Easy Sides

Sorry I have been shirking my duties here, but we have just completed our yearly pilgrimage to the family lake house in the northern woods of Wisconsin. And we didn't let little things like tornadoes and lightning storms get in our way. After enduring a three-hour layover in the Minneapolis airport (without the benefit of the little playground in C terminal -- closed for repairs!), as well as a two-hour delay to wait out the weather, we finally gave up and rented a car. We got here eventually, driving mostly along the country routes described so well in Jean Shepherd's Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss.

At the lake house, we usually find ourselves building meals around the grill. We smoke turkeys, ribs, and pork butts. We grill chicken, brats, beef and pork loins, and hamburgers. And we also find ourselves searching for easy side dishes that don't involve a lot of time in the hot kitchen.

Sliced tomatoes and fresh sweet corn are, of course, the most generous sides -- giving so much flavor for so liitte effort. The tomatoes require only a sprinkling of sea salt to render them delicious. If you can find fresh mozzarella and some basil, then you've got the makings for a caprese salad. Just layer, and drizzle with very fresh, high-quality olive oil. I avoid the basil buds and tear the basil rather than chop it with a knife. The steel of the knife does seem to turn the basil dark along the cut.

As for corn, I have grilled it on occasion but find that it deters from the texture if the corn is really fresh. With fresh corn, I simply steam/boil the trimmed ears in a couple of inches of salted water. It's okay to stack the ears up in the pan but you must put a lid on the pan or the top ears won't steam. To keep the corn sweet after you buy, immediately wrap the ears in a paper bag and wet the bag thoroughly. Stick the dripping wet bag of corn in a tall kitchen bag and stash in the refrigerator until ready to cook. This treatment will help prevent the sugar in the corn from converting to starch. Buy heavy ears with good-looking tassels, but don't be one of those people who pull down the silk to check the tops. It leaves the violated ear looking spoiled and unappetizing. (I always buy one extra ear to be safe, though.) And don't be alarmed if you find a worm. As the country lady who sold Silver Queen corn in the Tennessee summers of my childhood told me, "Honey, if the worms don't like it, you won't either."

If you've left the corn too long, or you accidentally buy starchy corn, you can mitigate the damage by slicing the corn off the cob and gently sauteing in unsalted butter with a pinch of salt and a couple of pinches of white sugar. In the same vein, if the tomatoes are not all that they ought to be, I recommend a slow roast in the oven with a little olive oil and salt. You could even swap the olive oil for butter and add a pinch of sugar to the tomatoes if you wanted to caramelize them. Sweet roasted tomatoes are particularly delicious with grilled country bread lightly brushed with olive oil.

Enjoy.