How To Shuck Corn

First, cut the stem-end of the corn on the cob off—approximately where the stem meets the first row of kernels. Pop it in the microwave, husk and all, for about 30 to 60 seconds. Then—with a potholder to keep from being burned—pick up the uncut side of the corn and let the cob slide on out. You can remove any remaining silks by rubbing with a wet paper towel or giving it a quick scrub with a vegetable brush!

Now that we’ve covered that important topic, let’s talk about cooking methods!

How to Boil Corn

While it’s common practice to boil corn in salt water, it can actually toughen the corn! Instead, try adding a bit of sugar to the water to bring out the natural sweetness in corn. You can save the salt for serving. Adding milk to the water is another way to bring out the sweetness!

How to Grill Corn

There’s a big debate as to whether corn should be grilled husk on or husk off. While both are great, there are some added benefits to cooking with the husk on. Keeping the husk on helps to almost steam the corn while you’re cooking—just be sure to soak the corn before tossing it on the grill so the husk doesn’t catch on fire! Without the husk, corn can cook faster, which means it may start to char well before the insides of the kernels become tender and juicy.

If you still want a bit of char, try peeling just a few of the outer layers of husk off so that you still get the steamed effect but the flames get a chance to dance a bit closer to those sweet kernels of deliciousness.

As a pro-tip, before you grill the corn, peel back the husks, leaving them intact at the base, and de-silk the corn before pulling the husk back into place. Now you can enjoy the benefits of grilling the corn with the husk on without trying to peel those pesky hairs off of hot corn.

How to Make Creamed Corn

Creamed corn can be very labor-intensive, but it’s a labor of love! A corn cutter is a must-have tool. They come in wood or stainless steel and can be purchased on Amazon or at your favorite retailers. Get one with an adjustable blade so you can adjust how deep the cutter goes. After getting the kernels off (try not to get whole kernels), run your knife down the cob to get any remaining juice. Add butter, salt, and pepper, and be sure not to overcook it. If it is too dry after cooking, you can always add more cream.

Want more tips for making creamed corn? Watch Paula make her homemade creamed corn recipe here.

How to Cook Corn on the Cob in an Air Fryer

Cooking corn in the air fryer is so simple! Simply shuck the corn, spray it with cooking spray, and add your desired seasonings. If you want to cook it in lots of butter or cheese, wrap your corn, butter, and seasonings in tin foil prior to cooking. Depending on the size of your corn cobs and air fryer, it may work best to cut your corn cobs in half before placing them in the basket. (This will help you fit more corn in it.) Just be sure not to overcrowd the basket!

What’s your preferred way to cook corn? Do you have any tips we missed? Please share with us in the comments below.

The post How to Cook Corn: Methods & Recipes appeared first on Paula Deen.

We’ve always been told, “eat your veggies,” when we were kids! And we listened, we really did! But there’s more to life than steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, and baked potatoes. From barbecued cabbage and spinach-stuffed zucchini to carrots and asparagus in tasty sauces, Paula has some great vegetable side dishes to try. They pair perfectly with burgers, brats, roasted chicken, a perfectly cooked steak, and just about anything else you can imagine.

So, tell us—what are your favorite vegetable side dish recipes? Tell us in the comments below.

Now, go eat your veggies, y’all!

The post 12 Delicious Vegetable Side Dish Recipes appeared first on Paula Deen.

If you’re considering moving towards a plant based diet or even just reducing your intake of meat and seafoods, these plant based dinner recipes may provide a little inspiration to your meal planning.

While salads are naturally great options as plant based dinner recipes, there are also great plant based soup recipes and plant based side dishes on our list that elevate any meal. From veggie chili to hearty couscous recipes, these plant based recipes are as healthy as they are filling and delicious!

Will you be making any of these plant based dinner recipes? Have you already switched to a plant based diet? We’d love to hear from you!

The post Plant Based Dinner Recipes appeared first on Paula Deen.

