What I like about this combination of recipes is that I can slow-roast the meat with little involvement from me. And the final “stir fry” take a couple minutes at most. You can also roast some Lemon Roasted Potatoes.

Purchase the Moroccan spice blend (Ras El Hanout) from Phoenicia or make your own by following this recipe.

Last night’s fare:

Slow-roasted Tri-tip Wrapped in Bacon

based on Roasted Beef Tenderloin Wrapped in Bacon available at Epicurious

1 pound tri-tip piece
8 1/4-inch-thick slices peeled garlic (from about 3 cloves)
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 8- to 9-inch-long fresh rosemary branches
4 bacon slices
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Using small sharp knife, cut eight 1-inch-deep slits all over tri-tip. Insert garlic slices into slits.
Rub pepper all over brisket.
Arrange bacon slices on work surface, overlapping slightly and forming rectangle.
Place 1 rosemary branch down center of bacon rectangle, perpendicular to bacon slices.
Place meat atop rosemary branch. Place remaining 2 rosemary branches on top then wrap bacon slices around .
Flip the meat over and place it in a roasting pan, bacon ends down. (Can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Roast at 450°F for 30 minutes than turndown the temperature to 250°F for 2 hours.
Remove from oven. Rest for 15 minutes.
Shred with 2 forks.

I followed this recipe pretty close except the Ras El Hanout and adding the slow roasted meat:

Chickpeas With Baby Spinach

Recipe from nytimes.com

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup frozen chopped onions)

2 garlic cloves, minced (i used 3)

1tspn Ras El Hanout (Moroccan Spice Blend) *

Salt, preferably kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock, or water

Cayenne to taste

1 6-oz. bag baby spinach

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic, Ras El Hanout, tomato paste and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring for one to two minutes, until fragrant and the tomato paste has turned a darker color. Add the chickpeas, the stock or water, and the cayenne, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring until each addition of spinach wilts. Add salt to taste and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for five minutes. Add lots of freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt and cayenne, and serve.

3. Take the shredded brisket and stir into the pot and simmer for a few more minutes.

Cumin Corn Chowder

FIRST-
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup frozen onion, chopped
1 cup matchstick carrot
1 celery stalk with leaves
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
some cumin (1/2 teaspoon)
some coriander (1/2 teaspoon)
2 cloves garlic mashed but whole so i can fish it out if/when i put it in the blender…
Sweat all these ingredients in the pot on low, stir and cover until the veggies are softened. (about 20 minutes or whenever you decide to go back to it)

AT THE SAME TIME- Roast the corn
3 cups of frozen corn, drizzled with 1 tblspn olive oil

Roasted until  skin looks golden brown and the kitchen smells like roasted corn (about 20-25 mins at 450 in my convection oven)
THEN-
Add the roasted corn to the sweated vegetables in the pot, plus:

2 cups frozen potatoes – cut for hash browns or better yet frozen potatoes o’brien (which has green and red bell pepper)
1 cube chicken stock
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon dry,  or a handful of  fresh, thyme leaves

Add 6 cups of water and simmer for 40-50 minutes. The potatoes will fall apart and thicken up the soup.

From here you can either eat it as a chunky chowder – add 1 cup half and half ( I remove the garlic and celery stalk)

Or blender, strain, then add half and half.

Finish off with sharp cheddar on top or mixed in.
can serve with salsa or chopped green onions.

Try These Corn Chowder recipes:

Baja Corn Chowder

Corn-Potato Chowder with Marjoram

My quiche recipe should probably be renamed “Scrambled Egg Pie” but that too would be a misnomer.

Frozen or pre-fab pie crusts don’t impress me either and I will have to find some substitute but otherwise, this “quiche” is a favorite in my house.

Roasted Corn Quiche

Based on a recipe available at Epicurious.com

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
3/4 cups half & half
3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from about 2 ears, or frozen, thawed
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup coarsely chopped mozzarella or pepper jack or mixture

1 deep-dish unbaked pie crust

Roast corn and onions (450 degrees F) on a cookie until golden brown. (About 10 Minutes) Allow to cool a bit. (Quick cool by putting in a dish in the freezer for a few minutes)

Combine eggs, flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter  with a whisk.
Add half and half and butter; whisk just until blended.
Add roasted corn, cheese and onion.
Pour into crust.
Bake 375 deg. F for approximately 25 minutes until filling is slightly puffed and top is golden.
Transfer to rack; cool slightly.
Serve warm.

