Cella's Corner: Recipes for a summertime meal

My husband and I were recently treated to a meal at Howard and Christine Cook’s house. One food on the menu that stood out in my memory was the corn. The corn was bright yellow, crunchy and fresh. My frozen corn is usually excellent, but theirs was beyond excellent – it was extraordinary. “Christine,” I said, “How did you prepare this corn?”

As you will see below, she cuts the corn off the cob, raw, before cooking it, a task I thought would be harder than cutting it off the cob after it was cooked and cooled. In actuality, it was much easier and faster, and there were no huge pots of boiling water needed. Use your favorite variety of corn and make sure it is freshly-picked.

Fresh corn-off-the-cob extraordinaire

(Christine Cook)

4 or 5 dozen ears fresh corn-on-the-cob (3 quarts of kernels)
1/2 cup water

Shuck corn-on-the-cob, remove silk and cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife until you have 3 quarts of raw kernels. Place half a cup of water in a large saucepan with a thick bottom, so the corn does not scorch. Add the kernels. Cook and stir corn until it is cooked crisp tender and has a nice yellow color. Do not drain.

Place the cooked corn in a large bowl and set it in a sink full of cold water. Change the water as needed. Stir the corn from time to time until it is cool. Bag it in freezer bags and freeze until you are ready to eat it.

To cook frozen corn, remove the corn from the freezer bag and place it in a small amount of rapidly-boiling water. Cook until the kernels are separate and hot. Season it with butter and salt. Most of the water should be cooked away. There should be no need to drain the corn.

Barbecue burgers
(Kim Spalti)

4 pounds of ground beef
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced green pepper
3 large eggs
2 cups small cubes of sliced bread
1/4 cup beef broth
1 quart jar of traditional spaghetti sauce
3/4 of a jar honey barbecue sauce
20 hamburger buns

Combine the ground beef, onion, green pepper, eggs, bread cubes and beef broth in a large mixing bowl. Form into patties using a half-cup measuring cup for each burger. This recipe should make about 20 burgers.

Fry burgers until no pink remains. Place the meat in the refrigerator or freezer, until needed. Frozen burgers will need to be thawed. To prepare sauce, combine the spaghetti sauce and barbecue sauce. Layer the burgers and sauce in a slow cooker. Heat until hot. Serve on buns. Do not stir mixture or you will break up the burgers and will have to serve them as Sloppy Joes.

Fudgies with chocolate chips and brown sugar cinnamon topping

scant cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 large eggs
2 cups white granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups white flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups cold water
12 ounces mini chocolate chips
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Combine the cooking oil, cocoa powder, eggs, white sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla and cold water in a large mixing bowl. Pour the batter into a greased 11-by-11-by-2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle miniature chocolate chips on top. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of the chocolate chips. Bake in 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Send your favorite family recipes to Marcella Stockin, 5200 Riceville Road, West Valley, NY 14171 or email me at marcellastockin@yahoo.com. Providing you with recipes to help make you the best cook in the neighborhood. Visit my website at cellascookbook.com for more recipes and archived newsletter.