Summertime Dinner

Summertime Dinner

To me, dinner is the meal that is served around 6 PM. I don't use the word supper. It has always confused me. Breakfast is the first meal of the day, lunch is the second meal of the day (unless you are a Hobbit), and dinner is the third and final meal of the day. Living in the South can be so confusing sometimes.
Why does summer seem to go by so quickly? Why can't we grow corn, tomatoes, raspberries, and okra in Zone 7 year-round? That would be dreamy. But hold the mosquitoes.
Tonight was one of those nights the hubby and I will talk about all week long. First, he put on my favorite cologne, eau de charcoal. Basically, he grilled a flank steak. It was his first endeavor and he completed it with much success. It came out brown on the outside and pink on the inside.
For the first 32.25 years of my life, I have only eaten grilled meat with very little pink in the center. However, tonight, I was convinced to try it with very little that was NOT pink. Oh Yum. Double Yum. The resident five year old is proving to have a more sophisticated palate than myself and didn't complain about the pink meat. In fact, he ate 2 fajitas with the pinky goodness rolled up inside of it.
Corn has been hit or miss this season. Thankfully, tonight's corn, curtesy of the local Kroger, was a hit. It was prepared in a style that I was only recently introduced to. Pan-seared Corn on the Cob. Do not read any further if you want to retain your summer figure. My method of coping with the situation was to buy a bathing suit with ruffles and rushing to hide my corny curves. I'm serious.



And finally, no dessert tonight. With fried okra from the garden, who needs dessert?


Pan-seared Corn on the Cob
1 TBSP vegetable oil
4-5 ears of fresh corn
6 TBSP of water
3 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1-2TBSP butter
2 minced cloves of garlic (I use it out of a jar)
chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Choose a pan/skillet that will allow all ears of corn to touch the bottom of the pan. Find a lid that will fit. Combine water and vinegar in small ramekin. Set aside. Heat oil over medium heat, or a little less. Add corn, TURNING every 2 minutes until browned in spots. (5-7 minutes of total cook time) Add the butter and minced garlic. Cook 10 seconds. Pour in water/vinegar mixture and cover for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Allow 2 ears per person.

Fried Okra
Cut enough from the garden to fill the bottom of your iron skillet. maybe 1/2-3/4 lb? Wash, trim off ends. Cut into 1 1/2 cm pieces. Roll the cut pieces in cornmeal. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Add 2 TBSP of organic all vegetable shortening (Crisco-like product). Add breaded okra, turn every 2-3 minutes for a total of 12 minutes? At this point, it should "look done." Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately. You may to salt a little more. You may need to add a little more shortening halfway through the process. The okra should be tender, but not soggy with oil and have a few black spot from where it has cooked in the pan. And remember what Julia Child said, "don't crowd the item, or it will never brown." This amount serves 2 people in our house.