Lozza's Corn and Bacon Muffins + {My Top Ten Curtis Stone Recipes}!

This is  I Heart Cooking Club's seventh year and Curtis Stone is our 14th chef. During this time we've cooked with some pretty amazing chefs such as Jacques Pepin, Rick Bayless, and Yotam Ottolenghi and, I have to say, Curtis is right there at the top of the list! He is hands down one of my favorites. His recipes are very approachable and family-oriented. I never once felt like the ingredient list was too long or the recipe too daunting. I found the recipes very well-written and, on top of that, every single recipe I tried was a smashing success. 

I have all of Curtis' cookbooks but found I favored his Relaxed Cooking the most. I love that he has an entire book dedicated to simple and quick food that always delivers.  This recipe for Lozza's Corn and Bacon Muffins is a perfect example. These muffins are very low effort, but they are also crazy addictive! Lovely little fluffy clouds of cheesy goodness with sweet pops of corn and yummy little streaks of bacon. These are absolutely heavenly fresh out of the oven with a smear of butter. I'm gonna go ahead and say that no one could stop at just one! I think these muffins would be perfect to serve for the upcoming holidays. I know they will be making a repeat performance at my table!

Listed below are my top ten favorite Curtis Stone dishes in no particular order. Thanks to Curtis for a wonderful 6 months. I know I will be revisiting his cookbooks in the future!

Lozza's Corn and Bacon Muffins

Adapted from Relaxed Cooking

by Curtis Stone

Makes 12

12 ounces hardwood-smoked bacon, coarsely chopped

1 ear yellow corn, husked (about 1 cup)

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour*

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

1-1/4cups whole milk

3 large eggs

2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh chives

salted butter, for serving

Notes: Somewhere I read that this recipe called for self-rising flour so I used that and had wonderful results. I would say it's safe to use either all-purpose or self-rising.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cook the bacon in a large heavy saute pan over medium heat for about 8 minutes, or until it is browned and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels. Brush 12 standard-size muffin cups generously with some of the bacon drippings from the pan, and set aside 1/2 cup remaining bacon drippings to cool slightly. Discard any remaining bacon fat.

Use a sharp knife to slice the corn kernels off the cob. You should have about 1 cup.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl to blend. Whisk the milk, eggs, and reserved bacon drippings in another large bowl to blend; then stir in the bacon, 1-1/2 cups of the cheese, the corn kernels, and the chives. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing it equally and mounding it generously. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let the muffins cool slightly in the cups.  Then run a small sharp knife around the muffins to loosen them from the cups, remove them, and serve them warm with salted butter.

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TOP TEN CURTIS STONE FAVORITES!! 

(click on the link to be directed to original post)

Grilled Corn On The Cob with Parsley and Garlic Brown Butter

Plum & Cinnamon Crumble

New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp with Amber Ale

Orzo Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelized Bananas and Mascarpone

Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

Pasta with Spicy Italian Salami, Baby Tomatoes, Olives & Capers

Potato and Zucchini Enchiladas

 

Lozza's Corn and Bacon Muffins

(recipe found on this post)

 

Thanks for a fabulous 6 months Curtis !!