More and more people are enjoying a meat-free or limited-meat lifestyle these days. Not only is a vegetarian diet good for your heart health, it can also help prevent type 2 diabetes, lower blood pressure, and promote bone health.

From vegetarian breakfast casseroles to easy vegetarian casseroles for dinner, Paula has a surprising selection of healthy vegetarian casserole recipes, like a Mediterranean Cauliflower Casserole and a delicious pasta-less Eggplant Lasagna recipe.

Do you have some healthy vegetarian casserole recipes that you love? We’d love the recipes! Feel free to share them in the comments below!

The post Healthy Vegetarian Casserole Recipes appeared first on Paula Deen.

When you hear that someone is vegetarian, your first assumption is that they must be healthy! And while many are, if vegetarians aren’t careful, it can be very easy to replace meat with bread, pasta, and other starches. So, that’s why we compiled our favorite healthy vegetarian recipes to make it easy!

From light snacks and nutritious breakfasts to easy vegetarian dinner recipes, like veggie burgers, zucchini boats, and healthy vegetarian side dishes, there are plenty of recipes to try out whether you live a meat-free life or just prefer to enjoy an occasional meatless meal. Even if you’re a self-proclaimed carnivore (we’re actually omnivores by nature), you may enjoy having these healthy vegetarian recipes. After all, we could certainly all use more vegetables in our lives and passing on eating meat for some meals won’t hurt us one bit.

Are you a vegetarian or do you just enjoy the occasional healthy vegetarian dinner recipe? Let us know in the comments below, along with your favorite healthy vegetarian recipes.

The post Southern Healthy Vegetarian Recipes appeared first on Paula Deen.

Pimiento cheese is a real crowd-pleaser. It’s low carb and vegetarian, which means it can feed a wide array of people, and there are a million ways to make it to suit your own specific tastes. Plus, it’s great for beginners to make because you truly can’t mess it up. If you add too much of one ingredient, it’s easy to balance it out by adding more of some of the other ingredients! This isn’t baking, after all, so it’s not an exact science!

One tip Paula always gives when sharing with her friends how to make classic Southern pimiento cheese is that it tends to dry out in the refrigerator. So if she makes too much and leftovers end up in the fridge, she adds a little more mayonnaise once it’s out of the refrigerator and she’s ready to serve it up again.

While pimiento cheese is great on its own, served with crackers, pretzel crisps, or some crunchy bread, it can also jazz up an omelet, top any burger, or even be added to your deviled eggs for a real Southern treat. Of course, one of the most classic ways that Southerners enjoy it is on soft white bread with some lettuce and tomato.

Now that we’ve sold you on why Southerners love pimiento cheese, it’s time to get cooking, isn’t it? Before you start using pimiento cheese in your recipes, you need to learn to make it! We recommend starting with this Pimiento Cheese recipe that Bobby made during the Deen Family’s Bag Lady days. After all, Paula will surely tell you that Bobby makes better pimiento cheese than anyone she knows. Of course, if you’re looking for a lightened up version, this lighter pimiento cheese recipe from Paula Deen Cuts the Fat is a great option!

What do y’all enjoy in your pimiento cheese? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 2 Southern Pimiento Cheese Recipes and 7 Recipes that use Pimiento Cheese appeared first on Paula Deen.

Well, if you’re hoping to have your own pizza night complete with homemade pizzas, then you’ve come to the right place to get started! Today we’re sharing Paula’s super easy homemade pizza dough recipe that can serve as the base of any homemade pizza.

While this recipe is for a classic pizza dough recipe, Paula has some healthier options too, like a Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe and a Cauliflower Crust Pizza recipe.

First, you’ll need to gather the following tools & ingredients:

• 1¾ cups warm water
• 1¼-oz package active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4½ cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• food processor
• wood board
• greased bowl
• measuring cup
• plastic wrap or tea towel

Now that you’ve got it all together, it’s time for the fun part—making that wonderful homemade pizza dough! Sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm water, which should be pleasantly warm on your wrist and not scalding hot, and allow the yeast to activate. This will take about 10 minutes.

