I’ve lost count of the missing weeks by now, but couldn’t let the last vestiges of summer slip by without posting about the latest seasonal finds from our market in Ringwood.

I don’t know about you, but we’ve nearly eaten our weight in corn this summer. Grilled, smoked, raw, creamed, sautéed … it’s all been delicious and now that summer’s winding down, I’m truly savoring fresh corn while it’s still around. But a couple of dishes really stood out from the crowd and I want to make sure I tell you about them, and include links so I can re-create them next year.

This weekend I adapted Michael Ruhlman’s recipe for baked buttered corn (seen above), gilding the lily with burro di parma and wisps of freshly grated locatelli before baking, then finishing with a dab of truffle butter before serving. It sounds excessive, but the extra ingredients were used in moderation for just a touch of earthiness so really, corn was still the star. This dish is a great way to use late-season corn that maybe isn’t quite the revelation it was even a few weeks ago.

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For a couple of weeks in August, I was obsessed with cooking variations of Shrimp with Sweet Curry and Coconut Creamed Corn. We had it 3 times in the span of two weeks and I could still go for more, which will probably happen next weekend, now that I think about it. The only reason for adapting the recipe at all was because I didn’t have the specific spice blends called for, but after working around that problem, I’ve discovered that there isn’t a way to mess this up. The first time around, I left the curry out of the corn mixture and coated the shrimp with it instead (using Singapore curry from World Spice Merchants). The curry blend was light and paired perfectly with the shrimp; it accentuated the shrimp’s natural sweetness and, with a dash of cayenne pepper, added a touch of heat which cut through the richness of the coconut corn.

Nina found herself up to her ears in callaloo this summer, after deciding to grow it on a whim. Since I’m a sucker for any new (to me) ingredient, I made a beeline for the strange-looking vines when they appeared at her booth and managed to work it into a couple of other iterations of the shrimp and coconut corn recipe. If you’ve never had callaloo, it’s similar to water spinach or chard, but cooks down to something that seems much less virtuous, with a thick, silky, rich mouthfeel. I used madras curry in the corn base this time and simmered the shrimp along with it, so the dish was more of a stew than it was the first go-around. (No picture of what was an otherwise delicious dish because the callaloo turned the whole mixture a thoroughly unappealing-looking shade of bile green. And because I cobbled together a few recipes without writing down any of the steps/measurements, there’s no real recipe for you. But I’ll try to re-create it this weekend and let you know how it turns out.)

continued after the jump

But man can’t live by corn alone, so we’ve supplemented our diet with other seasonal goodies like tomatoes (duh), peaches, blueberry pie (Gil’s weakness) and summer squash. I’ve had Smitten Kitchen’s ratatouille bookmarked since the film that inspired it was in theaters and finally got around to trying it for the first time this month. That noise you hear is me thwacking my head against the wall as I think of all those weeks (years, really!) of ratatouille perfection I missed out on.

But no longer. It’s made an appearance on our table for the second time in as many weeks and I imagine it’ll show up again before the squash and eggplant bid us farewell.

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Sometimes we’ll make a summer meal of thinly shaved squash and zucchini layered with with shaved parmesan, lemon juice, olive oil and smoked salt. Other times I’ll put a little more effort into it, like I did over the weekend.

When I saw a post for squash, bacon and goat cheese pasta at The Kitchen, I knew I’d have to make it. To compensate for the lackluster gluten-free pasta I’d serve it with, I made a few adjustments to coax more flavor from the sauce. I added some olive oil to the bacon fat, threw in about 1/2 small eggplant and, most importantly, added the juice of 1/2 lemon plus zest at the very end. The lemon really sent this one over the top, so I’d recommend trying it, even if you don’t have any pasta sins to cover.

And since I mentioned tomatoes… Behold: Tomato pie from Leite’s Culinaria!

I realize you can’t see any tomatoes, but once cut into slices, this pie turned into a phenomenally delicious mess. I’d certainly recommend it if you’re still up to your ears in tomatoes, but you might not want to serve it to people who care about presentation. Just sayin’.

The word of the week was peaches. They’re my favorite fruit-as-fruit (with tomatoes as my favorite fruit-as-vegetable), so I’ve been heading to the farmers’ market even more eagerly on Saturday mornings than usual. The peaches have been spilling over, so apart from being eaten out of hand, mixed with yogurt for breakfast, atop salads and in salsas, they made a command performance in the quintessential summer dessert — peach ice cream (using my Aunt’s recipe for the custard base).

And because I love nothing more than gilding the lily, raspberry-blueberry coulis really set this off, providing a tart counterpoint to the smooth sweetness of the ice cream. It’s really simple to make, too. Just throw 2-3 handfuls of berries into a small saucepan, add a little sugar (I used about a tablespoon of vanilla sugar) and some lemon juice. Cook it over medium heat until the berries break down and the sauce starts to thicken. Cool, and use it to top whatever comes to mind.

