Corn cakes
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. Set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet and place near the stove.
- Grate the corn on the large holes of a grater set inside a shallow bowl to collect the kernels and their milky liquid, to measure 11⁄2 cups. (You can also cut the whole kernels off the cobs with a knife and milk the cobs with a small spoon.)
- Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the egg in a medium bowl until the white and yolk are blended, then whisk in the buttermilk and stir in the corn. Pour the corn mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula only until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter. The batter will be a little lumpy, like pancake batter.
- Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop the batter into the pan by heaping tablespoonsful. (The first cake should sizzle when it hits the pan; if not, let the pan get a little hotter before adding more batter. Cook no more than 4 to 6 fritters, not touching, at a time.) Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Unless someone is standing there with plate in hand, transfer the cooked cakes to the wire rack and place in the oven to stay warm until all are cooked, or up to 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter and oil to the pan in equal measure as needed. Serve the cakes warm.
- Tips and Techniques. When pan-frying, the oil should be hot enough for the food to sizzle when it touches the oil but not so hot that the oil smokes or the food scorches. You can test the oil by dropping in a pinch of flour; it should sizzle instantly and brown slowly without the oil popping or smoking. Do not add too much food to the pan at once or the temperature of the oil will drop rapidly and the food will languish and get greasy while the oil heats up again. The oil tends to get hotter with each batch, so adjust the heat as needed to keep it at the right temperature. Between batches, skim the oil and discard any bits of food floating around before they have a chance to burn.