It must be a southern man thing… riding around. My granddaddy loved cars, loved to drive and lived life flying by the seat of his pants. When my mom was growing up, it was no big thing to hop in the car for a Sunday drive and wind up in Panama City Beach.

My dad was also notorious for getting us in the car on a Saturday afternoon and riding all over Tennessee. As we got older, my sister and I would crack up, as my dad wove through the back roads of his childhood for hours showing us his elementary school, where he grew up and commenting on the miles and miles of corn growing…it’s a beautiful thing!

Recipe:

12-15 ears fresh, sweet corn

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp sugar

salt and pepper

The best way to enjoy corn in the summer is to head straight to a farmer’s market and buy it right off the back of a truck. This corn was picked a 6 am and I bought it at 9. You can’t get any more fresh than that!

To shuck the corn, hold corn at the bottom and peel the husk back from the top, tearing away at the bottom of the ear of corn. Peel off the silk and the rinse under running, cold water. Wipe dry with a paper towel to remove any remaining silk.

Using a sharp knife, cut a small piece off of the top of the ear of corn. Stand flat side down in a shallow dish and run a knife down the ear of corn to remove kernels, scraping as close to the cob as possible.

In a large, heavy skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. Add corn and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add milk, season corn with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in sugar.

Notes:

Picking good corn is easy. Choose husks that are bright green and free of any dark brown patches or bruises. If you peel back the husk, the corn should be bright and juicy with no dried areas of corn.

I love to stumble across hole in the wall restaurants, that’s usually where you find the best food. I have two very favorites, one is a roadside joint outside of Austin, Texas that serves the best burgers on homemade sourdough rolls. The second is The Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Florida. For those of you who vacation here, your probably thinking that this is no hole in the wall because in the summer the wait is 2 hours or more for a table.

But The Red Bar does a hole in wall right. A simple 5 item menu presented on a chalkboard, only cash is accepted and you feel like you’re in a psychedelic den from the 60′s. My favorite dish is the panned chicken, of course that means fried and covered with a buttery sauce – here’s my take with out the psychadelic den.

Recipe:

1 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced or pounded to about 1/4″ thick

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

flour for dredging

1 1/2 cups + 1/4 cup chicken broth, low-sodium

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp capers, drained

1 tbsp butter

juice of 1 lemon

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour. Place chicken in hot oil, cooking for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add 1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth to pan to deglaze, stirring up all the bits from the bottom. Let reduce for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, mix cornstarch and 1/4 chicken broth in a small bowl. Add to reduced chicken stock and stir until sauce is thickened.

Add juice of one lemon, capers and stir of butter. Add chicken back to pan and let simmer in sauce for about 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

If you prefer the sauce to be thinner, just add a little more chicken broth.

Notes:

I usually serve this dish with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and oven-roasted asparagus but the chicken is also good over a whole grain pasta.

Stay tuned tomorrow and I fill you in on how to make the mashed potatoes and asparagus.