party corn

When I don't have pink-eye peas for summer succotash (see earlier post), this is my new go-to corn dish. This is what would happen if an ear of corn from Greece went on spring break to Cancún and got cooked. This culture clash, however unlikely, makes for a succulent summer dish. It's such a shame to eat boiled corn on the cob when you can eat THIS.

3 ears of corn, de-kerneled
1 oz feta, crumbled
1/2 lime
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix garlic with a pinch of salt and pound to a paste. Stir into butter (this can be done 2 days ahead).
Saute corn kernels on med. high heat in a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Once the kernels are golden brown (for the most part) add 1 or both tbsps of butter to skillet and continue cooking for another minute, tossing to coat.
Plate the corn, squirt lime over the top and sprinkle with feta.
Serves 2.

the essential travel accessory

This summer my travels have taken me from the Gulf of Mexico to the Memphis countryside, and I have found one singular accessory more useful than anything else in my luggage--a jar of black peppercorns topped with a built-in grinder. There is nothing that finishes a dish quite as well as freshly cracked pepper. I really don't even know what those gray-white-black specks that come in those cardboard shakers are, but my guess is if they ever were peppercorns, they were ground several years ago. One thing I do know--they are flavorless and therefore useless.
Bringing along my own pepper feels a little snobbish, but the multitude of dishes that have benefited from it (greek coleslaw, pimento cheese, summer vegetable soup, tomato basil bruschetta, homemade pasta with bacon-cream sauce) make it clear that it's not a matter of elitism but one of taste.
I can't wait to go through airport customs and have to explain this one.

roasted feta

This is an inordinately impressive appetizer, considering the five minutes of work that go into it. And, best of all, it's mostly stuff that's laying around. Served with a baguette (or lime tortilla chips, when desperate), it is the perfect prelude to a cool summer salad or pasta dish. It is a riff off of a recipe I read long ago, I think in Gourmet.

2 1/2" slabs of feta
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano (or 1 tsp dry, crumbled)
a few grinds of pepper
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat broiler.
Place feta on ovenproof plate, sprinkle oregano and pepper over. Mix red peppers with oil, and drizzle over feta.
Place under broiler until golden brown, about five minutes.
Serve, with baguette or any other bready item laying around.

Things You can Do When You Raise Chickens

1) Have hours-old scrambled eggs with goat cheese and herbs
2) Bake hot, steaming loaves of challah
3) Egg wash things to your heart's content
4) Make homemade pasta with just flour, salt, and a fork
5) BLT-fried egg n cheese sandwiches
6) Turn aforementioned challah leftovers into a killer bread pudding
7)Improvise vanilla butter cakes, with little more than flour, eggs, butter, vanilla, and baking powder.


Thanks to Eliot and Lee for the down-home farm vacation!

it's not summer without succotash

This is a dish my family prepares every summer when the farmers' market starts up. Every time I make it, I wonder to myself why I don't make it every day. Every vegetable is in its utmost perfect state in this dish: the peas simmered with simple salt water, the corn sauteed to near-caramelization, the tomatoes marinated at room temp with fresh herbs, and the okra, fried, of course.
If the ingredient list looks daunting, just know that you already have most of it, and the rest is just a stop at the market away. Do not even think about substituting black-eye peas for the pink-eye...we're talking a different species. Purple hull peas are an acceptable substitute. A lot of this can be made ahead. All that really needs to happen last minute is frying the okra.
Please make this. It is honestly the best thing you will put in your mouth this summer. Heck-this IS summer.


Summer Succotash

1 lb pink eye peas
1 tbsp salt
6 spoonfuls of mayo
juice of one lemon (or two small)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
5 ears corn
3 tomatoes, cut into 16ths
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
tbsp fresh oregano
about 30 okra
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
tbsp cajun seasoning
tbsp seasoning salt
vegetable oil for frying
8 slices of prosciutto

Simmer peas with in water with tbsp salt for two hours.

Whisk together mayo, chives, lemon juice and season to taste.
Set aside

Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar (3 parts oil to one part vinegar) as well as the oregano. Marinate tomatoes in dressing, turning occasionally.

