Are you still deciding on sides for Thanksgiving? To some, they’re the best part of the meal (although desserts are prettty high in the running too). If you want to make a delicious and easy side dish that serves a lot of people, look no further than this corn casserole. The recipe comes from Southern Living magazine. and can even be made the day before and stored in the fridge, ready to bake on Turkey Day.
I served it last Thanksgiving and it even impressed a gluten-free friend, who said she could eat it since it contained only six tablespoons of flour for the whole casserole — not enough for her to be worried about. We were only four people around the table last year, so I had a ton of the casserole leftover and my guests went home with some of it. But you could easily cut the recipe in half if you’re having only a few people around the table. I also didn’t roast a whole turkey last year, but instead stuffed a turkey breast — always an option if your gathering is small. If you’re looking for one, here’s a recipe I made years ago for a boneless turkey breast with a sausage stuffing.
No matter how many are at the table, or what you serve, it’s a time of gratitude for the blessings in our lives. I hope your Thanksgiving and the year ahead are filled with blessings for you and the ones nearest to you.
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Summertime is the best season for flavorful produce here in New Jersey– peaches, melons, tomatoes, and sweet corn, among others. That’s why we’re known as the “Garden State!” I hope you’re in the midst of corn season too because you’ve got to try this luscious dish to be savored only when fresh corn on the cob is available. These ricotta-stuffed ravioli are bathed in a sauce based on butter, cream and sweet corn. This dish is not only delicious but really quick to make too, assuming you use purchased ravioli. Strip the corn from the cobs and mince the herbs.
Place the ravioli into a pot of water that’s come to a rolling boil.
For this dish, I bought cheese ravioli from Pastosa in Manasquan, NJ. The flagship store is in Brooklyn, but there are several other locations in New York and New Jersey. I got to the store just as it was closing at 6 pm so had little time to browse, but was amazed at the large selection of Italian products, fresh meats and prepared foods. I can’t wait to go back and peruse longer.
The sauce comes together quickly while the ravioli are boiling. Just melt the butter in the pan, and add the rest of the ingredients. Let the sauce reduce slightly, then add the ravioli directly to the pan once they’re cooked.
Don’t worry if a little water comes along with the ravioli. You can just let it cook a couple more minutes to reduce further.
The first time I made this, I used home-made ravioli and white corn, which has become the most prevalent in markets these days. If you can find yellow corn, it really makes for a prettier dish. And if you can find ravioli as good as Pastosa makes, save yourself the time and trouble of making your own.
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It doesn’t matter whether it’s winter or summer, but for me, soup is always welcome at the table. And when you’ve got summer produce like zucchini, beans and corn at their freshest, why not make a minestrone soup and combine them all, adding some carrots and celery along the way? Don’t forget the pasta too, which in this case was some homemade pasta scraps I cut out and left to dry after a ravioli-making session a while ago. If I hadn’t used homemade pasta bits, I would have tossed in some store-bought ditalini or orzo pasta or maybe even elbow macaroni. I normally cook the pasta in a separate pot of water and add it to the soup when I’m doling it out into the bowl. Otherwise, if you’ve got leftover soup and have added too much pasta to start with, you’re likely to end up with hardly any broth. By the way, this soup is even better the second day, when it’s had more time for all the flavors to blend and the starch from the beans is released to make it a bit thicker.
There is no meat in this soup recipe, but feel free to use some chicken or beef broth if you like. But it’s got plenty of flavor without it, especially if you’ve added the corn cobs to the broth and a parmesan rind or two. Don’t forget to take them out before serving though, or someone could be in for a surprise! Also, the amounts and varieties of the vegetables are up to you. If you want more corn, add it. Or if you don’t like beans, leave them out. Mix and match with whatever suits your fancy.
By the way, I was so thrilled to post this soup using this bowl, which brought back memories of my mother and something she used to say quite often at the table when I was growing up.
For those of you who don’t speak Italian, here’s the translation: “Either eat this soup, or jump out the window.” Fortunately my mom was a great cook, hence we had no window jumpers in my family.
