I found myself at home mid-week trying to sleep off a sinus infection, but got bored with all of that lying about after a while. (This development is disturbing to me, since I used to be quite happy lazing the day away, watching trashy TV and napping. When did I turn into my dad, needing a project to keep me happy and productive?!) So I did what I always do; I escaped to the kitchen. Still groggy and hungover-ish from Nyquil, I wasn’t up for a full-blown meal, but a simple soup was something I could handle and Potage Parmentier fit the bill perfectly. It’s the easiest thing in the world to make and any additions to the potato and leek base amount to a “why not?” soup.

Should I add celery root? Why not?
How about some apple? Why not?
Maybe a whole head of roasted garlic? Hell, yeah! I mean…why not?

The soup left me with a small batch of potato and apple peels, which I hated to see go to waste, so I munched on the apple peels while the soup simmered, and turned the potato peels into a nutrient-filled version of fries…simply stir fried in a little bit of olive oil until golden brown, then tossed with salt & pepper.

They’re really amazing drizzled with truffle oil, or better yet, melted truffle butter. But this time I just ate them plain, with a glass of iced tea. Perfection.

The boys were very supportive of my earlier decision to nap extensively, but couldn’t agree to end the day in a productive manner.

And we’re back with another weekend of cooking, fresh from the Ringwood Farmers’ Market. Despite temperatures that reached the triple digits a couple of weeks ago, it didn’t really feel like summer to me until this weekend, when I first spied corn at several booths at the market. And because corn heralds the arrival of tomatoes (thus my favorite food weeks of the year), I’m a happy, happy girl.

So with a full bag of corn and some adorable baby eggplants, I set my sights on grilling this weekend. The only question was what slant to give the meal, and after some consideration (Mexican — lime & cotija? Italian — balsamic vinaigrette? Cajun — loads of paprika, oregano & pepper?), I decided to go for Middle Eastern with a harissa rub/dressing since the cumin, coriander and paprika would play so well with the flavors of the grill.

There are lots of ways to grill corn and I’ve tried most of them. Rolling the shucked ears in foil with a little butter and spice is where I started years ago, but that only takes advantage of the grill’s heat and doesn’t capture its essence. Grilling already-shucked ears bare on the grate is a little more satisfying, but the kernels tend to dry out and turn rubbery, no matter how attentive you are. So I’ve turned into an unshucked griller. I remove some of the outer husks, peel back the rest and keep them attached at the base, then strip the silk from the cob. At that point, it’s really simple to season the corn however you like, re-cover the ear with the husks and tie them at the top with one of the detached husks. Some people like to soak the cobs, but I prefer not to so the outer husks burn and char, and infuse the kernels with the smokiness of the grill.

For this weekend’s meal, I brushed the kernels with olive oil, then sprinkled them with dry harissa. I like to keep the dry rub around because I’m never quite sure how long the paste will keep with fresh garlic in it. Using powdered garlic and leaving out the water solves that problem, and it’s easy enough to turn it into a paste later. The corn roasted over a hot fire for about 20 minutes while I turned the ears frequently. The outer husks charred to black and began to crumble away after a time, but we were left with smoky, tender corn cooked through perfectly. Just before we dug in, I drizzled it with some harissa sauce (more on which later):

Although I’d be perfectly happy making an entire meal of grilled corn, Gil probably wouldn’t be, so I threw together a quick salad as well. While the corn was grilling, I placed the baby eggplants in the in-between spaces and let them cook until they were charred and had just enough form to escape going all Bruce Davison in X-Men. Once off the grill, I sliced them in half lengthwise, slathered them in harissa sauce mixed with lemon juice and honey and let them marinate till they’d cooled down and were shot through with spicy-sweet-tart flavor. They were perfect over a simple salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette, and damn if this isn’t going to be a go-to recipe for me this summer. The flavors just marry so well.

Last weekend, I was fooling around with some basil and decided to use it in a green apple sorbet, but never got around to posting it here because the recipe isn’t quite where I want it to be yet. It’s awfully refreshing on a hot summer day, but is just a little too reminiscent of frozen applesauce for my liking. Once I find the appropriate level of tartness I’ll share, but for now, here’s a picture to serve as a placeholder.

