My new favorite thing: Calabrian Chilies in oil. Some heat but flavor like you wouldn’t believe.

Where have you been all my life?

Worth the expense. 

Buttermilk French Toast from house to haus.

Indeed.

My cousin makes a wonderful corn soup. I tried it for the first time over the weekend and it was a smash hit. So here’s a recipe that is a sure shot. It’s rich and silky without having cream or anything fattening. Plus, it’s not difficult to make. Alls it takes is a little patience to strain the soup at the end.

What’s in it:

8 ears of corn

1 yellow onion

3 stalks of celery

1 large carrot

Red Chili Flakes (optional)

Salt/Pepper

Star Anise

Cinnamon Stick

First:  Make a corn stock out of the corn cobs (slice off the kernels off 8 corn cobs first and reserve them). Cover corn cobs in water by 2-3 inches. Add salt and pepper, a sachet with 2p star anise, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, bring to boil and then reduce to simmer and cook (at a simmer) for 2 hours. Cook uncovered. When you are finished, remove cobs and discard the sachet.

Second:  In a separate pot, on medium to high heat, saute the onion, carrot and celery in a small amount of butter (1-2 tablespoons) or oil (also 1-2 table spoons…Olive oil is fine though you could use a neutral oil as well). Add some red chili flakes if you’d like but I’d be careful not to add too much. (If you like it spicy add more to your bowl when serving.) When the vegetables are semi-soft (maybe 5-8 minutes), add the kernels. Cook together until soft. I’d say about another 15 minutes, medium heat. You can add a little of the stock, 1/4 cup at a time, and cover the vegetables to speed up the cooking time.

Third:  Set the vegetables aside. When they stock is ready, combine the vegetables with the stock in a blender. You may want to wait until both cool down so you don’t burn yourself but that’s not necessary. Blend the vegetables and stock in batches until smooth, adding more stock if it is too thick.

Fourth:  When you have finished this step, strain the soup through a sieve or a mesh strainer. This will ensure the corn kernel husks aren’t in the final product. You don’t have to do this step, and it’s a pain in the ass, but I think it’s worth the effort. Makes a difference for sure.

Finally:  You may reheat the soup, serve it room temperature, or even cold. Add a pinch of finishing salt–preferably Maldon–and a drizzle of olive oil to each bowl once you’ve plated the soup. You can also add some torn basil leaves. Cilantro would work just fine, too.

The key to this soup is using fresh corn–pick it and make the soup the same day if you can–and straining the vegetables at the end.

You’ll knock ’em dead, Sweetie. Count on it.

[Photo Via Seasoned Fork]

Heirloom tomato and celery salad over at Hungry Ghost. Heck yeah.

Go to Laughing Squid. Watch video. Drool.

Serious Eats ‘splains Sun Tea (forget the sun).

Smitten Kitchen gives us peach pie. And I, for one, am not only thankful but hungry.

Jelly or Boston Creme? Which one of dese?

[Photo Credit: Nom-Food]

Dig this! A series of fictitious dishes designed by my cousin Dinah.

I like sweets but I crave salad.

[Photo Credit: Chef-ru]

More summertime goodness from Nicole Franzen: maple and lime roasted peaches.

Nicole Franzen gives us peach blueberry cobbler. Oh, hell yes.

So, do you get a shake with your burger and fries or is that gilding the lily?

[“The American Way,” By Terry Border at his most cool site Bent Objects]

I’m a cold Italian Pizza/I could use a lemon squeezer.

[Photo Credit: My Little Foodies]

That cool, refreshing drink.

Saveur gives us lemon shake ups.

[Photo Credit: Food Addict]

Simple.

From Serious Eats, lemon polenta cookies.

[Photo Credit: Carrie Vasios]

The Wife loves gazpacho. I make it for her all the time. Here’s a good recipe over at Lemon Fire Brigade.

Lime on my mind.

The Sprouted Kitchen gives us:  pasilla chile and lime cabbage slaw.

From Smitten Kitchen: cold rice noodles with peanut-lime chicken.

Over at Food and Wine, Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert break it down…like this:

Fancy Chefs Making Burgers

AB: I understand this trend. It’s dismaying, but I completely understand the impulse. What chef wants to die broke? And let’s face it: Burgers are good. But it is definitely a little dismaying, any time you see really great chefs cooking below their abilities by putting out a burger.

ER: A burger is part of the menu at our Westend Bistro in Washington, DC. Our burger was actually inspired by McDonald’s—except for the quality of the meat, of course. A McDonald’s bun is perfect. You put it in your hands; it’s not too big, it’s not too tall. The ratios, the slice of tomato—for some reason, it’s all perfect. The pickles are perfect. The shredded salad, it’s not too much, not too little. When we did our burger, for us, it was a very interesting research project. We looked at companies like McDonald’s and Burger King and thought, What is great in their approach? And how can we make it great with the meat that we have, which is, obviously, of different quality?

[Photo Via:  Gourmet]

Our man Ted Berg brings it in the latest edition of “The Sandwich Show”: