Grilled Sweet Corn with Orange Harissa Butter

 Traditionally used as a flavoring for couscous and a rub for meats, harissa is most commonly found in Tunisia and the Saharan desert region where its flavor is prized for adding oomph to stews.


Lo happened upon her first taste of this delicious condiment during a trip to Tunisia, where the locals ate the peppery paste spread simply atop slices of crusty fresh French bread. 


It took her years to stumble upon one of the best flavor pairings ever -- harissa and orange (see our Orange and harissa roasted chicken recipe). But, once she discovered it, we couldn't get enough.

The sweet acidity of orange juice marries incredibly with the smoky, rich flavor of the harissa, and even (dare we say?) tames its sharp heat into something quite manageable.

During the winter, this flavor combination is a delicious flavoring for crisp, comforting roasted chicken.  It's also a great combination to complement simple vegetables. But, we love it equally as much captured in a delicious compound butter that’s perfect for summer grilling.


Try the butter over a flaky filet of grilled fish.
Experiment with it as a delicious finish for your next steak.
Spread leftover butter on bread for a different take on ordinary grilled cheese.

Or do as this delicious recipe suggests and spread a generous pat of that smoky, citrusy butter atop a cob of succulently sweet grilled summer corn. You won’t be sorry.

Grilled Sweet Corn with Orange Harissa Butter

©BURP! Where Food Happens

End of Summer Corn and Arugula Salad

Just the other day, a friend of mine from Seattle commented on our participation in the local eating challenge. "You can do that in October?" she exclaimed, "In Wisconsin?!?"

I understood what she was getting at. The Wisconsin growing season is relatively short in comparison to some. But, here in Milwaukee we reap the benefits of being close to Lake Michigan, which offers the added advantage of a bit of insulation from frost. So, early October can bring a fairly wide array of garden delights. In fact, many of us are still reaping the harvest from our gardens into late October and early November. And many farmer's markets in our area are actually open and active well into November.

But, I was a bit surprised to find a farmer at the West Allis Farmer's Market this past Saturday who still had a nice, healthy batch of sweet corn to offer up. Not quite as eager as we were earlier in the season, we decided that it might not be a bad idea to buy up a bit of corn, grill it, and pack it away in the freezer. After all, grilled corn is a real treat when the bitter winds of February are blowing! So, we picked up an armload of corn.

We also grabbed a nice bunch of arugula from our friends at Jen Ehr Farm. We shouldn't pick favorites, but the good people at Jen Ehr are some of the best at the market. They're bright, and friendly, and their produce is simply top notch.
After making a quick dressing from a bit of mayonnaise, some Zemo garlic (which seems to be a nice, mild variety just right for eating raw), a bit of lemon, some buttermilk, some cayenne and black pepper... I stirred it together with a few chopped radishes, part of a red onion, and some of the corn.I tossed the arugula in -- and then plated everything up, tossing a bit of crumbled gorgonzola on top at the last minute.
Sweet, peppery, cruncy, and delicious. I couldn't be happier with how this concoction turned out. This really is the sort of salad that I want to eat on a cool, October day.
Looking back, I'm thinking this would make the perfect chopped salad to serve alongside a nice grass-fed steak. But, I could also see it paired with a bit of protein as something more akin to main dish fare.
Either way -- enjoy!
End of Summer Corn and Arugula Salad

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Seafood Enchiladas

I started cooking seriously while I was in college. Sure, I did my share of playing with ramen noodles and making boxed macaroni and cheese... but, most of the time I was trying to come up with good food that met a couple of basic criteria:

1. It was something I could afford.
2. It didn't take too terribly long to make.

If I could accomplish both of the above, and make something that was also a bit inventive, I felt like I'd really accomplished something. So, I made that a primary goal.

Some of the staples I always seemed to keep around my tiny apartment kitchen were milk, tortillas, and mushrooms (I happened to really LIKE mushrooms. They were relatively affordable, and they subbed in for meat fairly easily in most recipes.) I also kept a bag of flour around, just in case I had the urge to bake cookies or brownies or something. But, I also had a tendency to keep a box of imitation crab meat around.

I'm not really sure where I acquired my affinity for imitation crab. But, it seemed to elevate my cooking (at the time) to a level not previously achieved. So, I started to stockpile packages of it when it went on sale. Suddenly, I had a box of "crab" in the freezer at almost any given moment... and it led me to a bit of new-found inspiration.

Combining a bit of the "crab" meat with a few mushrooms, some corn, and a few select seasonings, I found that it made a decent filling for enchiladas.
So, I started wrapping a bit of the filling in flour tortillas.
Cloaking the delicious bundles in a bit of spicy bechemel sauce seemed intuitive, so I tried that.
And adding a bit of cheese (and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper) as a topping, and baking the whole mess in the oven for 20-25 minutes granted me a dish that was rich, creamy, and satisfying.
I started making my "seafood" enchiladas on a fairly regular basis. They were a dish that "christened" every new apartment into which I moved... and I started making them regularly for friends when they moved into THEIR apartments. And soon, the dish caught on and became a bit like a signature dish.
These days, making seafood enchiladas is a practice that not only takes me WAY back... but it also fulfills one of my most basic comfort food cravings as the autumn weather begins to encroach. I've started adding embellishments here and there -- a bit of cilantro, a few salad shrimp, and often some sweet bell peppers to add a bit of additional flavor and some color. This particular version happened to contain a couple of Holy Mole peppers from the garden, which added a nice bit of depth. But, no matter how much the dish evolves, it always carries with it a bit of that original inventive spirit.

I can't possibly package up all the good memories that this dish brings with it. But, I am more than willing to share the recipe that made them all possible. So, here goes.

Seafood Enchiladas


©BURP! Where Food Happens

A New Way with Corn on the Cob

Ah, corn on the cob... and all the mixed feelings it stirs within my loins by the end of August!

Don't get me wrong. I think sweet summer corn is one of the best things around. And I'm a firm believer in getting as much of something as I possibly can while it's in season. But, I have to admit that I grow tired of eating corn the same old way, week after week, in the heat of summer.
So, we try to find ways to change it up a bit.
When the first corn on the cob is available, we grab three or four ears at a time and make it into a meal. We grill it. And when we tire of grilling it, we steam it. When steaming it grows old, we cut it off the cob and throw it into our pasta. And our rice. And our eggs. And when we tire of doing that... we bake it.

Yup. Baked corn.
Can't beat it.

First, you need some primo corn on the cob. Shuck it and make it all pretty.
Then, you need some nice fresh bread crumbs.
And a bit of mayonnaise spiked with some lime juice, a bit of salt, a couple of cloves of garlic, and a few finely chopped jalapenos (the only requisite here is the mayo... so experiment away!).
You want to slather some of that mayonnaise right on each of the cobs. Get it all over -- into the grooves and right up to the edges of the cob.
Then, roll the mayo-covered cobs into the breadcrumbs.
Bake these lovely specimens at 375º for about 35-40 minutes, and you have yourself a tasty treat that will take the doldrums right out of corn season.

Trust me.


©BURP! Where Food Happens