Corn and Bacon Pasta

Another good one from Cook's Country, this features fresh corn which struck us as kind of mind-bending when combined with pasta. It worked a treat though, with the kernels adding little crunchy, slightly sweet accents to the savory pasta.

The original recipe calls for 5 pieces of bacon. We had 8 in the fridge and decided to use them all up. It was so good that we decided we'll just go with 8 in the future too.

This recipe finishes in a flurry of activity, rather like a Chinese stir-fry, so have everything prepped before you begin cooking the pasta.

Corn and Bacon Pasta

Step 1
1 pound orecchiette

Boil in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, drain, and return to pot.

Step 2
8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2" strips

Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp and drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet.

Step 3
3 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs OR 2-1/4 cups thawed frozen corn
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil (divided use)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat fat in skilled over medium heat until shimmering. Add corn and salt and cook until corn is bright yellow and just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cream, 1/4 cup basil, and pepper and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Step 4
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
remaining 1/4 cup basil

Add sauce, Parmesan, bacon, reserved cooking water, and basil to pot with pasta. Stir until thoroughly combined and creamy. Taste for seasoning.

Pass extra Parmesan at table for serving.

Green Goddess Chicken

From Cook's Country, this has a really fresh taste that is a nice summery meal.


Green Goddess Chicken

Step 1
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 anchovy filets, rinsed

Chop herbs just enough to measure and let blender do the real work. Process in blender until smooth.

Step 2 — make the sauce
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons herb mixture from step 1

Stir all together; set aside.

Step 3
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3 pound chicken, cut into pieces

Combine salt and herb mixture and marinate chicken in it for at least 2 and up to 24 hours.

Step 4
Heat oven to 475. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil; place chicken, skin side up on sheet. Do not brush off marinade that sticks to chicken. Roast 25 - 30 minutes.

Transfer to platter, tend with foil, let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with sauce.

Quick, Mildly Spiced Beef

This is from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries II. It is a lot like a korma-style mild curry from an Indian restaurant.

I don't know if I'd call it "quick" since that tends to mean 20 minutes, but it was straight-forward and easy and probably took me about 45 minutes. This has a lot of sauce and is wonderful with rice.

Quick, Mildly Spiced Beef

oil
500 g cubed chuck steak (I used hanger steak)
2 large onions, thinly sliced (I think English onions are smaller than ours. I used one large onion and it was plenty.)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp garam masala (or whatever curry powder you have around)
500 ml veg or beef stock (I used chicken stock)
1 tbsp grain mustard
200 ml double cream (a.k.a. heavy cream)
salt and pepper

Warm the oil in a heavy shallow casserole. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides in the toil, turning only occasionally. remove from the pan with a draining spoon.

Meanwhile halve, peel and thinly slice the onions, and garlic. Add the onions and garlic to the pan, letting them soften a little but not brown beyond pale honey color. Stir in the ground cumin, coriander, and garam masala, then continue cooking for five minutes before returning the meat and any juices to the pabn. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes, till the liquid has reduced by half.

Stir in the mustard, pour in the cram and bring back to the boil. check the seasoning before serving