Diced!: Alice – Corny Canapés: Corn Fritter, Corned Beef, Roasted Red Pepper Relish and Garlicky Corn Flake Crumble

Today we have an entrant for the first course of the Diced! competition. Contestants were instructed to create or find a recipe for an appetizer, soup or salad containing the following ingredients: Corned Beef, Canned Corn, and Corn Flakes. They were instructed to make their dish and create a blog post about it, including pictures. You can help determine who advances to the next round. After the last post, I will post a poll where you can vote for contestants to move on. Vote for the post you like the best. You can vote because of the inventiveness, the yummyness, the use of ingredients, the quality of the writing and pictures or for any other reason. The poll will be active for one week only. Check back and vote. In the event of a tie, the Ranting Chef will choose who advances. More information about Diced! can be found here.

Due to the generosity of the following companies, we have some really awesome products as a prize to the winner of this Diced! competition. In addition to the prizes below, I am working to secure additional ones. The winner will receive:

• Mr Bar-B-Q 20 Piece Gourmet Tool Set
• The following products from Talisman Designs
  • Angry Animals Corner Spoon
  • Angry Animals Turner
  • Adjustable Pie Shield
  • Butter San
  • Butter Bot
  • Angry Animals Cheese Board
• Dodo Book for Cooks – This is a great book for anyone in the kitchen. It has places to put your favorite recipes as well as handy conversion charts.

Today’s contestant, Alice of the food blog Nom Nom Cat, together with her boyfriend and co-author Martin love to cook and more importantly, love to eat. Their blog features gourmet-at-home and comfort food recipes peppered with restaurant recaps from their beloved City of Angels (sunny Los Angeles, California) and their travel adventures. When she’s not eating, editing food photos, cooking, or subsequently washing dishes, Alice enjoys playing with her two cats, settling Catan, and baking souffles.

Greetings, Ranting Chef readers!

Food competition shows are my guilty pleasure, so when I read about Diced! on The Ranting Chef, I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to participate. After opening the Round 1 email though, I just had to chuckle at the tongue-in-cheek theme of the ingredients. Pat, you’re so corny!

Aside from having the word “corn” in the name, I found that these three ingredients have little to do with one another. But I love canapés – handheld one-bite treats that often pack the punch of a full blown meal. Instead of a boring ol’ water cracker though, I decided to make corn fritters as the base. These salty-sweet, crunchy-creamy fritters came out a bit larger than I envisioned, but the layering of flavors worked out well. Serve up a tray of these alongside a pitcher of your favorite brew – it’s pub food in the comfort of your own home!

Corny Canapés: Corn Fritter, Corned Beef, Roasted Red Pepper Relish and Garlicky Corn Flake Crumble

Ingredients: (** indicate Round 1 ingredients)

Fritters

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 15-ounce can of yellow corn kernels **

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 egg

Enough vegetable oil to fill a pan about ¼ inch

Ingredient list adapted from AllRecipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fresh-Sweet-Corn-Fritters)

Toppings

½ lb corned beef, sliced **

1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, mashed with salt

2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup corn flakes cereal **

Salt & pepper, to taste

A few sprigs of fresh parsley, optional

Yields 8-12 servings, depending on the size of the fritters

Instructions:

Roast the bell pepper cut side down at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the skin pulls away from the pepper and the edges blacken. Remove and set aside to cool.

Crush the cereal (I used a rolling pin and a plastic zip-top bag).

In a small pan, heat the butter until just melted and add the minced garlic. Saute until the garlic has softened.

Add the cereal crumbs and season with salt. Continue to toast for a few minutes until the flakes are infused with garlicky flavor. Set aside.

Heat a skillet filled about ¼ inch high with oil for the fritters. In a large bowl, mix the ingredients for the fritter batter.

When the oil is ready (a small drop of the batter will start to fizzle immediately), use a large spoon or small ladle to drop in the fritters, a few at a time.

Fry for about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a bit of salt while hot.

Meanwhile, peel the skin off the roasted pepper. Chop finely and add to a small bowl.

To mash the garlic, mince it with a knife, sprinkle with salt, and then mash with the side of the blade.

Add to the bowl and drizzle in the olive oil and balsamic. Voila – relish!

To serve, lay down a fritter. Top with a generous slice of corned beef and a spoonful of red pepper relish. Finally, sprinkle on the toasted corn flake crumbs and garnish with a leaf of parsley, if desired.

Hope you all enjoy this corny appeteaser (Big Bang Theory fans, anyone?).

Cheers!