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It’s only in summer when this perfect combination comes together in my part of the world. Fresh, sweet New Jersey corn and codfish caught off our coast are meant to snuggle next to each other when the warm weather finally arrives. You can cook everything in one pot and have it ready to eat in a half hour. I started with this piece of codfish, a little more than 1 pound. If you have a piece this long, cut it in two or three pieces, otherwise it will flake apart after it cooks, when you try to lift it from the pan in one large section.
Start by seasoning the pieces with salt and pepper, then give them a light dusting with flour. Place some olive oil and butter in a saucepan, place the fish into the pan and sear at high heat, but only on one side. You’ll finish the cooking after you’ve put the rest of the ingredients in the pan.
Remove the seared pieces and flip over onto a platter. As you can see, they’re still partly raw inside.
Scrape the corn from the cobs. I used two ears of corn, but they were so sweet, we were wishing we had one or two more to join the party. Next time.
Place more butter into the pan and add the red pepper and shallots to the pan, stirring for a minute or two. Add the corn and seasonings, stirring for another minute, then push the corn to the side and make room for the fish, adding the pieces of cod in the center of the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer on a low heat for another 5 -8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Sprinkle it with more minced parsley and serve.
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Quick, before fresh corn is no longer available, you must try making this risotto with sweet corn and roasted cherry tomatoes. I know it sounds a little crazy to add carbs to carbs, but it really is a great combination of flavors and textures. The roasted cherry tomatoes on the side add another level of sweetness that you can’t stop eating. I debated whether to add the tomatoes directly into the risotto while cooking it, but decided I didn’t want a pink or red risotto. Besides, they look so pretty whole, clustered on the vine atop the dish.
I grilled the corn, not so much to cook it, but to get grill marks that look nice as garnish. It’s a step you can skip if you want, since the corn will be stripped off the cob and cooked with the rice. But if you’d like to dress up your finished dish, just smear the cob with a little butter and grill for a couple of minutes, on an outdoor grill, or a grill pan.
Strip the corn off the cob, setting aside some of the pieces that have the best grill marks on them. You’ll use them on the top of the finished dish.
Don’t throw out the cobs. Add them to the broth or cooking water. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, any little time simmering with the water helps to impart some flavor.
Meanwhile, drizzle the cherry tomatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the skins start to split open.
While the tomatoes are roasting, make the risotto. I’ve blogged about many different types of risottos before, so I won’t detail it here, except to say that you need the broth to be hot when adding it, ladleful by ladleful. Directions for this risotto are in the recipe below.
Serve with the roasted cherry tomatoes on top, and enjoy this taste of summer on a plate.
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This dish has got to be my favorite thing that I made all summer. I know it’s a long blog post, and it involves making your own pasta, but the end result is worth it. If you want to eat something divine and be crowned with a halo from your family and friends, you have to make it. But — and this is a big but — only if you live in a place where corn and clams are in season right now. Don’t try this with canned corn or canned clams or I will get the “freshness police” after you. The pancetta is crucial too, but I know some of you may not have access to it. A decent substitute is slab bacon, but it will have a smoky taste, whereas pancetta does not. I’ll give you a pass and say you can use boxed pasta but ONLY if you don’t have a pasta machine. Otherwise, you must, must, must make your own pasta. I’ve made it different ways, from rolling it out by hand, to using the automated KitchenAid attachment, to using my nearly 50 years-old crank machine that you’ll see in the photos below. I’ve made plain pasta many times (tutorial here) and beet-flavored pasta too, but this was my first time making homemade spinach pasta and it was a game changer. What a toothy and delicious texture and flavor, not to mention the vibrant color. I made this dish earlier in the month with store bought pappardelle and everyone loved it, but that’s because they hadn’t yet eaten it with the homemade spinach pasta. Excuse me for tooting my own horn, but it’s no exaggeration to say the homemade pasta version was sublime, compared to just delicious with the store bought pasta. So I may be making spinach pasta on a regular basis. Or at least until my pants zipper gets harder to close. I know my husband won’t complain.
I used a 10-ounce box of frozen spinach. Don’t cook it. Just let it thaw on the counter, and squeeze the bejesus out of it. Using your hands, make sure you squeeze every bit of water from the spinach you can. Then press it between paper towels to get any other moisture out. Place the spinach in the food processor with the eggs and give it a whir. Look at that pretty green color.
