Maque Choux

I'm on a serious kick right now.

I don't know why I've been craving so much Cajun-style food lately.

Usually, I want a little extra spice in my life when the weather gets cooler, but that's not exactly the case right now.  It's super hot and humid for being September in upstate New York.

Maybe I'm willing Mother Nature to cool her jets by cooking warmer food.  

There's not a lot I'm really going to miss about summer.  Sure, we are big kayakers that love a good day on the lake or river.  And, barbecuing is big on our list of favorite ways to cook.  But truthfully, I'm much more of a spring or fall kind of girl.  Summertime makes me miss cool weather, partly cloudy days, football, pumpkin spice and Thanksgiving.

Plus, as much as I don't watch television, summertime has the least to offer when it comes to relaxing on the couch for a couple lazy hours.  

So, with fall on the horizon, I'm getting really excited.  I'm cooking more, because the threat of turning on the stove in hot, humid weather is fading away, and I'm loving Cajun and creole-style food right now.

Maque Choux is a recipe I only recently heard about, but it coincides with one of the other few things I will miss about summer, and that is picking up fresh ears of corn at roadside stands and finding neat ways to cook them up.

Fresh corn is one of my absolute favorite summer sides, and this recipe gives it a little oomph using the classic veggie trinity of southern cooking and some flavorful creole seasoning.

This is great as a side and also added on top of meat as a corn salsa-style topping.  Truthfully, I would just eat this straight out of the pan with a spoon if you let me!

Maque Choux

2 tbsp olive oil
4 ears of corn
1 cup white onion, finely diced

1/3 cup celery, finely diced
1/3 cup green bell pepper, finely diced

2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp Creole seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut corn kernels off of cobs and place in a large saute pan with olive oil on medium heat.

Add onions, celery and green pepper.  Cook vegetable for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add garlic, cream and seasoning.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, letting the cream simmer and thicken.

Remove from heat.  Serve hot.