Corn chowder in the 21st century

The alternative title was "A Tale of Two Corn Chowders"

Let me admit, I'm a sucker for chowders. Creamy clam chowder in a bowl of ceramic or even sour dough. Or a thick corn chowder is hard to beat. The few constants are: a creamy thick texture, some potatoes and good amounts of bacon and onion to augment the clams or corn.

Two weeks ago, I had made a creamy, but not thick, leek corn chowder whose main ingredients looked like this.



It was pretty good. My guidance was from the Chez Panisse (CP)cookbook and the Charlie Trotter's (CT) cookbook. Both restaurants have won the best restaurant in America honor in their past, so these recipes from Alice and Charlie are not to be taken lightly. But the recipes could not be more different. The CP recipe was a showcase for corn itself, and consisted of basically water, onions, corn cooked with some pureed, and salt. The CT recipe was a much more traditional hearty chowder, with bacon, potatoes, corn, heavy cream and water. I really liked that the Trotter recipe simmered the left over cops to enhance the broth.



This time, I had a lot more corn. And one of the guests had a mild wheat allergy and would occasionally minimize her wheat consumption. I was debating whether to make a thicker, cream base soup or keep it unadorned. Thick means flour which means wheat, which I decided to eschew. Plain was the choice. It would be Chez Panisse style soup this time, all about the corn.

I wanted strong corn flavor, so I used a lot of fresh corn, which also gave me many cobs to cook for a strong broth. I was uncertain about using bacon, since it is easy to over use, but Sarah's emphatic "Lot of bacon", swung the tide. I had fresh yellow potatoes (Yukon?) from the market and so we got potatoes.

I wanted the corn as tender as possible so I cooked it at the very end in the final broth, heeding Alice Water's advice not to overcook it. It looked more red than I expected due to the bacon. The soup was quite nice; the broth itself was super with lots of nice sweet corn flavor.

Some other options I might want to try would be to add a fresh herb, say either rosemary or sage.

Corn Chowder Soup

(Serves 8)

5-8 ears of fresh corn
3-6 small-medium potatoes, chopped into small (say 1/2") pieces
8 oz of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 white or non-sweet yellow onion
salt and pepper

Cut the corn off the cobs and reserve in a bowl. (I do this over a large flexible cutting board as the corn tends to spray all over the place). Place corn cobs in a large pan with water such that the cobs are covered. Bring to a boil and then simmer the cobs for 30-60 minutes, or really, as long as it takes for you to get your act together and finish the rest of the recipe. You may have to add more water.

Slice up bacon into mini sized pieces (I use scissors) and optionally remove any excess fat (still using those scissors). Cook bacon in pan, until barely done. Remove excess fat. Slice potatoes and onion into small pieces and cook with the bacon over low heat, covered, until the potatoes are done, perhaps 10 minutes.

Remove cobs from the broth and then add bacon, onions and potatoes to the broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Add cut corn and return to a boil, cooking the corn for 2-3 minutes, until cooked. Serve.

Majestic beet greens

Let's suppose your wish as a cook/food blogger comes true. What would that be? Perhaps to write a cookbook or two or maybe even 101 of them? Maybe a chance to work in a fine restaurant? Or perhaps eat there for free courtesy of the owner?

My wish is to invent (or is it discover) new recipes that gain a following. The hard part is finding a new recipe. With all the cooks out there, pretty much everything simple has been tried. For example, bacon wrapped dates were a stroke of genius. Perhaps it is the "bad" cooks who cause much of the challenge, as even deep fried Twinkies have been "discovered".

My discovery follows in the vein of the great discoveries of penicillin and cheese. Namely, there was spoilage. Several years back, I bought some beets and they sat in the refrigerator for a tad longer than USDA would recommend. However, I needed some greens for my meal and I looked at my wilted, tired, decaying beet greens with sadness. So with desperation and a dash of self-anger, I picked through the greens salvaging whatever I could. A good fifth of the leaves were complete mush and had to be tossed. Another third of the leaves had to be pruned or cropped, as I cut away the spoiled bits. None of the leaves were fresh anymore. There were spots appearing and their texture had a toughness from age. I definitely wasn't going to tell Sarah what shape these greens were in.