Peaches from Treelicious Orchards and Orchards of Conklin and berries from the latter.

We’ve been eating out a bit lately, discovering new dishes and supporting new restaurants, which resulted in haunted dreams of Picnic’s truffled corn chowder and the urge to create my own summer dish. Since buying a truffle is hard to justify as part of an experimental dish for only Gil and myself, I went in a completely different (read: cheaper) direction while still keeping it in the chowder family. What I came up with was nothing like Picnic’s masterpiece, but it was a worthy addition to my repertoire. Here’s what I did to make Smoked Corn Chowder.

It started with meat, as you probably knew it would. I scored the skin of two duck breast halves, gave them a good all-over coating of my beef rub, then left them uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before firing up the smoker. To keep the corn from overcooking (and to take advantage of the delicious duck fat that would be rendering from the breasts), I placed two shucked ears of corn on the lower level of my Weber Smokey Mountain (just above the water pan) and the duck breasts in the center of the top rack.

Before I go any farther, you should know that Gil takes whatever’s put in front of him with equanimity, typically. He keeps his head down and eats whatever I make without much censure or praise, no matter the how I feel about what’s on the plate. But these duck breasts earned the title The Best Thing Ever from him. (Take that as you will.) And they were awfully good, even if the skin didn’t get entirely crispy, which turned out to be a good thing for the chowder.

To take advantage of that extra fat on the smoked breasts, I devised a workable solution: I’d chop the seasoned fat from 1/2 of a duck breast and render it in place of bacon in the chowder. When the skin had crisped and given up as much fat as possible, I set it aside to use as garnish for the finished soup. The rest of the chowder was a pretty standard affair, but the smoked corn and slight hint of duck really added something special to it.

I liked the proportion of smoked corn to fresh — the smoke wasn’t overwhelming, but gave the silky chowder a depth it doesn’t usually have. Feel free to play with amounts for more or less of the smoky goodness.

I assume Gil agreed, because we ate it all in one sitting. Nom, indeed.

recipe after the jump

Smoked Corn Chowder

1 boneless duck breast, split
dry rub, recipe follows
6 ears corn, cleaned
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
4 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 sprig thyme
1 sage leaf
1 bay leaf
1 small russet potato, peeled and cubed
3/4 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry duck breasts. With a sharp knife, score skin and fat, being careful not to cut into the meat. Coat both sides of breasts with dry rub and refrigerate uncovered up to one day.

Prepare your smoker according to manufacturer’s instructions, using your preferred smoking wood. Place two ears of corn on the lower rack just above the water pan. Place duck skin side up on the top rack over the corn. Smoke until duck is cooked through, about 40-50 minutes. Remove duck and corn from smoker.

Once corn has cooled enough to handle, cut the kernels from the ears into a large bowl and discard cobs. Cut kernels from the four remaining ears into same bowl and reserve cobs for the stock.

Remove skin from one duck breast half and chop. In a large, heavy pot over low heat, render fat from the skin. Remove crisped skin from pot with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel-lined plate to cool. Discard any fat over 1 tablespoon that remains in the pot. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the duck fat and increase heat to medium-high.

Sauté onion, bell pepper and celery in duck fat and butter until wilted. Do not brown. Add corn cobs and remaining ingredients through potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Discard corn cobs, thyme sprig, sage and bay leaf.

Transfer soup to blender in batches and purée until smooth. Stir in heavy cream or half-and-half and adjust seasoning to taste. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with crispy duck skin.

Dry Rub

2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper, ground
1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon coriander, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Mix ingredients well and use to season any dark meat before smoking. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container.

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.

We’ve had a weird spring-into-summer around here. It’s easier to appreciate freakishly cool days now that we’re nearing the end of July, but it was tough going for a couple of months, when the sun kept to itself and seasonal cooking seemed like a faintly-remembered dream. The dreary weather even convinced me that this drink would be a perfectly refreshing and appropriate summer quaff, but when corn debuted at the farmers’ market two weeks ago, warmer weather did too, and any desire to sip on a hot beverage went right out the window.

Despite the thermometer’s reluctance to get with the game, I’ve been experimenting with different ice creams this “summer,” and mostly successfully. (We won’t discuss last weekend’s vegan debacle — it never happened, you hear me?) My latest version was an attempt to 1) rejigger the sweet corn and milk drink into a frozen dessert, and 2) use ingredients already in my house (goat’s milk yogurt) instead of going to the store (for the standard stuff). By combining recipes, I ended up with a frozen yogurt I’ll quite happily nom on all week. The best part is that it’s so well-balanced — not too sweet, not too goaty, not too corny — that each ingredient complements the others without overpowering them.

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My earlier attempts at ice cream-making actually involved ice cream, not frozen yogurt. Imagine!

