Knee-High by the 4th of July

Corn, that is. Well, not quite. I mean, I know it isn't in Bingo-town, but it probably is here in south Florida. Or wherever they got the corn that was at my Publix. Why was I buying corn, you ask....

I need a project, and thanks to Martha Stewart (did I just say that?), I found one. I get her Everyday Food magazine every month (shout out to Chris!!), and last time I went to Costco for "just water," I found this book.



I was inspired. It's broken down by seasons, so I made a vow that after I came back from my Atlanta trip, I would make at least one recipe a week, starting with summer, until I had made them all. (ED NOTE if it's a recipe for lamb or veal, which I don't eat, I will substitute a recipe from the magazine.)

Any-who... the first recipe of the summer is.... Creamy Corn Soup!! It has four ingredients. Corn, salt, butter and water. Well, five if you count your garnish of choice (I went with scallions). And I get to use my fancy pot!



You will get some strange looks buying 16 ears (!?!) of corn at the store. I will be the first to tell you, by the way, I have no idea what I am looking for when it comes to buying corn. I mean, you pull the skin...no...that's not right... HUSK away a little and what?? I didn't see any bugs, so it went in the bag. This is what 16 ears of corn looks like:



I suppose I could have bought frozen, but that is not the Martha way, so it's not mine either. Plus, I love to cook. Love the prep work, love the chopping, love the smells. Love it all. Well, except the clean up. Someone else can do that part. I just plug my iPod in, put it on shuffle, and I'm off (Today's song list to follow). So I started to shuck 16 ears of corn.

This is the glass of wine I had to pour when I realized that shucking corn was not fun:



Notice I had done FIVE out of 16. No wonder our parents made us do that when we were kids. It's the shit job. And even shittier when there is no promise of spiedies and salt potatoes later, am I right Bingo-town people??!?

So I shucked on, sometimes using an ear as a microphone to sing, sing out loud. Which was a little awkward when Darling Nikki came on, but it's Price, so I belted it out! When all were shucked and done, I had to cut all the kernels off the ears. Thank you Jenny, for letting me take back my massive pasta bowl, because it was perfect for this task.



You'll notice the rather large chef's knife there. I started with that. Well, I held it in one hand, with an ear standing up on end in the other. While I have exchanged pleasantries with the county sheriff that lives below me, I didn't think our first real meeting should be me pounding on his door, sliced off fingers in (the other) hand, asking him how much first aid he knew....

So a much smaller knife it was.

Next up, pureeing. Here, I am a step in front of Martha, because I have an immersion blender. You just smoosh it in, press the button and BZZZZZZZZZZZ. OK, that doesn't sound right at all, so here is a picture.



And here is the glass of wine I had to pour after cleaning BZZZZZZZZZ'd corn off the cabinets. And the wall.



Thank God for Lysol wipes. And cotton shirts that can go right in the wash. Is that corn in my hair?!?! (COOKING TIP: It's called an immersion blender for a reason. Keep it immersed.

Now it's time to cook! First add the butter. Four tablespoons of it, cut into little pieces. First off, when cooking, I always use real butter. That fake stuff is fine to make a grilled cheese, but seriously, real butter. And always unsalted (another shout out to Chris!). I had part of a stick that was a little more than 4 Tbsp., so, to honor another cooking icon, I put it all in. (Love you, Paula Deen!!)



As the soup was cooking, I thought... hmm... a tablespoon of salt is really not much seasoning to go with. I like a little kick. Sooooo.... in honor of Paige (my other cooking guru).....



there is some of the black pepper and red pepper I added. Sorry Martha, but I have to live my own life, and some like it HOT!

And so here it is, the finished product. I served it along with a salad (I need some light meals after the beer and food filled weekend that was my trip to the ATL). I must say, the pepper blend added a nice bite.




1 down, 249 to go. It's on, Martha. On like Donkey Kong!


As promised, this is the Creamy Corn Soup playlist
Everyday I Write the Book Elvis Costello
Banditos The Refreshments
More Than Words Extreme (I know, I know...)
Darling Nikki Prince (again, awkward when shucking corn. But it's PRINCE!!!)
I've Got a New Girl Now Honeymoon Suite
Goodnight, Goodnight Maroon 5
Hunter Dido
Something to Save George Michael (ah, my boy, George)
Last Man Standing Duran Duran (ah, Simon.......)
This is the Time Billy Joel
Computer Blue Price (Purple Rain again!! Rock it Prince!)
Sell, Sell, Sell Barenaked Ladies
Time After Time Cyndi Lauper
I Want Your Sex George Michael (again, awkward when working with corn)
Be With You The Bangles
Everybody Knows Concrete Blonde (love, love, LOVE her voice)
Like the Way I Do Melissa Etheridge (ROCK STAR!!!!)
Shoo-Bee-Doo Madonna (That's right, I kick it old school)
Nothing Lasts Forever Maroon 5
Last Dance Donna Sommer (Nope, not done cooking, but almost!!)
One Week Barenaked Ladies
She's to Good For Me Sting
Strip Adam Ant
Foolin Def Leppard
Living in Twilight The Weepies
This is Where it Ends Barenaked Ladies (Almost done!!!)
Anotherloverholenyohead Prince (I know, he takes up lots of iPod space)
Pancho & Lefty Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard

And dinner was served!!!!