I chopped them up, threw them in a pan with some butter and salt and cooked them. Then I added more butter just for good measure. The rest of the items in that meal, I don't remember, but the beet greens I do.

There was a sublime richness due to the greens and the butter interacting beautifully, along with a the hearty earthy flavors of the greens. I was blown away, as was my wife. Holy crap, were they good. One of the nicest dishes of cooked greens in my life.

I subsequently bought beet greens and cooked them up fresh. The leaves were all a beautiful spring green. And ...nothing. They were OK, but nothing special. I started to hypothesize that maybe the greens need to be spoiling, but it has taken me two years to finally retry that experiment. Yesterday was the day.



I had bought greens from the farmers market. Two weeks ago. A full beet is pretty big so I had used two plastic bags to cover each half but the bags had gotten a bit separated. What I pulled out was an even uglier sight than the original. A 30 inch long mass of mess. I tossed about half the leaves and pruned another fifth. (The picture above shows the greens I tossed. That dark color is from getting old, not cooking. There was one fresh leaf among the bad ones... can you tell which one?) This time I also smelled the rotting leaves. It was salty and minerally in a good way. Interesting. And when I cooked them up this time, I was more sparse on the butter. But the verdict is in, my first recipe discovery is Majestic rotten beet greens. Yumm...


Buying beet greens is an adventure in and of itself. Mostly because you're buying garbage. In that most people just want the beets a throw away the greens. I buy my greens at the Mountain View Farmers Market (pictured). On one occasion, a woman bought beets and so did I. I then asked if she wanted the greens and of course she didn't. So we swapped. My beets for her greens.

On another occasion, the person before me bought 2 bunches of beets and the vendor immediately cut off the greens and threw them into their box of unwanted produce garbage. Now one thing I've learned is that asking for free food from a farmer's market stall, in part so I don't have to buy anything does not result a smile. So I bought some beets and then asked the vendor if I could have the greens he just threw in the garbage. Puzzled he asked "you want this?" Oh, the adventure in the hunt for unwanted greens.

Majestic Rotten Beet Greens

Bunch of beet greens, that are not remotely fresh
Butter
Salt

Sift through the greens throwing away as little as you can stand. I personally discard mush and parts of leaves that have turned fairly dark brown or worse. Cut off the (red) stems.

Heat a large frying pan and add enough butter to form a thin layer, say 1 tbsp. When butter is hot, put the stems in the pan and cook for 1 minute over medium high heat. Add more butter if desired and wait for it to melt. Add leaves and toss until they start to wilt, perhaps 60 seconds. Salt if desired. Turn heat on low and cover the pan for 3-5 minutes.

The egg muffin

Let's get this out in the open right at the start. The Egg McMuffin sans the "cheese" is a terrific egg breakfast sandwich. I've had maybe 20 to 30 of these over the last decade. At their best, the egg has exploded into a moist, steamy mass of goodness, not easily reproduced at home. The rest of the sandwich is pedestrian, but who cares when the egg is that good. At their worst, well let's just say, it is a good thing they are under $2 each.

(In the picture, that is a bite mark. This shows how the kitchen might look, instead of the standard pretty girl photos you see on food blogs.)

Which brings me to my other problem... the "cheese". I detest American cheese-like food product, which is conveniently used in roughly 99.5% of the commercial inexpensive recipes involving melted cheese. Fast food cheese burgers, fast food tacos, cheesy nachos, or grilled cheese sandwiches... I lose. Even this "marria" from another food blog has willfully chosen to use American cheese over all others, blanketing an otherwise fine egg. I've been known to pick the cheese off a Burger King cheeseburger I inadvertently obtained. Gross stuff! Now, if Mc Donald's served real cheddar with the Egg McMuffin, that would be a truly great sandwich for $2.

And then, there is Velveeta. What the heck is this stuff!? They don't even put the word cheese or food on the packaging. Apparently the standard American cheese-like product wasn't fake enough, so they invented a faux fake-cheese that as far as I can tell, they can extrude from a fallow plastic factory.

So what happens if I make a breakfast sandwich at home? Well let's go over the options and food choices one by one.

A bagel or an english muffin: I like the bread to have some texture and to hold up to the egg payload.

