ELC Day #19- Sweet Corn Succotash

The fantastic folks at 20Food.net and 20Town: The Book of Bartholomew are getting together for a late summer dinner tonight and I have been assigned to bring a side dish to pass.  Like usual, I can’t decide between recipes and am bringing 2 dishes instead of 1. The kitchen partner and I have vastly different views on potluck menus.  I like to plan the perfect dish (even if I’ve never cooked it before) based on the tastes and interests of guests I know will be there.  It’s a good insurance policy that I will have at least one thing to talk about.  He however, would prefer to make a trusty standby–in the “you’re always famous for…” sort of way. Here’s a hint: he always picks my potato salad.  Tasty, but not exactly a conversation starter.

For tonight’s dinner, I am bringing a bit of both.  My standby is the warm green bean and potato salad from Day #2 of the Eat Local, America Challenge.  I’m trying it with crumbled bacon tonight.  Everything’s better with bacon.  The other dish is a new recipe I found on Marthastewart.com that I’ve been itching to try.  I haven’t the slightest idea why it is called Indiana succotash as opposed to any other state. Maybe the green beans instead of the lima beans used in classic succotash??  Educate me if you know.

Anyway, it’s straight-up Minnesota succotash today; crunchy green beans and speckled yellow and white sweet corn from the farmers’ market. I made this up last night and will gently re-heat it just before the picnic tonight.  The key is not to overcook the green beans.  The should be quickly blanched to capture the brightest green color and the crispest crunch.  I promise to take some photos of the other great food.  For now, check out the menu for tonight here: http://20food.net/2011/08/08/20food-net-dinner/

Sweet Corn Succotash

Adapted from Indiana Succotash on marthastewart.com

Ingredients

1 pound green beans, washed and snipped Homegrown
3 tablespoons unsalted butter Hope Butter, Hope, MN
1 bunch green onions with tops, roughly chopped Homegrown
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
The kernels cut off from 6 cobs of sweet corn St. Paul Farmers’ Market
3/4 teaspoon paprika

Instructions
1. Cut beans into 1/2 inch pieces and drop all at once into a large pot of boiling water. Blanch green beans for 3 minutes. Immediately remove from pot, and put in ice water to stop cooking. Drain well.
2. While beans are draining, melt butter in a large skillet. Add green onions and celery seeds and cook 2-3 minutes or until onions are soft. Add in corn kernels and cook 3-4 more minutes. Add in green beans and paprika and continue cooking until all ingredients are heated through. Serve warm.

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