My favorite ice cream since I was a little girl has been my godmother’s cherry vanilla (though her banana version was a very close second). K&B had excellent cherry vanilla as well, but they’re gone, pecan, so I kept it in the family and asked my dad to get my aunt’s recipe the next time he saw her. After making both cherry vanilla and banana versions, I’m really happy to say it wasn’t just an exalted memory, but that this ice cream really is that good … so good that peach probably isn’t too far away. I just need to make sure the weather holds up.

Better get to it before an early autumn arrives.

recipes after the jump

Sweet Corn Frozen Yogurt adapted from Saveur and MakeIceCream

As I mentioned, I used goat’s milk yogurt and loved it, but if it’s not your thing, regular yogurt would be delicious here, too.

4 ears sweet corn, shucked and cleaned
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup milk, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 envelope gelatin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unflavored goat’s milk yogurt
1/4 cup corn syrup

Cut the kernels from the ears of corn, scraping the cobs to release milk. In a blender, combine the corn kernels and 1/2 cup of milk and blend at medium speed for 2-3 minutes until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Combine the corn mixture, remaining milk, sugar, gelatin, and salt in a medium saucepan. Let stand 2 minutes, or until no dry sections remain in the gelatin. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until the gelatin dissolves. Pour mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any remaining corn solids if you want a smoother frozen yogurt. Press down on solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. (I didn’t have much in the way of solids after so much blending, so I might skip this step next time.)

Cool to room temperature, then stir in the vanilla extract, yogurt, and corn syrup. Pour into a bowl; cover and chill for at least 8 hours. Pour into an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Aunt Chris’s Ice Cream

I also tried this with real vanilla beans steeped in milk instead of the extract. It was better than the original, but tempering eggs usually ends in disaster for me, so I’ll probably stick with the version below.

2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 or 6 eggs, depending on size
1 quart + 1 pint milk
3 small cans evaporated milk

Combine all ingredients except evaporated milk in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until thick and creamy, stirring often. Remove pot from burner and add evaporated milk. Pour mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Stir in fresh fruit to taste, pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Our dinner companions were everything you could ask for — friendly, smart and talented, and honestly just lovely people, all-around. I’ll leave a review of the food to them, but must put in a plug for my dessert, the Sfera di Caprino, Celery & Fig Agrodolce & Celery Sorbetto, as the menu so mouthwateringly puts it. Delicious and unusual. Probably not something I’ll try to duplicate even in the slightest, but if someone out there would like to do the honors, I would not complain if you got back to me with your recipe.

Grazie!

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It has been brought to my attention (though it hadn’t really escaped my notice) that I don’t post often enough. But that’s not entirely true; just check my guest post at TNS for evidence.

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But I do have a couple of things from last weekend that are sitting in my drafts folder collecting pixel-dust, so maybe the criticism is justified. It’s really a shame, because this meal could only have been better if I’d caught the trout myself minutes before firing up the (brand new) grill. But without access to decent trout streams here, I thought Whole Foods would be an acceptable substitute. I stuffed the fish with thin lemon slices and sprigs of thyme just before grilling — simple preparations are perfect with fresh trout. Dinner was on the table about 15 minutes later, served with an avocado, tomato and red onion salad, and grilled asparagus on the side. It’s that time of year, after all.

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Hey Cecily, you asked what I could do with limes…does this work?

Cornmeal cookies with lime glaze, inspired by the same at Amy’s Bread. These were a little crispier and less cakey than the originals, but were still just my kind of cookie — crumbly, crunchy, sweet/tart and completely lacking in chocolate.

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And just for you, Claire — more Rufus pictures:

The thing about a greyhound is, it’s really hard to get the nose and eyes in focus at the same time if your camera isn’t on a tripod.

But the boy really knows how to relax.

And I could learn a thing or two about patience from him.

recipe after the jump

Cornmeal Cookies with Lime Glaze adapted slightly from Gourmet

cookies
1 cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lime
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

lime glaze
juice of 1 lime
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Whisk together cornmeal, flour, lime zest and salt. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and yolk until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add cornmeal mixture in a slow stream, mixing until just combined. Form dough into a 5-inch square and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 30 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 7-inch square (1/2 inch thick). Score dough in one direction with tines of a fork. Following scored marks, cut into 8 equal strips, then cut strips in half to form rectangles.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet until bottoms of cookies are pale golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Mix together lime juice and enough powdered sugar to form a thin paste. Spread over cooled cookies and serve. Glaze will harden to a thin shell as it dries.

make rosemary syrup!

Use it to top your couche-couche…

and start researching cocktail recipes that make use of it for later in the evening.

recipe after the jump

Rosemary Syrup from Southern Living

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons honey
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely. Remove and discard rosemary.

Roasted hominy, three ways (from front to back): With Singapore curry blend, with harissa and fresh orange juice, with ras el hanout and lime juice.