Inspired by California-Mediterranean cuisines and farmers markets, I cook healthy, flavorful dishes that are easy-to-prepare yet elegant. I write for Zester Daily, One for the Table, Luxury Travel Magazine, Huffington Post & New York Daily News. My latest Amazon eCookbook is 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes. My handcrafted chocolates are available at www.dchocolates.com. "Subscribe via email" and you'll get an email whenever I post a new recipe.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Grill, Baby, Grill: An Easy Summer Pasta with Grilled Corn and Black Kale
Boiled corn slathered with sweet butter and seasoned with sea salt and pepper is delicious. So too is grilled corn where olive oil replaces butter. Lightly browned, the kernels caramelize, adding sweetness and the hint of smoke.
Make extra, so the kernels can be removed and used in green salads, salsas, and--my favorite--pastas.
Tuscan or black kale is widely available in the farmers' markets in large, inexpensive bunches.
Adding in mushrooms, onions, garlic, a pat of butter and you're ready to enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner that needs little more than a simple romaine or arugula salad, a glass of wine or an ice cold beer, and you'll have a memorable meal with no more effort and time than it would take to order take out.
Pasta with Grilled Corn and Black Kale
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 ears of corn, husk and silks removed, washed
2 links, Italian sausage, washed (optional)
1 medium yellow onion, washed, skin removed, root end and top cut off and discarded, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, skins removed, finely chopped
1/2 pound shiitake or brown mushrooms, washed, dried, sliced
1 bunch Tuscan or black kale, washed, center stem removed, leaves roughly chopped1/2 box DeCecco pasta, gnocchi, penne, spaghetti, or bowties
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1 cup pasta water
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Method
If a grill is not available, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the olive oil on a flat plate. Season with sea salt and pepper. Roll the corn through the seasoned oil to coat. Put on the grill or into the oven, turning every 5 minutes to prevent burning.
Do the same with the Italian sausage. Roll in the seasoned olive oil and grill or roast. For vegetarians, don't bother with the sausage.
While the corn and sausage are cooking, put a large pot of water on a high flame, seasoned with 2 tablespoons of kosher or sea salt. Don't use ordinary table salt which has a metallic flavor.
While the pasta water is heating, saute the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and kale until softened. If you want the kale more pliable, add 1/4 cup of water and braise for 5 minutes on a medium-high flame.
Put the pasta into the boiling water and stir every couple of minutes to prevent sticking. Use the whole box if you want more pasta.
Cut the kernels off the corn and discard the cobs. Finely chop or cut into rounds the Italian sausage. Add to the kale, together with the sweet butter. Toss well.
Taste the pasta. Drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Put the pasta back in the still warm pot, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Toss well. Set aside.
Add 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the vegetables and sausage. Stir well and taste. Adjust seasoning as desired. If more sauce is desired, add a little more of the pasta water.
Pour the cooked pasta into the saute, toss well, adding another 1/4 cup of pasta water. Serve in a large bowl, accompanied with freshly grated cheese.
Variations
Grill or roast a red pepper, discard the seeds and skin, finely chop, add 1/4 cup to the saute.
Add 2 tablespoons chopped, pitted green olives to the saute.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
A Feast Fit for a Son -- Pasta with Clams, Corn, and Smoked Sausage
The day was sunny and warm so we had lunch on the deck. Everything was quick and easy-to-make: a big bowl of cracked green olives, romaine lettuce with avocado and homemade croutons, grilled fillet mignon, and dessert of ice cold Valencia orange slices. The main course was something special: pasta, fresh clams, corn, and smoked sausage in a butter sauce.
Pasta with Clams, Corn, and Smoked Sausage
Finding fresh clams isn't all that easy. Luckily for us Carlsbad Aquafarm sells their shellfish at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market Wednesdays and Saturdays. The corn came from a local farmer at the Palisades Farmer's Market. The smoked sausage was a treat picked up at a Russian market in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach.
Yield 4 servings
Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
4 pounds live clams, washed
1 pound smoked sausage, finely chopped
2 ears corn, husks, silks, and kernels removed
4 garlic cloves, skins removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onions, leeks, or shallots
1 cup Italian parsley, washed, mostly leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sweet butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound pasta
Sea salt and pepper
Method
Put the clams in a pot with 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook on high heat 5 minutes. Remove and set aside all the clams that have opened. Return the pot to the heat and boil another 5 minutes. Continue until all the clams have opened. After a total of 15 minutes, discard any clams that haven't opened.
Reserve all the clam liquid, between 1-2 cups.
Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta. Save 1 cup of the pasta water. Return the cooked pasta to the pot, drizzle with olive oil, toss and set aside.
In a large frying or chef's pan, saute the sausage, corn, garlic, onions, and parsley in olive oil, seasoned with black pepper until lightly browned. Use 1/2 cup of the pasta water to deglaze the pan. Add the sweet butter and clam broth, stir, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the cooked clams and pasta. Toss with the sauce and simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir frequently to coat the clams and pasta with the sauce.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper. If more liquid is needed, use the remaining pasta water.
Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Grilled Corn Salads
Summer for me is defined by vegetables: great tomatoes, corn, melons... Our favorite way of preparing corn is simply grilling the ears on the grill with a little olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Eaten on the cob is so delicious but added to salads is also a great way to go.
I posted 2 recipes on Mark Bittman's site, Bitten. One combines the grilled corn with parsley, the other features tomatoes. They're easy to make and go with just about anything. Please take a look and let me know what you think.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A 4th of July Picnic, the Perfect Time for Salads and Ribs
To prepare for the picnic, we shop at the local farmers' market, buying as many fresh vegetables and fruits as we can carry. On the 4th we spend the day cooking for the pot-luck picnic we organize with a dozen of our friends. So we'll have a good spot to watch the fireworks, we meet at 6:30pm at the park opposite the high school. We look forward to the picnic because we can catch up with our friends. Even though the picnic is pot-luck, we make extra just in case... Some of our friends who like to cook bring their specialties, like Lesli's mixed berries, while others make a run to Bay Cities or Gelson's and bring containers of deli treats and rich desserts.
By 9:00pm cars are double-parked on both sides of the street and people have crowded into the park, taking up every square inch of space. Everyone is ready for the fireworks to begin and yet...the sky is not yet completely, definitively dark. In the cool night air we bundle up and pull closer together. Only when all traces of the departing sun have been drained from the sky will the fireworks begin.
And when they do, they are a treat. From the first high-streaking skyrocket that bursts into a hundred points of light to the last crescendo of a dozen overlapping explosions, the crowd oohs and aahs. With the last firework dying in the sky, we get up slowly, feeling the dampness of the ground, hug and kiss our friends goodbye, and make our way back to our cars through the haze of gunpowder smoke still hanging in the air.
4th of July Picnic
In our experience salads work well at the picnic: beet salad, carrot salad, potato salad, egg salad, and corn salad. Finger food is good too: bread & butter pickles, salt-boiled corn on the cob and grilled artichokes. This year we'll also contribute a platter of deliciously salty and sweet Brown Sugar Ribs.
Brown Sugar Pork Ribs
Time Prep (20 minutes) Marinate (overnight) Cook (2 hours)
1 pound brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Olive oil
Pepper
6 ounces Italian tomato paste
1 small yellow onion (peeled, finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (peeled, finely chopped)
Method
Spread a piece of plastic wrap on the counter 5” longer than the rack. Dust the meat side of the ribs with the cayenne.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Corn Goes from Grill to Salad Bowl
We grill a lot of vegetables. Corn is one of our favorites. Besides enjoying corn on the cob, with very little effort the grilled corn makes a terrific salad.
Grilled Corn
Yield 4 servings
Time 20 minutes
4 ears of corn, silks and husks removed, washed
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Drizzle the corn with olive oil, then season with sea salt and pepper. Put on the hot grill. Turn frequently with tongs to avoid burning. Charing adds to the flavor, but just a little bit. Serve hot off the grill by itself or as a side dish.
Grilled Corn Salad
Yield 4 servings
Time 10 minutes
4 ears of corn, grilled
1 bunch Italian parsley, washed, leaves only, finely chopped
1 scallion, washed, ends removed, finely chopped
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Use a sharp knife to remove the kernels. In a bowl mix together the corn, parsley, and scallion. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Toss well and serve at room temperature.
Variations
Use cilantro instead of Italian parsley.
Add sautéed onions and garlic, lightly browned in olive oil.
Add bell peppers, red, yellow, or green--raw is good; if grilled, remove the skins--chopped the same size as the corn kernels.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
If Corn is Back It Must Be Summer
If T.S. Eliot's J. Alfred Prufrock measured out his life with coffee spoons, we Angelinos keep track of the seasons by watching the ebb and flow of the produce in the farmers' markets. We know summer is over because the peaches and nectarines are gone. Conversely, when the first corn appears at the farmers' markets, we know that winter is definitely over.
Several weeks ago a few pieces of corn were for sale at the Palisades Sunday market. Then yesterday at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market, a giant mound of corn materialized at Gloria's Fruits & Vegetables stand. Seeing so much corn a dozen recipes came to mind, but the best way to celebrate the return of corn is the simplest: corn on the cob with a slab of butter, seasoned with sea salt and pepper. One taste and we know for certain that summer's back.
Corn on the Cob
4 ears of corn, shucked, washed
2 tablespoons sweet butter
Sea salt and pepper
Leave the cob whole or break in half, put into a large pot of water, and turn the burner on high. When the water boils in 10-15 minutes, the corn is done. Drain and serve with butter, sea salt, and pepper.
Serves 4. Preparation Time: 5 minutes. Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes.
Pickle Me Up! It's Thanksgiving!
Pickles are delicious anytime of the year. For Thanksgiving they are especially good. Their crunch and acidity counterbalances the delicious...
-
Eating well is one of life's great pleasures. The other night I made a simple dish that can become more complex, depending on your prefe...
-
Pickles are delicious anytime of the year. For Thanksgiving they are especially good. Their crunch and acidity counterbalances the delicious...
-
I like watching the Oscars because it's a celebration of filmmaking, one of the world's greatest art forms. We'll watch the Red ...