Corn - Summer Gold

When you live in a seasonal climate, and you're a chef, it's all about what fruit or vegetable you are currently infatuated with. When that season is full blown summer, it's hard not to be fickle. One day it's peach crisps and nectarine galettes, the next, heirloom tomatoes have your devoted attention. It only takes one trip to the greenmarket and everything on the table is showered with chopped chives, parsley, basil and tarragon.

And of course, with any summer romance, there's always the chance of being a little too over eager, too ready to indulge, carried away with our senses, which may lead to Farmer's Market Remorse. That moment when you realize you have enough tomatoes for 12, corn for 10, peaches for your entire extended family and it's just you and your partner at home.

So as our local markets begin to swell with the urgency of a ripe fig, DM Cuisine plans to feature a few blogs with the aim of encouraging overflowing tote bags by sharing some inspirations for the extra eggplant, peppers or blueberries you just couldn't resist.

King Corn
Just the image of a bright yellow or ivory kerneled ear of corn screams "Summer" directly in our ears and sets off a stream of sense memories that ricochet from clam bakes, to pots of melted butter, childhood corn picking and shucking, street fair grilled corn stands, park side Bar-B-Q's, and country drives to find "the sweetest" corn available.

Nothing matches corn on the cob for sheer gustatory delight. You must eat it with your hands, you can't eat it properly without getting messy, and its sweet and savory at the same time. However there are so many other ways to enjoy it and we wanted to share some of our favorites

Mexican Style Grilled Corn
For this you will need cleaned whole or half ears of corn, cut lime wedges, grated cotija (or parmesan) cheese, mayonnaise, and ancho chile powder (or cayenne or chile powder) Grill the corn over medium to low heat, turning regularly to get a toasted brown color here and there. Remove from heat, brush generously with mayonnaise, squeeze a little lime over it all, dust with cotija cheese and sprinkle to taste with chile powder. Madre de Dios estupenda!

Pumped Up Corn Bread
Making some cornbread or corn muffins? Add fresh corn cut from the cob right into your recipe when you add the wet ingredients. Maybe 1/2 - 1 cup. And then some chopped jalapeno or red pepper, and then some cheddar cheese, or ... well you get the idea. The corn is great in either a sweet or savory cornbread!

Cuban Corn and Black Bean Salad
This one couldn't be easier. Clean some ears of corn and boil them as you would for corn on the cob. When cooked, let cool then cut the kernels from the cob. We find a serrated or bread knife works best for this. Drain and rinse a can or black beans. It pays to buy organic here. It really is a better product typically. Chop some red pepper and red onion finely and toss everything together. Season with plenty of chopped cilantro, salt and pepper, olive or corn oil and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Maybe a teaspoon or two of sugar IF it needs it.

Succotash
What is it about the word Succotash that seems to make most folks lip begin to curl into a grimace? Is it childhood memories of frozen lima beans? Or just a vague uncertainty of what it is exactly? What it is... is any combination of corn and beans. We love it! And often enjoy a stir fry of corn, green beans and a little pancetta. Or sauteed corn, fava beans and red onion. Maybe sauteed corn, edamame, scallion and garlic. Looking for indulgence? Corn, Fresh Cranberry Beans, Leeks and Truffled Butter. Richer? Corn, Caramelized Onions, Fava Beans, Haricots Verts, Shallots, Fresh Tomato, Basil and a spoonful of Creme Fraiche, sauteed and simmered till lightly thickened..... those lips are starting to curl into a smile now.

Summer Ratafias - Fruit Infused Wine & Brandy

Mid August. And for those of us in the Northeast this means we are hip high in delicious local vegetables, tomatoes, stone fruits, cherries, berries and such. It brings on a sort of giddiness in some chefs, and sadly for catering chefs, a melancholy because it coincides with our slowest season in the year.
However in the spirit of Lemons into Lemonade, the slowness of the season allows us all the time we can use to turn to canning and preserving in response to the lushness of ripening fruits and vegetables. Tart Cherry Lime Preserves, Rhubarb Ginger Jam, Strawberry Merlot Preserves, Plum Chutney, Red Chile & Serrano Hot Sauce, all had secured a place in our pantry by the beginning of August. That's why it's been fun to find a new medium with which to preserve the brightness and lusciousness of what the Farmer's markets have been treating us to.

