VeggieDag Thursday: Corn, Tomatillos, & Pizza Pie

Three quick links for a summer edition of VeggieDag Thursday.

How to grill corn? ... Just grill it, baby! From Mark Bittman at the New York Times, with suggestions for 4 sauces (other than salt and butter).

Personally, I love the charred, popcorn-like flavor that corn gets when it’s exposed directly to the flame, so I grill my corn out of the husk and until it’s browned — really browned — in a few places; as it happens, this usually leaves other parts bright yellow. Not only is this super-easy but it results in the kind of flavor I associate with the crunchy street corn of Mexico.

Golf-ball sized green tomatoes wrapped in tan, papery husks? Tomatillos! Salsa and 4 more ways to cook them, from the Smithsonian's Food & Think:

The tomatillos broiled quickly in the toaster oven, and had a citrusy tang of their own before we even added the lime juice. The resulting salsa jazzed up our roasted corn, pepper & bean burritos that night, and our veggie burgers the next night.

There seems to be another 'gourmet' pizza parlor opening every other day in the Washington, D.C. area. What should one look for in a good pizza pie?


From Ed Levine, the author of Pizza: A Slice of Heaven —a 3-step lesson, it's the crust, the mozzarella, and the sauce.

The superior pizza crust is neither cracker-thin nor thick as bread. It should have a veneer of crispness and be softer and more tender on the inside. A great pizza crust should have browned and blackened char spots. They lend a needed bit of smoky flavor. The interior of the crust should have the hole structure of well-made and well-baked bread.

For the cheese Fior di latte —fresh cow's milk mozzarella— and for the sauce, uncooked canned tomatoes —from either California or Italy— strained and seasoned with salt and maybe some oregano.

***********************
VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on vegetarian issues. Why the name? Here.
Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks welcomed! Here.