Egg: free range if possible. I typically get mine from Trader Joes, since they have a wide variety for reasonable prices. Also if you keep your eggs for a while like I do, know the the egg test for freshness. Put an egg in a tallish glass of water; if it floats, the egg is old and should only be used as a supporting role in recipes (cake mix, cookies, meat balls, or if you're going to cover it with American cheese, etc). However, if it sinks quickly, that's one fresh egg.

Cheese (optional): any real cheese, say cheddar, swiss, Gruyere, or even jack.

Bacon or other cured meat (optional): here I'm not so picky. You do need either cheese or meat, or even both.

Tomato: a nice slice of a non-hot house, non mass produced tomato.

The Egg Sandwich
(serves 1/2 to 1 person)

1 English muffin or plain/egg bagel
1 egg
1 slice bacon
1 slice real cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Toast muffin or bagel.

If using bacon, fry bacon in a pan until the desired doneness. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Heat frying pan to high and either use some of the remaining bacon fat or vegetable oil. Crack egg into the pan, taking care not to break the yoke. Wait for the egg whites to firm up and then flip if desired, though this might break the yoke. Egg should be crispy on the initial bottom side. When the egg is done remove from the pan and place on muffin. Do not let sit in the pan as this will dry the egg out. Top with bacon, cheese and a fresh slice of tomato.

Caprese salad

Let me unequivocally state: nothing signifies summer more than an abundance of ripe tomatoes of every color, shape and size. My dish of choice is the caprese salad, originally from Capri, which I'll eat easily 20-30 times over the summer. It fundamentally consists of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and salt + pepper. It's an explosion of tangy, sweet, acidic, spicy, rich and fresh tastes. It sounds simple and it is. But it does not have to be (yes, you read that right). Like any fresh dish, the ingredients really matter, and here things get not so simple, if you want to do it right.

I first had this dish in Italy, appropriately about 6 years ago. It made quite an impression, largely due to the cheese. It's funny that it was a such a novelty to me then, but now I seem to see it on most menus at Italian restaurants, so it's hard to imagine anybody not knowing about this.

Tomatoes: there is sooo much that can be discussed, that it will have to be a future column. But let's start with the basics. Start with a home grown or non-hothouse tomato. Farmers markets or produce markets are your best bet. (Of course growing your own is the best, if that possible.) There are many hundreds of varieties of tomatoes, so experiment with tomatoes to see which ones you like. For this salad, I like tomatoes that are sweet but still have some acidity and flavor. My choices (partly because I am growing these) are the ever present Early Girl, the late ripening scarred Brandywine and cherry tomatoes, particularly the yellow varieties such as Sun Golds. I also like the tangyness of the golf ball sized Green Zebras. I have not found a large green, orange or yellow tomato that I like; they look nice but have minimal taste, so I skip these.

If you must buy bulk tomatoes, say from Costco, buy the large golf ball sized reds that still come on the vine, in bunches of six or so. These will do in an emergency.

Under no circumstances use a Roma or plum tomato, which are flavor challenged. I hypothesize that Romas were bred solely because the tomato is so physically robust that it can ripen and still be transported without breaking.

Mozzarella: It has to be fresh mozzarella, meaning it has a pure white color with a wet clay consistency and is packed in salt water. It cannot be the ubiquitous dried rubbery ball that you slice up and typically put on pizza. During the summer and fall months, Costco sells fresh cows milk mozzarella in 3 packs each slightly smaller than a baseball for $5-6 total, which is my first choice. Good fresh mozzarella will have a nice creamy texture and flavor. I don't buy little fresh balls in a seasoned olive oil, as you're paying for seasoned oil and the cheese isn't as good.

Even among fresh mozzarella, there is a difference between hand made and machine made. Hand made will be softer and creamier, and if only a few days old will be fairly liquidy on the inside. After you cut a ball in half, it will start to ooze out. Machine made cheeses have been handled more roughly and are stiffer, so there will be none of the desired oozing.

But the real deal, if you can find it is fresh water buffalo's milk mozzarella, know as di bufala. This was the cheese I fell in love with in Italy. I has a tangy, salty flavor the cows milk is missing. I hunt for this throughout the year. Costco has been know to occasionally carry it. I probably saw it a total of 6 times over the last 3 years.

