Skillet Corn

This Tuesday, September 23, is the Autumnal Equinox or Mabon, the mid-harvest festival. The last of the crops are coming in and Mabon heralds the last of the summer warmth as it slowly starts to give way to the chill of fall.

In honor of the blessed harvest and the coming days of autumn, here is a corn dish that will make you happy.

Skillet Corn

1 tablespoon bacon grease, preferably uncured

4 ears fresh organic corn, kernels removed and cobs scraped and “milked”

1/4 cup organic heavy cream

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

In a heavy skillet, melt the bacon grease over medium heat (you could, of course, use butter … but that would make Grillmaster D lose her North Carolinian mind). When the grease is melted and hot, add the corn kernels and any milk to the skillet; sauté over medium heat for about five minutes.

Add the heavy cream and stir; simmer the mixture for another five minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. When served with fresh sliced tomatoes, visions of nirvana may occur.

~ Tiffany

Shelly’s Chili (The Wilsonator)

Oddly, my Italian family didn’t make a lot of chili. Which we totally should have: it has everything in it I love. EVERYTHING. However, my friend Shelly DOES make chili. She actually makes all soups like nobody’s business (whatever that means… but it sounds good!), but her chili is the best.

After dragging her over to my house many, many times to watch her make the chili, I broke down and asked her to just send me the recipe and directions. I’ve included them as she sent them below, but first, read the notes below the ingredient list:

Ground turkey – one pound
Kidney beans – one can
White beans – one can
Green Tabasco
Chicken broth (low sodium, 100% USDA organic) – one carton
Worcestershire sauce
Apple cider vinegar
Green Tabasco

Veggies
Chopped or whole plum tomatoes – one can
Garlic
Onion
Celery
Carrot
Corn
Any other fresh, local veggies – squash, zucchini

Sweet and Spices
Brown sugar
Cumin
Paprika
Onion Powder
Salt
Pepper

Fresh herbs
Parsley
Cilantro
Basil

1. I typically have low-sodium Worcestershire in the house, so I’m liberal with it. If you don’t use the low sodium stuff, be careful because it is salty, and since you add it early you’ll really bring out that salt flavor by the time you’re done. 

2. I use the lowest fat ground turkey I can find. This eliminates trying to drain fat off the top later.

3. The apple cider vinegar is crucial for taste. I typically use at least 1/4 bottle of the Trader Joe’s stuff and add more as I go.

4. I use either peeled stewed plum tomatoes or other no-sugar-added ones. I’ve also had incredible luck with the canned chopped tomatoes that have onions and garlic in the can – Del Monte, I believe – but they have high fructose corn syrup, which I really try to avoid. I like food in my food.

5. I use brown sugar when I have it, but if I don’t have it I add a pinch of Xylitol. Just a pinch. 

6. I use my food processor to slice everything. Don’t make things tough.

7. If you follow Weight Watchers’ Points Plus, this is about five PointsPlus a cup (since the measurements vary on things like corn, it could be more if you go heavy on corn or if you use tomatoes with added sugar), but if you’re using Simply Filling, these are all power foods, so there you go. 

8. I usually make cornbread to go with, because, well, cornbread. Cornbread! ‘Nuff said.

9. 

Ground turkey: brown with garlic, onion, celery, carrot, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lots of cumin, paprika and maybe onion powder and a good amount of apple cider vinegar. And that green tabasco you have. 

You can toss some fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, even basil) in then as well, and add a little bit of your chicken broth here too. 

Cook it up so the veggies are tender and everything gets nice and happy, then add the rest of the chicken broth (one container should be enough) and also add softer veggies here like zucchini, squash, corn, etc. Whatever you want. Also add in canned tomatoes (I like chopped and/or whole plum tomatoes – check sugar content) and canned beans. I like red kidney beans, but you could also use the white ones, which are softer.  

If you didn’t use tomatoes with sugar added, you might want a little bit of sugar (I use brown, but whatever). I like the chili a little bit on the sweet side, and balance it with a little more vinegar, if needed. I also like to add more fresh cilantro at the end. 

That’s about it. Once you get the last veggies and beans and tomatoes in there, you can let it simmer as long as you want, or eat it right away. But I do like to babysit it a little and check the flavors, add things as needed. 

Roasted Asparagus

I am typically not much of a sweet eater. Although I love dark chocolate and ice cream passionately, baked items such as pies, cakes, cookies and the like are things I can take or leave. I love to bake, but the savory foods in life are really what ring my bell; I unabashedly admit my backside belongs to bread and pasta.

As much as I love to cook, the creation of more elaborate dishes is usually saved for the weekend. My partner of 14 years and I have a seven-year-old daughter who is all legs and an appetite that can put a truck driver to shame. Although I personally could easily adapt to a more European style of later dining, the Princess would never have the patience to wait while pot-au-feu simmered gently for a couple of hours after I got home from work. When Mommy hits the back door, she wants to eat and she wants to eat NOW.

Roasted vegetables are one of the easiest, fastest and most delicious foods you can put on your dinner table. Just about anything in season can be tossed on a sheet pan with good olive oil and seasoning and roasted until tender, browned and yummy. It takes all of 15 minutes to do and you can sauté a couple of chicken breast fillets and make a quick pan sauce while they are roasting. Add some fresh bread from your local bakery and you have a healthy, scrumptious meal that beats anything you can get from a fast-food drive-through in about the same amount of time.

Notice I said vegetables “in season.” I am not knocking the blessing we have in being able to find all kinds of produce year-round in our supermarkets. But there IS a marked difference in taste between vegetables that have been grown organically and “in season” and those that are mass-produced for steady availability. I urge you to seek out the good stuff, if only occasionally, and treat yourself to the nirvana of a fresh, in-season, well-prepared vegetable.

Incidentally, the Princess is the world’s best helper when it comes to snapping the tough ends off fresh asparagus. While I am not sure there is a Peep diorama in it, I am wholly a devotee of child slave labor in the home.

Roasted Asparagus

• Fresh asparagus (about two pounds. I typically avoid either the very slim spears or the very fat ones with this method.)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

Note: if you have one of those stale, pre-ground, disgusting cans of black pepper in your cupboard, you might possibly see my glowing red eyes glaring at you from the nether regions of your kitchen when you turn around. Throw that crap out NOW—that is not food porn, that is low-rent adult theater. And invest in a decent pepper grinder, for the love of God.

Move the oven rack to the second position from the bottom and preheat oven to 450°F.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and put the asparagus on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.

Drizzle about two tablespoons of the olive oil over the asparagus and toss to coat thoroughly. (Use your clean hands. It will be faster, easier and enable you to get a more even coating.) Arrange asparagus in a single layer on the pan, leaving some room between the pieces. Sprinkle with kosher salt (maybe about a teaspoon) and grind some pepper over the spears (you did throw out that nasty pre-ground black pepper can, didn’t you?).

Place on rack in oven and roast for about five minutes. Using a pair of long-handled tongs, toss the asparagus and rearrange in a single layer. Roast for an additional 3-5 minutes until tender and browned.

Now, at this point, you have choices. I mostly like my asparagus plain, but I’m not above dressing it up. Sprinkle some fresh lemon juice over the spears and toss with a tiny pat of butter. Or pile them on a platter and grate a little fresh parmigiana cheese over them. I said FRESH. The plastic cheese in the green plastic can should be tossed in the trash with the black pepper can.

If I’m really feeling extravagant and the rest of the meal is on the plain side, sometimes I’ll chop a little prosciutto while the asparagus is cooking and sauté it until crispy, then toss those lovely little nibbles of porky goodness with the roasted spears.

Mmmm. Who said vegetables had to be boring?