COLD CORN SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Bring two quarts water to boil. Add corn. Cook for two minutes. Remove. Reserve cooking water. 2. Run corn under cold water to cool. With a sharp knife, slice all corn kernels away from cob. Using the blunt side of your knife's blade, scrape along the naked cob to extract any corn nuggets and milk. Reserve and set aside. A dough scraper is a handy tool here to scoop up the milky mass. 3. Return corn cobs along with onion to cooking water. Simmer for 30 minutes. 4. Remove cob, taking care to pull off and save cooked onions. Strain out onions reserving both the onions and corn stock. 5. Add reserved corn and onions to blender jar. Add half of stock and blend and blend and blend until soup is creamy and smooth. Add more stock as necessary to blender and obtain a soupy consistency. Add stock slowly as you can always add more, but once it gets too thin there's not much you can do except make more to add to your too thin batch. 6. Add salt to taste remembering that is things get cold, saltiness reduces. Chill until cold, at least two hours. Taste for salt and adjust to taste. Garnish with a little chopped fresh herbs. You can also serve this in a demitasse or sake cup as an hors d'oeuvres. Half the recipe to serve 12-15, depending on size of your cups. I served mine with a sweet and hot pepper and red onion relish, but that's a blog for tomorrow's post. Check in early-before you head to your local farmers' market. You will be able to find this recipe at At Home Online, the companion website to At Home by Steve Poses: A Caterer's Guide to Cooking & Entertaining when it's launched in late September just in time for the end of summer's corn harvest. Quick tip-An ear of corn for one: Shuck your corn. Wrap it in several layers of paper towel or a clean dish towel. Mositen until quite wet but not dripping. Place in microwave for one or two minutes. Allow to sit for another one or two minutes. Unwrap and eat.