I can without hesitation say: Summer's here in New Jersey!
For the last week or two, my eyes have been trained to the
roadside for 'Sweet Corn' signs, and this morning my patience
paid off. We passed a couple of familiar spots before pulling in
to our go-to stand, Krowicki's of New Egypt. They were selling
bread and butter corn, not my favorite but still good, at $5 a dozen.
The only stand on our normal route that sells a baker's dozen.
Mrs. Krowicki assured me that the B&B is first to mature, and
the sweetest of the bunch. I disagree. Their Silver Queen is by
far the most obscenely sweet and juicy, kernels pop in your mouth,
where did that ear just go? corn I've ever had. I've spoken with
people from Iowa and Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio, Maryland
and Long Island, all claiming theirs to be the best of the best.
How do you spell the sound you make with your mouth when
you completely dismiss something someone just says to you?
Atlantic City sea scallops accompanied the corn, with
soybean/chile paste, and cherry tomatoes, mozzarella,
thyme, basil, and chives in a pile to the side.
Oh yeah. We bought the first of the Jersey peaches this
morning too. The juice ran down our cheeks all the way
down to the boat.
;-)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the early corn.
ReplyDeleteMy father used to call the corn in your photo 'horse corn' - a pretty colorful term for a city boy, I thought. My favorite was the white corn with smaller kernels that comes along a little later in the season.
In any case, there's a lot to be said for letting fruit and veggies ripen in the field instead of a warehouse.
How about a recipe on those scallops???
ReplyDeletesteve
Use the K.I.S.S. method. Keep It Simple Steve. Hot pan, usually teflon, on medium high, with enough peanut oil just to coat the surface, and oil starting to smoke. Dry sea scallops, larger the better, seasoned with salt and white pepper, lay down with room to spare around each one. You want to sear each one without crowding, which causes them to kind of steam. 3-4 minutes without touching them, then turn each individually to an unused spot in the pan to get a new sear on the second side. Just a touch less time on this side. Meanwhile you are preparing your plate so it's ready when you finally position the scallops, directly out of the pan, onto that plate. Ideally, the scallops should be medium-rare, a good brown crust with a little translucence in the middle.
ReplyDeleteThe soybean-chile paste was spooned out of the jar (KISS). Cherry tomatoes were quartered and tossed with a small dice of fresh mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, backdoor herbs (thyme, chives and basil), salt and pepper.
Excellent. I've got two good sources of dry scallops right off the boat, I'll be visiting them soon. thanks
ReplyDeletesteve
Right off the boat is ideal. When I first started working at the Wharfside in Point Pleasant Beach, we got the cloth sacks of freshly shucked scallops from the boats two doors down. The scallops were huge and rock hard, sweet smelling and dry as a bone. They were so big, my kitchen manager told me to cut them into smaller pieces before portioning them so they'd cook evenly. Back then, there was not a demand for U-6 scallops (under 6 per pound) as there is now, where you may pay $20-$30 a pound for. We had no idea. I just wanted to fill my order, clean up and punch out at 2:00 pm so I could go sailing or to the beach!
ReplyDelete