So imagine my surprise to see it, and a very good di bufala product at that, at my local Costco about a month ago. And my wife casually says, "Oh, yeah, they've been carrying that for a little while now." Argh, she can be so annoying at times... The good news is that I've seen di bufala in many different Costcos since June 2007. It sells out but they seem to have more coming in each week.

Olive Oil: Use the best oil you can afford. Of course it has to be extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). If you were considering otherwise, please stop reading and never visit this or any other food blog again.

I've done olive oil tastings and I have a hard time discerning among good EVOOs. Given the large range in cost, say between $3 to $25 for 12 oz for EVOO, I aim for the low end of that range around $5-7. My favorite EVOOs are from Trader Joes, since they have a good selection of inexpensive choices. I like the Greek Kalamata oil. But my current favorite is the Italian Monte Pollino at $6.

I personally avoid the Bertolli EVOO found in Costco or elsewhere, as it is just everywhere. My snobby side, says it just can't be that good, especially since they make many lower grades of of olive oil. And make sure the EVOO you buy has a "use by" date on it. Reputable makers give EVOO roughly a year to 18 months from pressing for the best taste.

Basil: Fresh leaves, ideally just picked off a live plant. Otherwise, fresh leaves from a plant that was cut down today.

Many places sell a live plant for $4-8. The secret to growing basil in the summer is (1) keep it in the shade, which keeps the leaves much younger and more tender and (2) pluck off any white flowers once you see them. The plant wants to reproduce and once it has done so, turns much tougher. The early spring growth is the best and by keeping the plant cooler in the shade, and somewhat well watered, the plant keeps its spring feel.

So we've come to the end of the not-so-simple caprese salad. Almost. There are many variations on the salad and eating options, such as

• use a bit of good balsamic vinegar. I used to do this until a year ago, when I had it without balsamic at a restaurant. Balsamic adds a nice taste but tends to over power the salad. Now, 80% of the time it is just EVOO and 20% I add balsamic too. Your call and apparently this is subject to debate. I
  
• have it with a nice crusty bread. Near the end of a large salad, there is often a good bit of tomato juice, EVOO, possibly balsamic, which is a wonderful bread dip.
• add some minced garlic or chopped capers, freshly grated parmesan, or perhaps some fresh unsalted anchovies. I don't do this but it's your salad and you can ruin it however you wish.
• add some minced fresh herbs such as oregano or well ... actually, that's the only one I can recommend.
  

Caprese Salad

Tomatoes, preferably home grown or heirloom
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
2-6 basil leaves

Slice the mozzarella thinly (slightly thinner than the tomato slices) and arrange. Drizzle EVOO over each layer of cheese, if desired, to prevent it from sticking to each other.
Slice larger tomatoes into (large) bite-sized slices. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Place over the cheese. Salt and pepper as desired. Wash and dry basil and then slice into wispy strands and sprinkle over the tomatoes.

Eat with toasted bread or with a spoon.

Let's get started

Welcome to my food blog. Like the kazillion other food blogs out there, it is about all aspects of food. Growing (some of) it, finding it, buying it, cooking it and of course eating it. While I'm ethnically Chinese, my cooking interests lie much more in Italian, French country and American cuisine.

One of my rants against the very high end cookbooks is the insistance on impossible to get, fresh ingredients. I cannot easily get freshly picked fava beans or a just butchered free-range chicken. So one of my goals is to use somewhat readily available foods, yet keeping the quality as high as possible. I live and work in Silicon Valley which affords me pretty good access to food. If nothing else, the Costcos, Trader Joes and grocery stores have decent selection. Like most amateur cooks, my focus is on things you can hopefully find, buy and make yourself. That said, during the summer, if you find a farmer's market, you should be able to get high quality fresh foods, albiet a bit expensive.

I'm not a recipe follower. When cooking, I like to find several recipes for that dish, and try to comprehend what is going on. Then I just launch into my own creating, often dictated by what ingredients I have on hand. Sometimes I end up pretty much following a recipe, othertimes, I'm off in ad hoc cookery.

Finally, hopefully you have noticed my blog name is pure punishment. What does the title make you think of? For me it's a hamburger. Which when done right, is a sublime meal in and of itself.