A few years back, we clipped a recipe from the NY Times for Rataifas. In the article they described an easily made wine cordial infused with whatever fruit or vegetables took your fancy at any particular moment. In doing a touch more research, we've discovered that the term

rat·a·fi·a – noun
a sweet liqueur made from wine or grape juice combined with brandy or other spirits and often flavored with almonds, fruit, or fruit kernels.

is very old, and seems to have been developed in 1690-1700, somewhere between Spain and Italy. Sounds like France to us. And most other recipes we saw, opted for brandy or marc in lieu of the wine. We're sure the more potent brandy versions are delectable, but given the heat and humidity that accompanies our buckets of garden bounty, we're feeling an iced glass of peach verbena ratafia a whole lot more.

The assortment of Ratafias you can produce are only limited by your market and your imagination. Any ripe and flavorful fruit, vegetable or herb is fair game for infusion. Our first versions have stayed played it a little close to the apron because the flavors seemed so irresistible: Peach, Strawberry, Blueberry, Apricot, often touched up with a few springs of Basil, Lemon Thyme or Tarragon. Our next endeavors are likely to step it up a bit. We've discussed a Tomato/Jalapeno/Cilantro combo, and perhaps a Melon/Lavender or Nectarine/Ginger. Truly the most difficult part is waiting the 3 weeks to check out the results of your flavor laboratory.

Ratafia
adapted from T'afia Restaurant - Chef Monica Pope

1 cup ripe fruit, herbs or vegetables (fruits/vegetables cut up, herbs crushed)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 vanilla bean - sliced lengthwise (optional)
1/4 cup vodka (to prevent further fermentation)
1 bottle (750ml) white or red wine

Place all ingredients in a large glass jar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 3 to 4 weeks. Strain through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth, pressing down gently on the solids. Discard the fruit. Pour infused wine carefully into clean wine bottles and cork tightly. Storre in refrigerator. Should keep for several months.

We encourage you to give these a whirl and get back to us with your combinations and adaptations. If you want to lighten up your libation, these ratafias make great spritzers with a splash of seltzer.

Watercress, Watermelon and Feta

One of our new favorite things is the Hydroponic Watercress from California that we found at our local Whole Foods. Granted, we'd be even happier if someone locally could start growing it, reducing our carbon footprint, but until that happens we'll balance our greenness with the environmental friendliness of hydroponics.

Tender, enormous leaves, with much thinner and delicate stems, this watercress combines all the pepper punch of traditional watercress with the light texture of mache. Well, yeeeaaahhh! What's not to love?

So far it has found it's way onto sandwiches, wilted into white beans, "pesto-ed" with almonds and dressed in numerous salads. As we wilt through the record breaking heat of August, this combination of juicy watermelon and salty feta seems to be comfortably setting into the #1 spot of cooling foods. We know we've mentioned this salad before, but we wanted to give you an actual recipe this time.

Watercress, Watermelon and Feta Salad with Pickled Red Onions

1 medium red onion - halved and sliced as thinly as possible
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 bunches watercress - trimmed
3 cups watermelon - seeded or seedless - trimmed and diced into 3/4" cubes
1 1/2 cups feta (French if available) - diced into 1/2" - 3/4" cubes
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Onions:
Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and add sliced onions. Stir. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Transfer to a glass or plastic container and chill. Will keep refrigerated for 2 weeks to a month.

For the Salad:
Make sure the watercress, watermelon and feta are well chilled. Place watercress, watermelon and feta into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add some of the pickled onions with their liquid (to taste) onto the salad and toss all ingredients gently.
Serve immediately.

Beet Hummus

We've been taking advantage of a few days off from events to try out new ideas and recipes. Just for the look alone, this Beet Hummus went to the top of our list. Add on that it's lighter than typical bean versions and it received a collective red stained thumbs up.

Here's our version of a recipe we found on Simplyrecipes.com

Beet Hummus

Ingredients
1/2 pound beets (about 4 medium sized beets)
3 Tbsp tahini sesame seed paste
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp lemon zest (zest from approx. 1 - 2 lemons)
Generous pinch of sea salt or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

To cook the beets, preheat oven to 375°F. Cut off any tops, scrub the roots clean, wrap them together in aluminum foil and set in a roasting pan. Cook until easily penetrated with a knife or fork. This can take anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour depending on the size of your beets.

Method
Place all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings and ingredients as desired.
Chill and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
Eat with baguette toasts, pita chips, or with crudites vegetables, or on a crostini with goat cheese and shaved mint.