CORNY BRUNCH IDEAS

Corn, corn, corn, oh sweet corn !

We all love corn. We love that we can eat it both as a grain and as a vegetable! Boiled, grilled, in a salad or for a barbecue? You've certainly already tested it in many ways but we've found some super original recipes, all made with corn, that you can cook this weekend for a full, satisfying brunch! The perfect mix of sweet and savory.

Now grab some ILIOS frozen kernel corn and let's get started!

Plan the perfect menu for your summer Brunch

Here are a few of our favorite recipes:

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

If you never thought before about revisiting the classic savory muffin, this corn and jalapeno recipe from thekitchnn will delight you! Its sweet-spicy combination adds a nice touch of flavour!

Get the recipe here.

The perfect intense combination - jalapeno and corn

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

Skillet Corn with Bulgur

The fresh touch for your brunch. For even more flavor, you can roast your corn before combining it with your salad. Your taste buds will be delighted!

Get the recipe here.

(we replaced bulgur with ILIOS organic quinoa because... why not?!)

Roasted corn and veggie salad

ZUCCHINI CORN PANCAKES

Damndelicious shares this super simple corn pancake recipe in just 6 steps. The best part is that you can easily reproduce it using your favourite frozen corn and ILIOS olive oil.

Get the recipe here.

Sweet and savoury corn and zucchini pancakes

Quiche with Summer Vegetables

Coming in hot for the last one! In this corn quiche recipe, you can go nuts and add all the vegetables you love such as spinach and peas! They will match perfectly with the sweet corn!

Get the recipe here.

Corn and vegetable summer quiche

Voilà ! We hope you enjoy our corny brunch ideas and do not forget to share it with friends and family by inviting them over for a nice meal on the patio!

ilios Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

It’s summertime! Summer is the season for poolside lounging, BBQs, fresh foods and for many, the time to vacation to exotic destinations. This year, with many vacations being cancelled, we want to bring the tastes of the world to you! So, close your eyes, and imagine yourself at a beachside resort in beautiful, sunny Thailand.

This Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is the perfect mix of sweet, salty, spicy and tangy and will leave your taste buds in serious vacation mode. Use fresh pineapple as one of the ingredients and use the carved-out pineapple shell as a super cute serving dish!

ILIOS Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is not only delicious but it's also soooo pretty!

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 tbsp. of ILIOS olive oil

• 3 to 4 cups ILIOS cooked basmati rice (preferably a few days old)

• 3 tbps. fish sauce

• 2 tsp. curry powder

• 2 shallots (chopped)

• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)

• 1 red or green chili pepper (thinly sliced)

• 1/4 cup ILIOS chicken stock

• 1 lb. or about 4 cups of medium uncooked shrimp (peeled and deveined)

• 1 egg

• 1 carrot (grated)

• 1/2 cup ILIOS frozen peas

• 1 ½ cups of pineapple chunks (fresh or canned)

• ¼ cup raisins

• ½ cup roasted, unsalted, whole cashews

• 2 tbsp. lime juice

• 3 green onions (thinly sliced)

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Recipe:

1. Mix 1 tbsp. of olive oil with the rice (separate any chunks)

2. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce with the curry powder.

3. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic and chili pepper and stir for about 1 minute.

4. Throughout the cooking process, whenever the pan becomes dry, add 1 tbsp. of chicken broth to keep ingredients sizzling.

5. Add shrimp, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink (about 2-3 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, to taste and remove from pan (leaving the shallots, garlic and chili pepper in the pan).

6. Crack the egg into pan and stir quickly to cook (like you are scrambling eggs). Add the grated carrot and peas. Stir 1 to 2 minutes, adding more stock if needed. Now add the rice, pineapple chunks, raisins, and cashews. Re-add the shrimp.

7. Drizzle the fish sauce mixture over everything and stir over medium-high to high heat until the rice starts making a popping sound. (about 5 to 8 minutes), Avoid adding any more stock from here on, or your rice will turn out heavy and soggy.

8. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper or additional fish sauce to taste. To add contrast to the saltiness, add lime juice (to taste).