Shuck corn, cut the kernels off the cob, and saute until dangerously golden with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Keep warm

Combine flour, seasoning salt, cajun seasoning, and heavy shakes of salt and pepper in a double lined plastic bag. Shake to combine. Cut off the tops of the okra. Whisk together eggs and milk. Soak okra in the egg/milk mixture, shake off extra, toss into the bag to cover with flour mixture, then fry over high heat until golden. Keep warm.

Fry up the prosciutto until crisp.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Plate the peas, then the corn, then tomatoes on top of that. Place the okra around the sides. Top with prosciutto, drizzle with mayo dressing and enjoy.

top three nuts.

Growing up in the South it was all pecans and peanuts.
For a long time, I wasn't really aware of the existence of any other nut species, except maybe the almond, because my mom happened to love Almond Joys. Peanuts, in all their plebeian glory, are a bit underwhelming. The third world has a one up on the US when it comes to incorporating them into sauces, soups, and other delicacies. And by some failure of the Southern genome, I lean more towards hating pecans than loving them.
So, when I got out in the world and realized the variety of nuts that are there for the toasting, it was somewhat of a revelation. To celebrate the world of nuts, here's my top three list. Give nuts a thought today: asking someone to name their top three and seeing how they respond on the fly is a really good way to get a sense of the person. Seriously.

1*hazelnut
2*pistachio
3*pine nut

onion-endive flatbread

My love affair with romesco sauce began at a small French restaurant here in town. The original sauce hails from Cataluña, a region in the northeast of Spain. Strictly speaking, it's a tomato, chile, breadcrumb and nut concoction. But here, I have used roasted red peppers, no tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and no ñora chile, which typically only crosses the borders of Spain in sneaky gourmands' backpacks.
The sauce makes an amazing replacement for the traditional pizza dressing of tomato sauce. Combining this with the subtle touches of roasty toasty root onions and endive, and the happy tang of goat cheese results in a heavenly, why-didn't-i-think-of-this-sooner flavor combination. The arugula adds a fresh, cool pop with a bitter bite, and the chipotle mayo gives it just enough spice.
It requires a little effort, but you can do the dough, sauce, and chipotle mayo ahead of time, and you make enough to recreate the meal one or two more times with minimal effort. The making of this recipe usually ends in the disastrous event of me consuming the entire thing alone (that arugula just won't reheat very nicely, right? might as well finish it off).

onion-endive flatbread

1/2 recipe dough
1/2 recipe red pepper romesco
4 oz goat cheese
1 onion
4 endive
2 tbsp olive oil
2 handfuls of arugula
1 tbsp diced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
5 tbsp mayo
dash of cumin
2 cups arugula

Make dough and romesco sauce (see below). *NOTE: Extras freeze well; I especially enjoyed the texture of dough after it had been frozen. Simply thaw for an hour or so to use.
Preheat oven to 400. Cut onions into thin wedges and cut endive into one inch pieces (crosswise). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until browned, turning several times, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix chipotle chiles, mayo, and cumin. Salt and pepper to taste. Put in a squirt bottle (find them at WalMart, Dollar Tree, Williams Sonoma, etc; I use a diner-style ketchup container.) or, if you must, just use a spoon to dollop.
Top dough with romesco, then the onion endive mixture. Sprinkle goat cheese evenly across. Bake for 12 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden. Remove from oven; scatter arugula and drizzle chipotle mayo over the top.
Slice and serve.



red pepper romesco

2 red bell peppers, broiled/roasted and peeled
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 small garlic clove
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp water


Put first 7 ingredients in a food processor; blend. Add oil and water with processor running to desired consistency.

pizza dough

1 1/3 c warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
3 1/2 c flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Combine yeast and water in bowl until dissolved. add the remaining ingredients and mix for about one minute. knead for about ten minutes. transfer dough to a bowl coated w/olive oil, cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours. preheat oven to 475, grease baking sheet and dust with cornmeal. punch down dough, divide in half. roll each half into a ball and let rest for 10-15 minutes. flatten and roll out balls and let rest for ten more minutes, top, and bake about 12 min. from Joy of Cooking