The way to the stomach is through the mouth .

.............and the way to the heart is through the stomach.

Christopher and I made a southern style dinner to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. We had an amazing time cooking together in the kitchen. This was the first time we made corn oysters, a fried puff of corn batter. They have an amazing tender and delicate consistency with a dynamite fresh corn and salty flavor. We wondered why this side dish isn't more popular, way tastier than hush puppies (and I like hush puppies!)

The fried catfish was very good but I didn't post a recipe for it since I want to try making a batter that has a spicier seasoning mix (I also enjoy the Zatarain's fish fry breading.) We also planned to serve a vegetable as a side but opted to cook it the next day instead to save some room.

For dessert we made a southern specialty into jumbo cupcakes- Buttermilk-Caramel Cake.
The tang of the buttermilk cake is well balanced by the sweetness of the frosting. A glass of milk is welcomed as an accompaniment here.

Corn Oysters
Recipe from America's Best Lost Recipes Cookbook

Serves 6

• 4 medium ears corn, husks and silks removed (make sure to use fresh corn, frozen or canned is too dry to produce a creamy batter)
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 quarts vegetable oil

1. Grate the kernels from the corn into a medium bowl using the large holes of a box grater. Using the back of a knife, scrape any pulp remaining on the cobs into the bowl with the grated corn. Stir in the flour, cornstarch, eggs, salt, and baking powder until well blended.
   
2. Heat the oil in a dutch oven (large pot) (or us a deep fryer) over medium heat until it registers 350 degrees. Carefully drop 13 to 15 heaping tablespoons of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until the corn oysters puff and are golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Add more oil to the pot if necessary and heat to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining batter. Sprinkle the corn oysters with salt. Serve immediately.
   

Buttermilk-Caramel Cake
Recipe from America's Test Kitchen Baking Book

Cake

• 2 3/4 cups (11 ounces) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

Caramel Frosting

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed (7 ounces) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners' sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 13 by 9-inch baking pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.
   
4. Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Scrape the batter into a prepared pan, smooth the top, and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
5. Let the cake cool completely in the pan, about 2 hours. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cake and flip the cake out onto a wire rack. Peel off the parchment paper, then flip the cake right side up onto a serving platter.
   
6. For the Frosting: Bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is foamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the milk, return the mixture to a bried boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla with a wooden spoon and beat the frosting until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread the warm frosting evenly over the surface of the cooled cake and let set, about 25 minutes, before serving.
   

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!!!

Pan-Seared Sesame-Crusted Tuna Steaks with Avocado-Orange Salsa

This is one of my favorite quick and healthy dinners. (Last Tuesday C and I were in a hurry to get out the door, we had this meal prepared and eaten in 30 minutes so I mean it when i say this meal is quick to prepare.) The heat from the jalapenos, the sweet from the orange, and the creaminess of the avocados in the salsa compliment the texture of the tuna and the flavors of the toasted sesame seeds. I love the salsa so much that I typically make a double batch of the salsa and opt to not serve this meal with a side starch.


I would recommend this recipe to someone who loves sushi and likes the idea of eating rare fish with a pink center. The center should be very pink. If you try this recipe and cut the tuna steak open to find an all white center then I feel sorry for you, as you mine as well serve the orange salsa over a can of tuna as it will taste the same.

I own several cookbooks but this recipe comes from my go-to book, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (pg 265.) My copy of the book is seasoned with remains from past recipes i've made, it's really gotten it's use. As I try recipes I put a check mark by them in the book and leave notes in the side margins rating the recipe (all of the recipes i've tried from this book have been winners) and tips to try when making the recipes a second time.

Avocado-Orange Salsa-

1 large orange, peeled and pith removed, segmented and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 ripe avocado, diced medium
2 tbsp minced red onion
4 tsp fresh lime juice
1 small jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and minced.
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro leaves
Salt, to taste (be generous, it brings out the flavor)

Combine all ingredients in small bowl.

Pan-seared Sesame Tuna-

3/4 cup sesame seeds (a large bag is under $2 in the Indian aisle of your local produce market)
4 tuna steaks, 8 oz each and about 1″ thick (2 large yellow tail tuna fillets are approx. $5 at Trader Joe's, this is the best price i've seen)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Spread sesame seeds in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Pat tuna steaks dry with paper towel; use 1 tbsp oil to rub both sides of steaks, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Press both sides of each steak in sesame seeds to coat.
2. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just beginning to smoke; swirl to coat pan. Add tuna steaks and cook 30 seconds without moving. Reduce heat to medium-high; continue to cook until seeds are golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip tuna steaks; cook, without moving steaks, until golden brown on second side, about 1 1/2 minutes for rare (opaque at perimeters and translucent red and cool at the center) or 3 minutes for medium-rare (opaque at perimeters and reddish-pink at center). Serve immediately (there is no making the salsa in advance or reheating the fish, it will ruin the recipe) with orange salsa on the side.