Then add the flour and a pinch of salt until it forms a ball. (Your food processor is not going to be happy and will probably start “dancing” on the counter.) Stop it at this point and put it on the counter.
It will still be a bit sticky, so knead in more flour. Use 00 flour from Italy if you can find it (it’s easily available online.)
After a few minutes, it will develop a smoother texture. Cover it with a bowl, or in plastic wrap and let it sit for about a half hour, to let the glutens rest.
Then cut off a piece, squish it with the palm of your hands, flour both sides a little, and pass it through the pasta machine, starting with the largest opening and going down a few notches (but not to the thinnest. I stopped at two numbers before the last on the dial).
Then take the long piece of pasta, flour it a bit on both sides again, and pass it through the linguine cutter (or the smaller spaghetti size if you prefer.)
You could make “nests” with pasta and place them flat on linen or paper towels, or hang the pasta from clothes hangers, as my kitchen helper did for me. (Smile, you’re on Ciao Chow Linda!)
OK, now that the pasta making is out of the way, start on the sauce. Scrape the corn from the cobs, mince the garlic, pancetta and herbs and set aside while you prepare the clams. I used littleneck clams, the smallest available where I live. If this were Italy, I’d be using the even smaller vongole. If only!
After rinsing and scrubbing the clams, place them in a pan, turn the heat to high and cover.
If you don’t have a cover large enough, use another pan that’s the same size to cover the bottom pan.
Steam the clams in their own juices and remove immediately when they start to open. It will take only a minute or two once the pan is hot. The clams won’t be fully cooked and that’s fine. You’ll finish cooking them later. The reason to cook them partially is to open them up and pluck some of the clams out of the shell to mix with the pasta, and you also want to strain the liquid from the clams to use in the sauce. There was still a lot of sandy sediment, even after scrubbing the clams before cooking. Use a coffee filter, or a paper napkin on top of a sieve to strain out the sediment. I cooked the clams in two batches to give them enough room to open. Don’t worry that they’ll get cold. You’re going to heat them and cook them further with the pasta later.
After removing the clams, and straining the liquid, I used the same saucepan to cook the pancetta (you can see the splatter from the clams on the sides).
When the pancetta is nearly crispy, add the garlic and the clams (both the ones you plucked out of the shell and the ones in the shell.) Cook for a minute or two to soften the garlic. Add the olive oil, the white wine, the reserved clam juice (it should be about 1/2 cup) and season with salt and pepper. I also added a tablespoon of butter (because butter always makes everything taste better.)
Meanwhile cook the pasta. If it’s freshly homemade, it won’t take longer than two or three minutes. Save about a cup of that pasta water before you drain the pasta.
After draining the pasta and getting rid of the water (except for that cup you saved), put the pasta back in the pot and dump all the clams, pancetta and raw corn into the pot. Mix everything really well, adding some of the pasta water, and a bit more olive oil to make sure you have a bit of “sauce.”
It shouldn’t be drowning in the sauce, but just enough to moisten the pasta and keep it from sticking to itself. Add in the minced parsley and basil just before turning into a platter or bowl.
Serve immediately and receive your kudos. This recipe makes enough for four to six people, depending on appetites. My husband and I each had two servings, and the family of three living next door to us were happy to consume the rest.
Buon Appetito!
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Drain the spinach thoroughly, squeezing out all the water you can with your hands.
Then press it with paper towels to get out any remaining water.
Place the spinach and the two eggs into the food processor to break down the spinach.
Start adding the flour.
You may need as little as a cup and a quarter of flour.
It's easy to add more flour later, but much harder to work the dough if you place too much flour into the food processor.
Add just enough flour and process until the dough comes together into a ball.
It will be sticky.
Place the dough onto a wooden work surface, add more flour until the stickiness disappears and the dough seems more "homogenized" and softer.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a bowl and let it sit for at least ½ hour.
FOR THE SAUCE:
Place the clams in one layer a pan over high heat and cover.
Cook for a couple of minutes or until the clams have opened.
Once open, set aside on a plate and repeat with remaining clams, draining the liquid from the clams.
Strain the liquid from the clams to remove any sediment.
Remove half the clams from the shells but leave the rest in the shell.
