Grilled Corn Salad

We had this grilled corn salad the other night, along with some delicious crepes.  I will post that recipe tomorrow.  Anyway, this comes from Michael Symon's Carnivore cookbook, his newest cookbook.  This is a great, fresh corn salad, but we didn't grill it since we don't have a grill, and it's cold right now.  I just boiled the corn on the cob like normal.  We liked this, Aaron and I more than the boys, we gave it an 8, the boys gave it a 6.  Here's the recipe:

4 ears of corn
salt
1 anchovy, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced
grated zest and juice of 3 limes
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 ripe Hass avocado, diced
1 c halved cherry tomatoes (I used 2 roma tomatoes)
6 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
3/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the ears of corn.  In a large bowl, combine the anchovy, garlic, jalapeno, and a large pinch of salt.  Add the lime zest and juice and whisk in the olive oil.  Add the avocado, tomatoes, scallions, and cilantro and gently toss.  Over the bowl, cut the kernels from the cobs and add them into the salad.  Toss to combine, and season to taste.  (I liked mine with more salt, Aaron thought it didn't need anymore salt.)

I'm a dork, but I think it is so cool how an acid and an oil emulsify and make a really cool dressing.  I love that :)  Anyway, this salad would be better in the middle of the summer or late summer when all the veggies are super fresh, but this was still great.

Linguine with Heirloom Tomato, Capers, Anchovies, and Chile

So we had Michael Symon's pasta a few days ago, and I thought it was okay, and that's all anyone else thought too.  I was sick when I made it, and so I don't know if I did it right or not, and I know it didn't turn out how we wanted, but I'm not sure I can blame the recipe on that.  Anyway, we all gave it between a 4 and 5.  One fun thing I got to do was make my own pasta, since I received a pasta maker for Christmas this year, so the pasta was homemade for this meal.  Fun!

Here's the recipe

kosher salt
1 c dried bread crumbs
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 t crushed red pepper flakes (I used less)
Pasta dough cut into linguine
1 large brandywine heirloom tomato, about 1 cup
6 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed, filleted, and minced
1 T salt-packed capers, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c sliced flat leaf parsley leaves

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta and add salt until it tasted seasoned.  Toast the bread crumbs in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing as needed, until lightly browned, about 3 or 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic and sweat it for 2 minutes.  Add the red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds.
Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the tomato, anchovies, and caper to the sauté pan, bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes, or until the tomato has released its juices and the anchovies have melted into the sauce.  Remove the sauce from the heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil and parsley.
Strain the pasta and add it directly to the sauce.  Toss well before dividing among four bowls.  Top with the bread crumbs.

This was from Michael Symon's Live To Cook cookbook, and again, we didn't love this.  However, it was alright, and maybe another time when I can actually taste and smell again, we'll try it again.