Cruelty.

I know, I'm being cruel.

This is a summer salad. It's from the June 2009 issue of Gourmet. I probably made it for the first time sometime around June of this past year. It has, however, been a mainstay in my limited salad repertoire.

It made it's most notable appearance at a dinner party themed around the musical "Oklahoma". This dish, coupled with a bowl of hearty beef chili, made up the main course called "The Farmer and Cowman", named for the second act opener. More on that meal later.

Even though it snowed today, I don't hesitate posting this salad. Is it optimism? Is spring really coming? No. I just know avocados are available in supermarkets, this dressing is great, and one could easily replace the corn. Grilled pineapple, roasted red peppers and tomatoes would all be viable options.

Also, I don't have a grill. I have a grill pan. I use it all the time; it was a great investment (and only $16 or so, if I remember correctly!). You'll be shocked how grilling the avocado elevates their buttery texture and creaminess.

Romaine, Grilled Avocado and Smoky Corn Salad with Chipotle Caesar Dressing

Serves 4-6

Gourmet, June 2009

1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ears of corn, shucked
2 firm-ripe 6-to 8-ounces avocados, halved and pitted but not peeled
1 head romaine (1 pound), tough outer leaves discarded and head quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch strips

Put parmesan in a medium bowl and add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking. Whisk in lime juice, garlic, chipotles, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Rub vegetable oil on corn and cut sides of avocados, then season with 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Grill avocados, cut sides down, and corn, turning corn occasionally, until golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

Peel avocados and thinly slice. Cut corn kernels from cobs.

Toss romaine with dressing and serve topped with avocado and corn.

Resurrecting Corn.

I have always loved corn on the cob. When I was 10 or 11, I won a family corn-eating contest with 6 ears. I remember shucking corn sitting at picnic tables with brown grocery bags beneath us, and my grandmother boiling them on the stove afterwards (and, oddly enough, the tongs she used to remove them from the boiling water). My favorite midnight snack the first few weeks of freshman year was corn on the cob, cold out of the fridge covered in salt.

Corn in Philadelphia delicious, most likely because it's fairly local. Lucky for us, we live between Jersey Sweet Corn and Lancaster Sweet Corn.

Laura and I bought some at Reading Terminal during our first shopping trip but didn’t get around to eating it until a little over a week later. It was looking a little sad. So I decided to mix up some fancy butter to liven it up.

These are only two variations and do not require measurements. The only “recipe” here involves softening the butter enough and gradually mixing in layers of flavor (thus, lots of taste testing). I used the back of a tiny spoon to mix the seasonings into the butter.

The butter on the left is a Chili Butter. It contains Chili Powder, Paprika, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper and All Seasons Salt.

The butter on the right is Parsley Parmesan Butter. We chopped fresh parsley and added a hefty amount of Parmesan. Lemon zest would have been wonderful in this!

After corn, this butter is delicious on rolls (especially multigrain ones) and melted in pasta. I’m also considering using the Chili Butter to do some sautéed vegetables later this week.