Set the clams aside and the liquid aside.
In the same pan, saute the pancetta until nearly crisp.
Add the garlic and cook until softened.
Place the clams (the ones in the shell and the ones out of the shell) in the pan and add the white wine, butter, olive oil, clam juice and black pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta and drain, but reserve about a cup of the pasta water.
Put the pasta back into the large pot and dump the clams and pancetta over the pasta, adding the raw corn as well.
Add the parsley and basil and mix all together.
If it seems too dry, add some of the pasta water and swirl around a bit more.
If the liquid seems too thin, add a bit more butter or olive oil.
Corn is at its peak right now where I live so it was a perfect time to make this delicious salad, using shrimp caught wild in the U.S. I tried duplicating this dish at home that I ate last week at a new restaurant in town and I think I got pretty close. The weather’s been a scorcher too, so something cold for dinner just felt right. The corn is scraped off the cobs and eaten raw, and I didn’t even have to cook the shrimp since my fish market sold it already cooked. Just toss everything together in a bowl with mayonnaise, lemon juice, some herbs and seasonings.
The recipe makes enough for four people with normal appetites (or two ravenous adults) so I had enough for myself and to take to a friend who’s been diagnosed with a serious health problem, and her partner.
If you’re in the Princeton, N.J., please do stop by the restaurant for either breakfast or lunch – The Blue Bears. Not only did I love my meal, but the restaurant’s mission also captured my heart – “to sell diverse, freshly made meals everyday and to provide sustainable and meaningful jobs for adults with intellectual and development disabilities.”
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I was at a restaurant recently with an out-of-town friend who ordered scallops for dinner. They arrived looking pale, small, and sitting in a pool of insipid liquid, which was almost unforgivable, given how easy it is to get a good sear and add flavor to scallops with some butter and seasonings.
I’d like to invite her back and cook this recipe for her, especially while corn is at its peak and the scallops at our fish market are particularly fresh right now. We’ve had great corn this summer in New Jersey, but we purchased this delicious sweet corn at a farm stand in upstate New York last week, on our way home from the Glimmerglass Music Festival (where we also got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, but that’s another story).
We could have eaten like normal humans and limited ourselves to one ear of corn each, but what the heck – why not cook all four ears of corn. We could always reheat the leftovers, right? (Wrong, we scarfed them all down in one sitting!)
It’s easy enough to slice the kernels from the cob with a sharp knife.
Sauté the peppers, corn and tomatoes in a skillet with some butter and olive oil, along with the seasonings.
Meanwhile, use a large cast iron skillet to sear the scallops. Heat it until it’s screaming hot, then add the oil and butter. By the way, try to find the largest scallops you can. That way, you’ll be able to get a nice sear on the outside without overcooking the inside. Make sure you dry the scallops thoroughly with paper towels to avoid any moisture from oozing out. If your scallops have too much moisture, or if you crowd too many in a pan, you could end up “steaming” them instead of searing them.
Sometimes, the scallops you buy are so filled with moisture, you wonder if the fish sellers injected them with water to make them weigh more. But these scallops, from our local fish market at the Jersey shore, were large, exceedingly fresh, and not at all weighted down with water. They sautéed beautifully in a minimal amount of fat (about 1 tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil). But feel free to add a little more butter if you’re feeling indulgent. There are few things as delicious as browned butter over sautéed scallops.
The whole dish takes less than 30 minutes to put together, from scraping the corn off the cob to presenting it at table. We ate this as a regular weeknight dinner, but it’s certainly company worthy too.
Don’t you agree?
The inside of the scallop is still moist, while the outside is well seared to a buttery goodness.
And now, for the winner of the giveaway in my last post about lobster fra diavolo and as my way of saying thank you to one of my readers as I celebrate 10 years of blogging, ta da … drum roll please!!! Sarah Zimmerman, you’re the winner of the $100 Lobstergram gift certificate, selected by a computer driven, random number generator. Look for the gift certificate in your email.
Thanks to all of you who left comments and have been reading Ciao Chow Linda through the years. To see what’s cooking in my kitchen, or what other adventures I’m up to, connect with me on my Instagram page here.
There are so many reasons I love summer, including the delicious sweet corn that grows prolifically here in New Jersey. We’ve been eating it at least once a week, just boiled in water for three or four minutes.
