Corn from south Georgia has hit the market in full force.  It was like a dump truck backed in and unloaded. Hordes of people stand around and shuck the cobs with great excitement and intensity.  I will admit when the corn shows up, good summer eating is in the planning stages. My eyes are bigger than my brain.

I have to stand back and breathe. There have been so many times I have over purchased only to come home and try to figure out what to do with all the produce.  Preserving, be it in jars, Ziploc or vacuum seal, has to be planned ahead.

So, I find myself pulling out paper and pen and writing up a menu and with calm and organization, I leap into the pile of people and shuck away with the best of them.

One of the first recipes I make is Corn Salad. I combine Vidalia onions and a tomato from my own garden along with a few other ingredients and allow an over-night stay in the fridge to bring all the flavors together.

What better to use corn salad for but to ladle over a pan seared, catfish filet. It makes for one happy marriage of southern cuisine. You can just taste the goodness.

Fried Catfish has always been a popular fish for most but it wasn’t until catfish began it’s new environmental friendly way of being grown and harvested that I gained interest. Farmed in clear, filtered water the fish is sweeter. A white meat, this fish is flaky and not chunky.  Wild caught Catfish forages trash from the bottoms of the body of water they grow in. They tend to be fishy, and gamely tasting.

Set the fish out to get room temperature, season any way your palate directs you and pan sear in a hot skillet, it will stay together nicely. The price is great and in most cases  you can feed a family of four for less than $12. This one filet for example only cost $2.79.

Recipe for Corn Salad

First and foremost after shucking the corn husks, take a sharp knife and slice downward. I go outside to complete this task because it gets really messy. I think there are better tools for stripping corn cobs but I’ve never tried them. I’m not a gadget person but if someone can confirm an improvement is out there. I’ll buy it.

Ingredients for my recipe which feeds six:

Five (5) ears of corn, shucked and kernels cut from cob.
One Vidalia Onion, diced
Four slices Applewood Smoked Bacon, roughly chopped aka lardon
Two medium or one large tomato, diced
Salt and Pepper
One whole Jalapeno pepper, finely diced, seeds included.

Cook bacon lardon until slightly browned then add onion. Cook until onion is tender. Add the corn kernels and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the pepper. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato at the end and cook only a minute or two longer.  Allow to cool down and refrigerate several hours or over night.

Now get out there and start shuckin’

Enjoy,
Pam