Hope you all had a great weekend and managed to stay somewhat cool.

recipes after the jump

Harissa Paste adapted from Global Gourmet

3 1/2 tablespoons dried chili flakes, soaked in the same amount of hot water
1 1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons caraway seed
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, dry roasted then ground
1 teaspoon salt

Place ingredients in small food processor and blend or grind in mortar until a paste is formed. I stored the extra in the fridge with a small amount of olive oil floated over the top. Not sure how long it lasts, but I’m not going to keep it much longer than a week because of the fresh garlic in the paste.

Harissa Rub

3 1/2 tablespoons dried chili flakes
3/4 tablespoon powdered garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons caraway seed
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, dry roasted then ground
1 teaspoon salt

Place ingredients in small food processor and blend or grind in mortar.

These cinnamon apple chips were a real success story — every bit as successful as the cumin-flavored pear chips were disastrous. And, of course, they make a lovely (and relatively healthy) departure from the sea of butter we all find ourselves swimming in this time of year.

For the 2007 Advent Calendar, click here.

recipe after the jump

Cinnamon Apple Chips adapted from Gourmet

3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 medium Granny Smith apple

Special equipment:
a nonstick baking pad such as Silpat or parchment paper; a wide (3 3/4-inch) mandoline or other manual slicer

Preheat oven to 200°F and line a large baking sheet with baking pad or parchment.

Sift together confectioners sugar and cinnamon twice to evenly incorporate. Sift half of cinnamon sugar evenly onto baking sheet.

Cut apple crosswise into very thin round slices (about 1/16 inch thick) with slicer. Arrange 20 of largest slices nearly touching each other on baking sheet, then evenly sift remaining cinnamon sugar over apples. (Reserve remaining apple slices for another use.)

Bake slices in middle of oven until pale golden and beginning to crisp, about 1 1/2 hours. Immediately peel chips off pad and cool on a rack.

Apples are a particular favorite of mine this time of year. Varieties range from sweet to tart, they can be used for snacking out of hand, baking, mashing, or even braising, and they pair equally well with sweet or savory ingredients.

They’re extra-delicious in caramelized apple bread pudding, too. What’s not to love?

For the 2007 Advent Calendar, click here.

recipe after the jump

Caramelized Apple Bread Pudding

I prefer bread pudding that isn’t very sweet, and this recipe reflects that. If you want something a little more dessert-like, feel free to add more sugar to the apples and/or to the bread. For a richer dish, substitute heavy cream for some of the whole milk. Or go completely nuts and swirl in a little dulce de leche, if you have some languishing in your refrigerator. Basically, just consider this a template and play around with it.

5 spicy-sweet, crisp apples (Crispin, Jonagold, Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges apiece
3 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar, depending on the sweetness of the apples
cinnamon to taste
sprinkle of ground mace
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 day-old loaf of challah bread or equal amount of croissants, broken into 2-inch pieces
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons pure cane syrup (I use Steen’s)
splash of bourbon or Tennessee whiskey
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a medium-sized baking dish.

Heat butter in nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add apple slices and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar, cooking and stirring occasionally for a few minutes until apples just begin to turn tender. Sprinkle with remaining brown sugar, a few dashes of cinnamon, mace, cardamom and lemon zest. Cook for a few minutes longer, until apples are soft but not falling apart and edges are golden brown. Spoon apples into the buttered baking dish in an even layer and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together, eggs, milk, vanilla and almond extracts, cane syrup, and bourbon. Add bread, pressing down so it absorbs the egg mixture evenly. Once all of the liquid has been absorbed, break apart a piece of bread to make sure it’s uniformly moist inside, not dry at all. If it is dry, add a little milk and let it sit until absorbed.

Spoon bread mixture over the apples in the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted into the center of the dish comes out clean. (It could take longer than an hour, depending on how moist the bread mixture was to begin. This is a dish you have to play by ear a bit everytime you make it.)