Suzi's Blog
Corn, Silk and Lilacs
A mild winter has its benefits. You haven’t broken your leg while skiing. Your heating bills were not as high as the Federal budget.
And corn is available way early. We have Florida corn in our local supermarket. Big ears, with lots of well-formed kernels. This early corn does not have quite the rich flavor that only summer sun can provide. But it’s darn good. In fact, in the coming few days you’ll see a bevy of corn recipes here.
Of course, between buying the corn and eating the corn there is cooking the corn. Which means removing the husk and dealing with that silk. Have you ever had to shuck twenty ears and found your kitchen looking like a “thread bomb” went off? Really a mess.
Here’s a solution, an amazing solution. I normally think of a YouTube as a place to find videos of cats dressed up costumes and performing some feline ballet number. Well, there is other information there. Try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4
Here you will see a fantastic idea. Put the whole ear of corn in the microwave, cook for 4 minutes an ear, remove the ear, and just cut off the bottom end. Then you simply pick up the ear by the tassel end and the cooked corn slips right out of the husk. No silk attached.
Suzen and I have watched, been intrigued and believe. We have to believe. We saw it on YouTube.
However, we will be testing this weekend.
And we want to test flavor, too. Cooking in the microwave is not the same as boiling in water [or milk!]. Or roasting, either shucked or unshucked. We’ll try the microwave idea, and then see if we can use our grill for a moment or two to generate flavor and add some carmelization.
Ah, the lilacs. This mild winter has made for early corn. It has also meant that, at least here in the Northeast, lilac bushes have none, or at best a few, blossoms. Suzen has created a small lilac forest just outside our front room. In a normal year, we can open the windows and have lilac fragrance for three or four months. This year, we are going to have to settle for munching on corn.
Baby Spinach Salad with Roasted Strawberries
Yes, that was Suzen earlier today on SiriusXM Channel 110. That’s the Martha Stewart Living channel. The 3PM cooking slot was being hosted by our good friend Michele Scicolone. Michele is famous for her extraordinary array of cookbooks. Mostly Italian, it’s true, but The French Slow Cooker is a best seller and a “best eater” too.
Suzen was on the show today to answer questions about home cooking parties. How do you plan for a party, what to serve, how many people can you have, what to drink, … Michele and the listeners who called in had lots of questions. For the topic of what to serve, Suzen presented this recipe, a favorite for the bridal shower and bachelorette events she has weekly at Cooking by the Book.
Already since the show today we’ve had calls to put the recipe on this blog, and we are happy to post it now. Suzen loves this salad with its mixture of sweet and sour and that adornment of roasted strawberries. Be sure to cool those strawberries before placing on the spinach — the idea here is not to have wilted spinach.
Baby Spinach Salad with Roasted Strawberries
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 2 pints large strawberries
- 2 pints large strawberries
- 1tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen orange concentrate
- 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
- ¾ cup slivered or sliced almonds
- 9 cups baby spinach
- 5 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, shaved
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Using a paring knife, hull the strawberries and cut then in half lengthwise. Spread the berries on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar, ¼ teaspoon of the salt and several grinds of pepper. Toss to coat the berries evenly, then spread them out again. Roast until softened, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, gently sprinkle with the chopped tarragon
In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together the vinegar, orange juice, the 1 tablespoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon of the salt and several grinds of pepper until the sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons of olive oil until well blended to make vinaigrette. Taste and adjust the seasonings
In a small bowl, stir together the almonds and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Whisk the vinaigrette to recombine, drizzle about 1/3, less or more, over the spinach and toss well (reserving any remaining for another use). Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Divide the dressed spinach evenly among individual plates, top each serving with an equal amount of the roasted strawberries, sprinkle with the almonds and cheese. Serve immediately.
Source: Adapted from New Flavor for Salads by Dana Cheney
