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Food Thread: Corny But Good!

One of the things we missed during our Lutetian sojourn was corn. Good old American summer corn. For the last several years it has been particularly good around here, for reasons that are completely opaque. My guess is that most of it comes from Pennsylvania, or maybe even closer, since it has been wonderfully fresh and sweet. Not "picked from an Iowa cornfield" fresh, but excellent nonetheless.

Sadly, the Frogs don't eat corn...they feed it to their livestock. That is their loss, because a good ear of corn is a wondrous thing. It is one of their many flaws as a culture, but we should be kind and not make too much fun of them.

Anyway, we have been eating a lot of corn, since it is the end of the season! And a few days ago I noticed that one of the ears was curiously twisted, unlike it's brother right next to it! Odd, maybe strange, certainly disturbing, and very possibly demonic.

But it sure tasted good, so All's Well That Ends Well!

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Speaking of corn! How do you cook it? I have found that leaving some of the husk on the ears, then microwaving for about five minutes in a big covered bowl with some water seems to be a good start. Then I will grill it for a bit of smoke flavor and a touch of brown. That's it. No butter. No salt. Nothing! And it's great!
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I had a thoroughly mediocre and rather expensive plate of Chicken Parmesan a few days ago. The chicken was fine. The cheese was fine. But the tomato sauce was cooked down to a ridiculous consistency, and the sauce was sweet. Not "ripe tomato sweet." It was clearly added sugar sweet.

It was gloppy and gross, and that length of time on the stove required to make it that thick kills the fresh flavor of the tomatoes. Why cook it that long? Especially since making tomato sauce is easy! Here is one solid recipe that I found with about two minutes of checking recipes. HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE: NONNA'S FOOLPROOF RECIPE I'm not sure why they are yelling at us, but still...

Of course, the gold standard is Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter. And it is also stupidly easy. But I am a fan of simple tomato sauces, so maybe I am biased.

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I haven't sought out a Happy Hour in a very long time, except for oyster happy hours, which are tough to screw up!

When Happy Hour Isn't a Deal

Anyone a fan of Happy Hours? Any that you can recommend as worth a trip?

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I know...I know.

But I like his cooking, and his voice seems to have moderated...slightly.

Anyway, I noticed this because I love prepping chops (beef or pork or lamb) with a crosshatch on the outer rim of fat. It prevents the chop from curling, renders a bit of fat, and provides some more surface area for browning and salt penetration.

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CBD, I got that high carbon steel pan. Yes, it is difficult to season. It was supposed to come with some kind of seasoning and the first thing I tried was bacon. It might as well been glued to the pan. Since then, I've seasoned it myself four more times and it's getting better.

I recently fried two steaks in it and that went well enough, basically nonstick now. I guess I'll see how it goes. And it's heavier than I thought.

I was hoping it would be less than half the weight of my Lodge cast iron skillet but it is maybe 2/3 the weight.

Posted by: banana Dream at September 14, 2025 06:59 PM (3uBP9)

Glad to hear it is working out. I found that beef tallow works better than corn oil for seasoning my cast-iron, so it's no surprise that cooking steaks in it might help the seasoning. But... it's not some magical pan. It takes a lot of work, and maybe some luck and magic to season it correctly.
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[Hat Tip: Misanthropic Humanitarian]
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I thought France would have good garlic, but the Frogs seem to have the same problem we have in the U.S. At least they don't import filthy garlic from China. Pork is great here, but no game, so send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Who are those poor deluded souls We know who shakes their Manhattans! These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

$1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!