10/2/09 - Steak w. Cuban Corn, Potatoes and Broccoli

With both of us now sick (I tried to keep this cold to myself I swear!) and the weather cold and rainy, I was excited to not have any plans for once. So as soon as I was out of work I went home for a night of movies and couch time. With some advance thought in mind I removed a bag of steaks from the freezer (from the infamous Fairway trip a month or so ago) and set them to defrosting while I was at work for the day. I had a few things in the fridge from the weeks Farmer's markets run (in the pouring rain!) and our CSA share so this was more of a make do with what you have sort of night than a planned dinner. (Though there was of course a last minute run to the ethnic grocery around the corner for some supplies)

When Jeremy noticed that we had some corn from the CSA he reminisced, as usual, about one of our first dates to Cafe Habana in NYC. He is a corn lover no matter what but the addition of some cheese and spices just takes it to another level for him. Since it is most likely my cold we are sharing I decided that I would attempt to replicate this at home.... and since google is my friend I was happy to see that I am not the only blogger that wouldn't mind making a version of this cheese-y street food at home. I first found this post that was based on the same restaurant we loved. And while I knew there would be grilling of the corn and some cotija cheese I never would have guessed on the mayo. Thank you Ravenous Couple! Next I had to find an idea to "grill" the corn in our apartment since we have no outdoor space so firing up the grill just isn't an option. Apparently we aren't the only New Yorkers to have realized this issue and we found a great substitute method. The rest of the dinner was prepared in the "normal" ways - steaks cooked in my grill pan, potatoes cubed and then boiled and tossed with some sour cream, butter, dill and a sprinkle of chives and the broccoli was steamed and served with a squeeze of lemon.

This recipe is based on a post here: http://ravenouscouple.blogspot.com/2009/05/cubanmexican-grilled-corn.html

I decided to go for the more traditional version using the mayo (but did use a light version as that is all we have in the house). Ok so full disclosure here.... I might have forgotten to sprinkle the corn with some chili powder but it wasn't too bad and next time (ie lunch tomorrow) I am going to make sure to actually get all the ingredients set up and ready since at times I sort of get preoccupied and forget how to actually read a recipe. Jeremy was pretty happy with the results regardless though when pressed he did say it seemed like something was missing....oopps!

Cuban Corn
3 ears of corn - shucked and all silks removed
cast iron pan (no plastic or rubber parts)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp mayo
1 c shredded cotija cheese (try spanish or ethnic grocers)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 lime - cut into sections
3 large wooden skewers

1) Butter all sides of corn and place in cast iron pan under the broiler
2) After about 5 -7 min remove pan - rotate corn a quarter turn, butter and place back in broiler and repeat until all sides have been cooked - some kernels should be browned
3) Remove corn from pan and coat with mayo
4) Sprinkle with cheese and chili powder and top with a squeeze of lime juice
5) Carefully insert stick into base of corn as a holder (use pliers to cut off any excess)