Next, pour the salt and 2 cups of the flour into your food processor, pulsing 5 times to ensure it’s blended. Pour in the yeast and water, and pulse 5 more times. Now add in the olive oil and the remaining flour, a cup at a time, pulsing until it’s well blended. Be sure to periodically scrape the sides of the bowl at this time to ensure everything is thoroughly combined.

Once it’s well mixed, dump the dough onto a well-floured board. Knead it for 15 turns—be sure not to over-mix it! By the time you’re finished, the dough should be smooth and elastic-like.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides of the dough in the grease, then cover it with plastic wrap or a tea towel before placing the bowl in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes. The dough should double in size. Lastly, punch down the dough. Voila! Homemade pizza dough in no time!

This recipe yields enough for two 12-inch pizzas, so divide the dough in half before using it. If you’re not making two pizzas, it freezes well in a re-sealable freezer bag. Next time you’re ready for homemade pizza, let it thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. You’ll want to roll the dough while cold, but be sure you let it reach room temperature before adding your sauce, cheese, and other toppings.

It’s easier than you thought to make pizza dough from scratch, isn’t it? The hardest part is just waiting for it to rise, but with a little patience, your pizza will be even more delicious.

If you’re looking for great pizza recipes for using your dough, we’ve included a few below—we hope you enjoy them!

Do you have tips for making pizza dough? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Paula’s Easy Pizza Dough Recipe appeared first on Paula Deen.

We love watermelon in salads. It pairs perfectly with an array of other ingredients, including corn, mint, and feta cheese. Plus, watermelon juice is absolutely delicious in punches. And if you’ve never tried it, you may be surprised how tasty watermelon rind is when prepared correctly, for instance in Pickled Watermelon Rind.

Of course, enjoying watermelon starts with picking a good one! Start with weight—you want a watermelon that feels heavy for its size. Next, search for its yellow spot—a creamy yellow spot means it’s ripe. Again, this spot should be yellow, not white. Lastly, give it a thump! Look for a deep sound rather than a hollow one.

Now that you have some recipes and a little know-how, you’re all set to celebrate National Watermelon Day! If you have some delicious watermelon recipes, you’d like to share, leave them in the comments below.

The post National Watermelon Day appeared first on Paula Deen.

Cheesecake is believed to have originated on the Greek island of Samos, possibly around 2,000 B.C. That means this beloved sweet has certainly earned its status—it has definitely stood the test of time! The first Greek cheesecake recipe that was written down, however, is credited to Athenaeus in 230 A.D., and for that, we owe him a debt of gratitude! The Romans later earned it as a spoil of war, and from there, it spread across Europe, where they started adding in eggs, butter, and sugar. However, it wasn’t until it made its way to America that it started to resemble the cheesecake we know today with the addition of cream cheese!

With Paula being the incredible baker that she is, she has plenty of tried-and-true cheesecake recipes waiting to be made (and eaten). Whether you like a traditional cheesecake or you’d rather celebrate with a cheesecake cupcake or parfait, she has recipes that you’re sure to love.

The post National Cheesecake Day appeared first on Paula Deen.

Did you know that eggplant isn’t technically a veggie? While we typically call it a vegetable in the kitchen, it’s actually a berry! Yes, that’s right—a berry. However, unlike most berries, you won’t find this one in many desserts. We like to stick with savory main courses, snacks, and appetizers when we’re using eggplant.

While we love a good Eggplant Parmesan recipe, there are so many more ways to enjoy this…fruit. We’ve compiled eight of our favorite ways to enjoy eggplant for you here, including that tasty eggplant parm. Of course, we’ve tossed in a few recipes, like ratatouille, lasagna, and even a yummy dip for good measure.

What are your favorite eggplant recipes? Do you have any new or surprising ways to cook them? We’d love to hear—just leave us a comment below!

The post 8 Southern Eggplant Recipes appeared first on Paula Deen.