Corn should be so fresh, it squeaks when you peel it. Then you don't need to cook it. Raw corn, arugula, and pecorino salad is my daily summertime lunch.
Summer cooking needs to be very simple. And the dishes need lots of flavor so your mouth is contented. In this show, I had time to make five separate recipes and still sit down and enjoy my guests and a supper of dishes based on fresh corn.
To take the edge off their appetites, I served the first course in a glass — Bloody Marys made from garden fresh corn and tomatoes put through my juicer. Since I am always looking for opportunities to add flavor, I rimmed the glasses with toasted ground fennel seed, gray salt, and celery salt.
We made a grilled corn salsa that's great as a bed for fish or on bruschetta, and a pasta with fresh corn kernels and sun-dried tomatoes with marjoram. I couldn't resist using the last of the season's fava beans to mix with corn to make a sort of Italian succotash to serve with fresh halibut. And then a scarecrow came right out of the garden and sat at the table.
