Spitball Army

I protested loudly (to myself) a couple of weeks ago when I read Michael Pollan’s piece in the New York Times Magazine.  In “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch,” Pollan posits that the relatively recent glut of TV cooking shows is partially responsible for Americans spending less time in the kitchen.  I disagree.  If anything, I am spending more time in my small galley kitchen, trying new techniques (learned from watching Top Chef, most likely) and trying to save money by utilizing local growers’ markets for fresh ingredients.  While I don’t doubt that some people fit Pollan’s description, I refuse to believe that I belong to the minority group whose membership numbers only one.

The Pepper Place open air market was overrun with corn this past weekend, and I expect it to be plentiful through the rest of the season.  I picked up a bundle of cobs of a hybrid variety with both yellow and white kernels.  My aim – besides eating it – was to try my hand at stripping the kernels right off the cob, something I’ve seen done on television a number of times.

This evening, looking for a new accompaniment to my chicken and greens, I went for the corn.  I stripped two cobs, put the kernels in a shallow bowl, placed a few thin pats of butter on top, and sprinkled a light layer of leftover Italian bread crumbs on the surface.  Corn au gratin – “au gratin” translated from the French meaning “with the scrapings from the pan,” but in practice being, simply, something covered with bread crumbs, or sometimes butter and/or grated cheese, and then browned in an oven.  It was an easy, fast, and incredibly tasty corn dish with a slight crunch (from both the corn and from the bread crumbs, which I broiled toward the end of its cooking time).

Here’s the recipe…there’s nothing to it, really:

Ingredients:
2 large cobs of corn, any variety
4 very thin pats of butter
about 2 tbsp. of bread crumbs, seasoned or not, depending on your taste

Instructions:
Shear the corn kernels from the cob using a large knife.  Place the kernels into an oven-proof bowl (I use Fiesta Ware for everything, and a Fiesta cereal bowl worked fine for this dish).  Place the butter pats, evenly spaced, atop the corn.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs over that (it should not be a thick layer).  Place the dish in a pre-heated oven at 350° and let it bake for 15-20 minutes.  Before removing the bowl, place it under the oven’s broiler until the crumbs turn to a deep brown crust (though not burnt).

Serves 2, as a side dish.  It complemented grilled chicken and broccolli perfectly.