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Simple Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs Russet Potatoes
1/4 cup Milk
2 tablespoons Butter
Kosher Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Peel potatoes, if desired. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Sprinkle water with a little salt if desired.

Bring potatoes to a full boil. Lower heat to maintain a rolling boil without boiling over. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Drain well. Return potatoes to the pot, dry potatoes of excess moisture over low heat, about 2 minutes, shaking pan to keep potatoes from sticking.

Heat milk in the microwave or in a small pan. Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, blend until melted into the hot milk.  Set aside.

Using a masher, mash potatoes until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Pour warm buttery milk over the potatoes. Whip until smooth.

Transfer mashed potatoes to a serving bowl.

Fried Chicken Gravy
2 tablespoons Oil from frying
2 tablespoons Butter
4 tablespoons Flour
1-1/2 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Milk
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Once the chick is fried in the skillet, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the frying oil from the skillet. Retain as much of the browned bits in the bottom of the pan as possible.

Note: If making without fried chicken, bacon drippings can substitute for the oil.

Melt butter into the oil over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with flour. With a spatula, scraping as you go, continually cook until a light-medium color roux is reaches, about 5 minutes or so.

Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and milk. Simmer, stirring with spatula, until desired consistency of gravy is reached. If too thick, thin with more stock. If too thin, simmer a little longer. Taste, season as desired with salt and pepper to finish.

Transfer to a gravy boat and serve alongside the mashed potatoes.

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Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Sion.
Psalms 147:12