No-Cook Sweet Corn Salad

This is a great recipe for right now--fall--when corn is sweet and fresh. This salad is great with all fresh late summer ingredients and is really refreshing.

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
2 large, ripe tomatoes
2 medium cucumbers
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 2-3 limes)
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 TBS oil (I use olive)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or more)
1 red onion thinly sliced and diced
6 TBS chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Cut kernels from corn and place in a medium bowl.

2. Seed and dice tomatoes and cucumbers and add to bowl (I don't seed them, but whatever is your preference)

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together lime juice, sugar, oil, sald and pepper.

4. Stir red onion into lime mixture

5. Toss corn, tomatoes and cucumbers with dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

6. Add chopped cilantro right before serving.

Gateau Chocolat & Courgette (Chocolate and Zucchini Cake)

This recipe is from amazing food blogger Clotilde who blogs at http://chocolateandzucchini.com/. She also has a great cookbook- Chocolate and Zucchini- Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen. This cake is super moist and chocolate-y without being too rich.

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp + 1 pat butter for greasing
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
3 large eggs
2 cups unpeeled grated zucchini, from about 1 1/2 medium zucchini (keep the remaining 1/2 zucchini for optional garnish)
1 cup good-quality bittersweet chocolate chips
confectioners' sugar or melted bittersweet chocolate (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a mixer, blend the sugar and butter until creamy. Add the vanilla, coffee granules, and eggs, mixing well between each addition.

Reserve a cup of the flour mixture, and add the rest to the egg mixture. Mix until just combined, the batter will be thick.

Add the zucchini and chocolate chips to the reserved flour mixture and toss to coat. Fold into the batter and blend with a wooden spoon- don't overmix. Pour into the prepared cake pan and level the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the pan to loosen the cake, and unclasp the sides of the pan. Let cool to room temp before serving. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, glaze with melted chocolate, or decorate with a few slices of raw zucchini (you don't have to eat them though!)

Tarte Tatin

Apple season!! A great recipe from the New Gourmet cookbook...


1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17 1/4 oz package), thawed

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

7-9 gala apples (you don't want to be short, i always get 10) peeled, quartered lengthwise and cored

special equipment: a well seasoned 10" cast-iron skillet

Put racks in middle and lower third of oven and preheat to 425.

Roll out pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 10 1/2" square. Brush off excess flour. Using a plate as a guide, cut out a 10" round with a sharp knife. Transfer to baking sheet and refrigerate.

Spread butter thickly on bottom and sides of skillet and pour sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit in tight concentric circles in pan, standing them on end (i usually trim the edge off of one end of the slice so it will stand more easily). Apples will stick up above the rim of the skillet (see pic above).

Cook apples over moderately high heat, without stirring, until juices are deep golden and bubbling, 18-25 minutes. (Don't worry if the juices color unevenly).

Lay a sheet of foil on lower oven rack, to catch any drips, and put skillet on middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes (apples will settle slightly).

Remove skillet from oven and lay pastry round over apples. Bake until pastry is browned, 20-25 minutes. Transfer skillet to a rack to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Just before serving, invert a platter with a lip over skillet and, using potholders to hold skillet and platter tightly together, invert tart onto platter. Replace any apples that stick to skillet. (Don't worry if there are caramelized black spots in apples). Brush any caramel remaining in skillet over apples. Serve immediately.