{* OK- that’s hyperbole. I should say “I don’t eat canned stuff often”. I have lived through Hurricane IKE and ANDREW. In both cases, I stocked up on some canned good, including tuna and more recently, the organic black beans from Central Market. I have always shivered at the IDEA of canned beans but I must say that Central Market’s organic beans were good, very good, in fact, and now part of our pantry.}

Second? Polenta. Or grits for that matter. I love tamales. I love arepas. I love corn in general. So you would think I would like polenta and grits, right? Well, I didn’t. Until I ate the grits at Ousie’s Table in Houston.

If you have never been to Ousie’s, you are missing out some great Southern food. It’s moderately priced and it’s all good.  Their shrimp and grits are to die for! Ousie’s made me a convert.

Since I like grits now, I decided to give polenta another shot. My sister bought De La Estancia organic polenta from Central Market. As a test. It is delicious. Creamy, smooth corn mush. I am a polenta lover.

I thought I loved polenta anyway.  I bought some other brand and discovered the truth- I only like De La Estancia. It’s all we use. A bit expensive but worth every cent. (Amazon.com sells De la Estancia Organic Polenta, 17.6-Ounce Packages Pack of 6 For $24)

Black Bean Tamales, deconstructed.

Loosely based on Food & Wine’s Grilled Steak over Black Beans

Black Beans

Sweat the following in a pot:
1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch squares
1 green bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch squares
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tspn salt
a drizzle of olive oil
thyme
basil
bay leaf

When this sofrito-mirepoix is softened, remove from pot and set aside.

Fry up

3 strips of bacon, chopped

When light golden brown, add the following:

2 15 oz cans of black beans,  drained and rinsed ( I only like Central Market’s Organic Beans)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (again- I like a particular brand – Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range)
1/2 cup of water

and the sofrito-mirepoix mishigas.

simmer for 10 minutes.

Place the black bean stew in a serving plate and cover while you make the polenta in the same pot.

Polenta

1.5 cups corn- pan roasted
2 tblspn butter
1/2 cup half and half
2.5 cups of water
salt to taste
pepper
1 cup of Estancia polenta

Pan roast the corn  first, Add the remianing ingredients and stir until smoothand the polenta pulls away slightly from the sides fo the pot.stir until smooth.

To serve

Spoon the polenta into a serving plate, cover with  the black bean stew

Garnish with any or all of the below:
Pepper jack
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
6 scallions including green tops, sliced thin
salt & pepper

or nothing at all.

Serve hot.

Maybe its the organic polenta, or the corn flour, but this is a moister version of Sopa Paraguay without straying into cornbread territory.

Mix these ingredients into lumpy consistency with pea-sized pellets:

• 1 cup corn flour (this version I used whole grain stone ground corn flour by bob’s red mill and it makes a big difference in texture)
• 1 cup of fine ground Estancia Organic Polenta (the absolute best polenta ever!)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine- softened

Add and stir:

• 2 eggs

Add and stir:

• 1/2 cup cream
• 1.5 cups milk
• 1 tblsp coarse salt
• 1.5 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup fresh cheese  (1/2 queso fresco or ricotta salata or fresh farmer’s cheese & 1/2 queso chihuahua or mozzarella or oaxaca)

Pour into a greased round baking dish. (I use Baker’s Joy) It will look like a soupy mess- don’t despair. This is actually really good.

Bake in convection oven (400 deg. F) for approx 50 minutes.

This is my mother’s recipe as I remember it. It certainly tastes like my mom’s anyway…

Sopa Paraguay

1.5 cups or chopped onions (tahnk you david for pointing out that i left this off the ingredient list!!)
1.5 cups frozen corn
1.5 cups water
1 tblsp coarse salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine- softened
2 eggs
1 cup fresh cheese  (1/2 queso fresco or ricotta salata or fresh farmer’s cheese & 1/2 queso chihuahua or mozzarella or oaxaca)
1 1/2 cups corn meal
1/2 cup milk
1 tblsp cream

Combine the onions and water in a pot, simmer. you can also do this in the microwave- set the onions and water in a bowl and cook for 5 minutes.  Set aside until the water is room temperature.
Combine the corn meal with the  butter and blend with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size butter lumps wrapped in cornmeal.
Add eggs and mix.
Add milk and cream and mix.
Add cheese, and mix (for this particular pan I used a mixture of mozzarella and pepper jack)
Add the onions and water, and mix.
Add frozen corn, and mix. (Yes- frozen- as this cooks the steam from teh ice and butter will give it some lightness- otherwise this bread is as heavy as brick)

The batter looks like a soupy chunky unincorporated mess at this point. Don’t worry. When cooked, alot of the cheese will float to the top, and the interior steam from the frozen corn will lighten the dough.

Pour into a greased and floured 8 or 9 inch round baking dish. (I use Baker’s Joy)

Bake in convection oven (400 deg. F) for approx 50 minutes.