My Aunt Buzz had a very specific place and time she would have corn on the cob.
She would be visiting friends at their farm in Maine and, only after they had sat the kettle on the stove to boil would they head out to the field to pick their corn for that meal.
A bit extreme, if you ask me.
I used to stand in line at a rather nice farm stand in one of Boston’s better suburbs to be handed a paper bag of a dozen ears of corn.
It was very good, but, we were younger and a larger household at the time, so, no worries about going through all that corn.
Today, I pick up a tray of four ears, shucked, at my market, and we enjoy that, roasted or grilled, with seasoned butter.
INGREDIENTS
•4 ears of corn
•Aluminum foil
•1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
•1/4 tsp chili powder
•1/4 tsp garlic powder
•1/4 tsp chives
•1/4 tsp steakhouse seasoning
•1/4 tsp parsley
•1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/4 tsp paprika
Combine the butter together with the seasonings in a bowl until well blended.
Cut four pieces of aluminum foil.
Arrange an ear of corn on a piece of foil, coat all sides with the seasoned butter, then wrap tightly with the foil.
Repeat with the remaining corn and foil. You should have plenty of butter for four, or perhaps five ears.
Note: this can be done ahead of time, and you can stash the wrapped corn in the fridge until you are ready to deal with it.
When read to cook the corn, heat your oven to 400º or your grill for indirect heat.
Place your wrapped corn in the oven or one the grill and cook for one hour.
You don’t really need to fuss with it, just let it do its own thing.
Remove from the oven or grill, unwrap, and serve as you will.
First off…
The tuna, after all, has it all.
•1/2 cup diced red onion
We love these whenever we visit 
Plan for two days (or one very long one).
Cannot get to it after it has been rising for the called for hour (or six in the fridge)? No worries! The dough will be there waiting for your attention when you are ready to give it.
•1 tsp plus 2 tbsp sugar
Bring a pot of water to a boil, stir in one tablespoon of salt and the sweet potatoes.
Place the yeast and one teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl or beaker.
Beat for one minute.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise at room temperature for about and hour or so – until the dough has doubled in size.
Recover the bowl and stash the dough in the fridge for at least six hours or overnight.
Lightly punch the dough down once more, then, ssing two teaspoons, scoop the dough into each prepared place. You will have plenty for 24 brioche.
Pop it into the hot oven for ten minutes, then reduce the temperature to 325º and bake for another ten minutes for individual rolls, until golden brown.
It is hard to describe just how very nice this is; and, it came about kinda by accident!
And, you know what?
INGREDIENTS
Do remember to bring the butter out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to serve it so that it can be easily spread.
I was poking around the bakery at Whole Foods, and decided to try one of their French baguettes. When I got home, I did my usual thing with French bread, cut a bit of the heel of, topped the slice with butter and a bit of salt, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This bread comes close to the loaves from Rocket Baby in Wisconsin, which supplies our fave French restaurant, and is the standard for French bread amongst our friends. Once I enjoyed it with just salt and butter, I got to thinking about adding garlic and, mebbe a bit of air fryer action.
Perfection; and wicked easy, too!
Note: I used coarse Birch Smoked Salt, but feel free to use your own fave.
Note: every air fryer is different. Mine needs a short preheat period, and others do not. It also seems to air fry best between 400º and 425º. My tray also slides in, and so I can pop it in the fryer with the food. If your air fryer has a basket container, do not add the parchment before you add the bread slices; the convection will pull up the parchment to the top of the basket.
Note: the garlic butter was more than enough for eight slices, which was ample for just the two of use for dinner. If you are serving a crowd, you will need to work in stages, and keep the finished slices warm in the oven.
One of our favorite munchies when we are out and about for dinner (or lunch, lunch works too!) is a nice platter of freshly fried calamari. One of fave lunch spots serves theirs with slightly crisped slices of peperoncini and halved grape tomatoes.
So, the thing is, we have a lot of friends who cannot eat the breading because of the gluten, and others who won’t because, calamari, I I chose to save this box for just the two of us and serve it as calamari salad with a chopped salad kit and my own 
Note 1: this was more than enough as a main course dinner salad for the two of us. Could’ve been a nice appetizer salad for four.
Scatter the sliced peperoncini and grape tomatoes over the top,, then, if you like, season with your fave steakhouse seasoning.
Depending on your machine, give the try a shake or, as with mine, rotate the tray and return to the air fryer for another five minutes or so, until the calamari is done to your liking.
We are having Turkey Taco Thursday around about here, so it was time to toss a batch of Ranch Jalapeño Pickles.
Things is, Rich likes the pickles.
INGREDIENTS
Strain the liquid from a jar of pickled jalapeño slices into a jar with a tight fitting lid. Whisk the packet of ranch dressing mix into the liquid, then add the jalapeños, close the jar, and shake to cover well.
Back in the day, Swiss Chicken Casserole was a mainstay dinner at my Aunt Buzz’s house; and it was always welcomed. Well except for my dad, who did not eat chicken.
INGREDIENTS
•1 tbsp 
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Transfer to your prepared baking dish, then cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Think of Donair as a kind of Canadian Maritimes Gyro, usually served with its own distinctive sauce.
•1/4 tsp black pepper
Donair:
Combine the garlic dressing and sauce ingredients together (an immersion blender works a treat) and transfer to a covered container – I like to use a squeeze bottle – and stash in the fridge until you need it. I find that I need it rather a lot.
Heat your oven to 350º and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
To serve, pan fry the individual slices until lightly browned.
We were out with friends at a restaurant on a Saturday evening, and they had a special appetizer of smoked trout spread topped with dill and salmon caviar served with crisped pita slices.
INGREDIENTS
•1 tsp lemon juice
Next time I make this, I plan on seeing if they smoke more than my fave salmon.