" Sweet Corn Tamales

Around the holidays the guys in the kitchen sometimes bring in tamales. They're always wonderful and usually a result of the efforts of the female members of their family. My tamales are relatively new age and while I wouldn't say they're ready for the menu, they're still pretty good.
If you ever wonder what it takes to develop a menu item or a special, first it takes an idea. Maybe you read a magazine, maybe the newspaper or the food network or maybe you talk to other chefs or even customers, but something gets you thinking. I've been thinking about this tamale idea for years. Occasionally I'll try it but then it goes back into the "archives" waiting until I have more time or help. However this year I stuck my foot in my mouth and I sold it to someone for a party-- a boat parade party. It is a perfect boat parade appetizer, it just needed to be fine tuned.
So now I'm going to share the research and development part of my job. I started with Cream Corn, Quick Grits and Dried Corn Husks, the kind I thought we used in my neighborhood in Washington D.C. when I was growing up. I mixed the cream corn with the grits and began cooking the two together. I started with 4 parts cream corn to 1 part Quick Grits( basically the recipe on the box).Then I added some more grilled fresh sweet corn and mixed them together. If you have eaten a tamale you know that the finished product is thick, almost bready. I continued to heat the mixture and then added some hot water. During this time period I seasoned the mixture with salt and white pepper. I finally added some grated pepper jack cheese (possibly overkill since it created a different consistency then I was aiming for but still tasted good). Anyway we decided to use fresh corn husks soaked in water and then after cooling the thickened mixture wrapped it in the corn husks, at least two to a tamale-- I would recomend seeing a finished product or having a skilled tamale technician show you how to fold one- I was lucky enough to have one of the guys show me how it was done at his house.
Anyway when it came time for the debut ( we micro waved them coverred with wet towels while we were perfecting the mix) I steamed them in a faux steamer. My assistants at the party laughed at me, but as the party wound down and we were getting ready to leave we tasted a few remaining tamales and there was a new found respect.
I think with a little more practice you might even find these on the menu, but of course it would be in the summer when corn is in season, or maybe not if they taste good. I served them with a little sour cream and pico de gallo. The Quick Grits are ground hominy so you are working with something similar to the masa used in a tamale. Anyway just thought I would share and wish everyone happy holidays and good luck.

We're Finally on Line

The original idea for this blog started back in June as we were working on the Sage on the Coast web site. I thought it would be fun to share cooking and eating experiences with my friends and customers as I traveled the United States this summer. We did some great dinners on farms and in out of the way areas as well as cooking for Kia Motor at various festivals around the country and all the while our economy was falling apart.
The original intent of this blog was to share food ideas, and that will happen, but I want to share with everyone that as a buisness guy I am having a tough time focusing only on my food. I hope everyone appreciates how hard we are working on our creative menus, tasting menus and happy hours because we all need customers. Bar menus, Monday discounts, no corkage Wednessdays and occasional specials are all the norm. I still go to the different farmer's markets and I still type with two fingers. I want to share food thoughts with everyone but I also want to rant. Times are frustrating and I hope everyone understands. As times go on we will offer food ideas and pictures and I hope you interact with us. We are looking forward to this. And finally we (as a universal we) hope you find it in yourself to spend some money---eatout, or just have some appetizers and a glass of wine but enjoy, relax and forget. We're all in this together.