With one of the leftover ears, I was inspired to make a summer pizza using more terrific Jersey produce – (we are the “Garden State” after all!) after seeing something similar on my friend Stacey’s blog.
The first time I tried it, I also added some zucchini and a bit of anchovy – just enough to give it a zing.
I can just hear those of you who are anchovy averse turning off at this point. But wait – the second time I made it, I added small cherry tomatoes and pancetta in addition to the corn and zucchini. In both cases, I used fresh oregano and basil (and mozzarella cheese of course).
For all you vegetarians, you can skip the anchovies or the pancetta and it will still be delicious, provided you have sweet corn in season.
Although I used a perforated pizza pan to bake the pizzas at a high temperature, the bottom crust just wasn’t getting browned enough. So after about 12 minutes at 475 degrees, I slipped the pizza off the pan and slid it directly onto the lowest of the oven’s wire racks for a few more minutes. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
It worked beautifully and created a crispy, crunchy bottom crust, without burning the toppings.
So take your pick and choose either surf (anchovies):
or turf (pancetta). In either case, you’ll want to try this corn pizza while fresh corn is at its peak.
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2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (or several balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced)
1 ear of corn, kernels scraped (either raw or leftover boiled)
1 small zucchini (or half of a large zucchini), sliced thinly and salted
either – 2 anchovies in oil or 6 thin slices of pancetta, fried until crispy
8-10 red or yellow cherry tomatoes, cut in half
fresh basil
fresh oregano
black pepper
olive oil
Whether using your own homemade dough, or store-purchased dough, put it in a bowl smeared with oil and let it come to room temperature and rest for about an hour. Punch it down and spread it out over a large perforated pizza pan.
Scatter the mozzarella over the dough, then place the zucchini and corn kernels and/or cherry tomatoes on top .
If using anchovies, lay them in a few places across the pizza. Do the same if using the pancetta.
Sprinkle with the fresh herbs and black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake at 475 degrees for 10-12 minutes. If the dough is not browning on the bottom, slide the pizza from the pan directly onto the lowest rack of the oven. Let it bake for another 3-5 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn’t burn.
If your weather has been anywhere near as hot as what we’ve had in New Jersey this past week, turning on the oven to prepare dinner is about as appealing as donning a ski parka in a sauna.
Naturally, cold dishes like salads come to the rescue when the temperatures are too hot to cook, but not just any old “lettuce-and-tomato” cold salads.
I was inspired to make this after seeing something similar online from Helena, who goes by the handle @brat_h_ on Instagram.
Helena used grilled corn, and I heartily endorse that approach, although I had a leftover ear of boiled, but delicious, Jersey corn needing a home.
I added and deleted a few things from her dish, based on what I had on hand. One thing I didn’t have was the chipotle powder she used, so I mixed a little paprika and cayenne together. I also subbed fresh oregano for the cilantro, since my husband isn’t a cilantro fan, and we’ve got plenty of oregano flourishing in the garden. As you can tell, you can make the salad your own depending on what’s available to you.
Scatter all the ingredients across a bed of mixed lettuces that have been seasoned with your favorite vinaigrette.
Then drizzle on some of the dressing and decorate with the red currants, if you can find them.
If not, try to find some tiny red cherry or grape tomatoes to give the dish a really festive look.
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1 ear of corn, boiled or roasted, removed from the cob
1 ripe avocado, sliced
2 red radishes, sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
red onion, sliced thinly
fresh red currants (if you can find them)
mixed lettuces, dressed lightly with your favorite salad dressing (I like to use extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, a little honey, a little Dijon mustard, plus salt and pepper.)
Creamy Dressing:
1/3 cup mayonaaise
1/2 cup sour cream
grated zest from 1 lime
juice from 1/2 lime
a sprig or two of fresh oregano leaves, minced
1/4 tsp. paprika
dash of cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together in a jar.
Toss the lettuces with a light amount of the oil and vinegar dressing (the creamy dressing will add another layer, so you don’t want to overdo it on the oil and vinegar dressing). Arrange the lettuces on a platter, then place the rest of the ingredients on top of the lettuce, in an “artful” way.