9. To serve, scoop rice into a carved-out pineapple half. Top with green onions.

Enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE A VEGETARIAN GRAZING BOARD

ILIOS vegetarian grazing board

Ah the grazing board; the perfect appetizer for a party! And, just in time for this week’s special occasion, we have an awesome recipe for sweet cranberry and maple jam that will thrill your guests this Canada Day!

More than just a cheese board, the grazing board is a variety of little bits and bites that look so delicious, you don’t know what to snack on first!

Putting together a grazing board may seem like a no-brainer: just toss some fruits, veggies, cheeses, and crackers on a board and voila! Not so dear friends. While grazing boards are the essence of easy entertaining, it takes a little thought and strategy to build one that will really wow your guests.

Here are 5 tips to make an amazing vegetarian grazing board!

5 Tips to make a vegetarian grazing board

As you know an ideal grazing board has a good balance of flavours and textures and has items that contrast and complement each other. Here are some tips for making pairings and choosing ideal options for your grazing board:

Choose a platter and bowls for dips

So, you want to start this off but you realize that you don’t own a giant wood board to serve everything on? Don’t you worry! There few tricks that can help you make an awesome presentation:

You can use a charcoal-coloured or all-white dinner or charger plate (ideally larger than 10”). Round or square shapes work best.

You can also place 2 regular sized wood cutting boards side-by-side to create the illusion of a larger board.

For little condiment or antipasti bowls, find decorative measuring cups, ramekins or other small bowls in your kitchen cabinets. Having different shapes and sizes can definitely enhance the design of your board.

Pro tip: Using parchment/baking paper on top of your boards make it easier for you to clean after and can add a nice texture.

Prepare your shopping list in advance

Once you’ve found your inspiration and a theme for your grazing board, it’s time to go shopping! Make sure you list the number of people you are expecting for your party so you can buy appropriate portions of each of your ingredient and ask your guests if they have any intolerance or allergies so you plan ahead.

Start with some quality cheese

Work with 50g of each type of cheese per person with a selection of two or three varieties of cheese. Variety is key when selecting cheese. Try choose a type of cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheeses. Typically, one soft (like brie or camembert), one hard (cheddar, manchego), one aged (gouda, aged cheddar) and something funky like blue cheese or feta cheese that is bold and can stand out on its own.

Quality cheese is important when creating a grazing board

Feta cheese is not often a cheese that you will find on the typical grazing board. Impress your guest by matching your brie with a homemade whipped feta recipe that you can create with ILIOS feta cheese.

Pro tip: always leave your Brie on the counter for at least an hour before serving. You can be sure that by doing this your cheese has time to soften and is easier to spread when everyone is ready to eat.

Embellish your board with fresh and dried fruits and fresh and marinated veggies.

You can get creative on this aspect and add what you love to surprise your guests with fancy elements. ILIOS has a great selection of marinated vegetables to choose from to add a special “je ne sais quoi” to your board.

One thing to keep in mind though is to make sure that you pick seedless olives or grapes so there is no bad surprise.

Do not forget to add your crackers, biscuits, breads and dipping sauces

Just like a selection of cheeses, a selection of different crackers is important too.

A variety of crackers makes sure your guests have choices for the different dipping sauce, cheeses and other ingredients you add to your board. You will like the selection of ILIOS crackers and bread sticks because they have great texture and come in a variety of flavors that compliment almost any cheese and dipping sauce. Particularly the olive crackers that you can use with your favorite dips like ILIOS Artichoke Bruschetta. Yummy!

ILIOS crackers come in a variety of flavours

Bonus:

As promised, check out this special jam recipe for your special Canada Day vegetarian grazing board. We are sure you and your guests will love it!

sweet cranberry and maple jam

Sweet cranberry and maple jam

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 onions, chopped

• 2 1/2 oz of whiskey-based maple-flavoured alcohol

• 3/4 cup maple syrup

• 3 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries

• 2 stalks of fresh thyme

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Recipe

1. Heat your pan on high, add butter and let melt, reduce to medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add the maple alcohol and cook for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the juices.

3. Pour in the maple syrup and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring a few times.

4. Serve this cold or warm jam with your favorite cheeses (it goes GREAT with ILIOS brie).

Bon appétit!