Making Corn Maque Choux

I'm telling you Corn Maque Choux is just about the best thing you can put in your mouth.  It is so good, that I cannot even begin to describe the flavor explosion that occurs on your tastebuds.  Maque Choux is a dish that is widely eaten in Cajun country and is thought to be a mixture of Creole and Indian influences.  It is also a very easy dish to cook and doesn't take long at all to throw together.

There are many different recipes for it and just about everyone cooks it a little different, some adding bacon, some adding crawfish or shrimp...  The reason everyone's recipe is different is because people through whatever was fresh in the garden into the pot.  To add to the mystery, no one is really sure about the meaning of the name of the dish.  "Choux" is French for cabbage.  Cabbage?  Odd, I know. Suffice it to say that whatever it means, you can translate it to "DELICIOUS."

Here's how Tricia made it.  She used Emeril's Recipe, but changed it up a little by adding tomatoes. First, and most importantly, you start off with some corn - about 4 cups or 6 ears.  She thawed out some corn that we had cut off the ears of our sweet corn this Spring.  When cutting it off the ears, we were sure to scrape the cobs real good, getting all of the corn "milk" out of the cob and in the bowl.

One bag of Spring 2015 Sweet Corn we had frozen

While the corn was thawing, Tricia started two Tablespoons of butter melting in a enameled cast iron pot.  Once melted she added 1 cup of chopped onion and 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers to the butter and allowed them to cook down and get happy.

Butter, onions, and bell peppers

She walked out to the garden and picked some fresh jalapenos.  She unfortunately had to buy a tomato since our fall tomatoes aren't ready yet.

Fresh jalapenos and (unfortunately) a store-bought tomato

The jalapenos and tomatoes were chopped up quickly.

Chopped up and ready to incorporate

Then the corn, chopped jalapenos, and chopped tomatoes were added to the pot and allowed to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring and adding cayenne pepper and salt to taste.  It's coming together. We're almost there...

Getting close!

After the ten minutes have passed, simply add 1/2 cup of heavy cream to the dish, stir and serve hot.

Mmmmm!  Corn Maque Choux.  That's good stuff...

Oh my goodness.  A simple dish with great flavor.  Bring your plate on over here and serve up a big spoonful or two.  You'll be back for more, I guarantee you!