The Art of the Meal

Just as there are lots of ways to skin a cat, there are many ways to make great corn-on-the-cob You can roast it, broil it, grill it, nuke it. But, far-and-away the easiest, fastest, most dependable method I've found is to simply toss it into boiling water.

1. About 15-20 minutes before serving, fill a large pot with enough water to cover the corn, add a teaspoon of salt, cover the pot, and bring the water to a roiling boil.
2. Remove husk and silk from corn; then, rinse and cut each ear in half.
3. When the water is at full boil, drop the corn into the pot (taking care not to scald yourself), re-cover, and boil on high for 5 or 6 minutes.
4. Remove from pot and serve right away.

Suggested serving: Corn-on-the-cob is a great side with any meal. It's served here with roasted chicken and watermelon.

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Pico de Gallo * is a popular Tex-Mex condiment-garnish-cum-dietary-staple here in the Texas Hill Country. We put it on everything but ice cream. (Actually, at Austin's yearly Spamarama, we might put it on ice cream!) Depending on serving size, it's as close to calorie-free as you can get and still be eating something substantial. 

* Beak of the rooster

** Vary this amount according to how hot you like your pico.

1. Cut and discard stem end of tomatoes, and dice. Seed them if you want, or leave the seeds in for a juicier pico. (I like to use Romas because they are firmer and a little less seedy than other types – and, as an added bonus, usually cheaper.)
2. Cut and discard stem end of jalapeños, and mince. Remove some or all of the seeds (depending on the level of heat you want). Exercise proper care when working with chilis. (Click here for some sage advice on this subject.)
3. Add chopped onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and/or pepper to taste – and stir.
4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. (Stays relatively fresh for 3-4 days; can be used in soups after that, up to about a week or so. When the onion starts to degrade, you'll smell it.)

Serving suggestion: How can you serve Pico de Gallo? Let me count the ways:

• Serve it with tacos and fajitas
• Add it to scrambled eggs, broken chips and cheese for quick, home-made migas
• Stir it into prepared potato salad for “potato de gallo”
• Mix it with salad greens for a spicy dinner salad
• Spoon it into cold tomato juice for instant gazpacho
• Use it to spice up soups . . . and so on, and on, and on.

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