Simmer Down

all ingredients and let rest for at least half an hour before serving. This makes about two cups of vinaigrette, but if you are going to the trouble of making your own dressing, you might as well make a little extra to store in the fridge!

    It takes a few steps to make this dish, but it is really very simple to put together!

    Corn Polenta

    3 ears corn
    1 tbsp. olive oil
    2 tbsp. butter
    Salt
    4 cups chicken stock
    ½ cup heavy cream
    Pepper
    ½ tsp. nutmeg
    1 cup instant polenta
    ½ cup Parmesan cheese

    Remove husks from all the ears of corn. Hold one ear vertically on a cutting board and, using a sharp paring knife, slice off the kernels from top to bottom. Repeat with the other two ears of corn so that you have about two cups of corn kernels. Heat a sauté pan on high heat with the olive oil and 1 tbsp. of the butter. Toss the corn kernels in and season with Vi tsp. of salt. Cook for a minute and a half, stirring occasionally, and then set aside.
    In a medium pot, bring the chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of the butter, cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg just to a boil. Whisk in the polenta and stir well until thoroughly incorporated. Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the sautéed kernels of corn and the Parmesan cheese. Check the seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Turn the heat down to low and set aside until serving.

    Sweet Corn Sauce

    6 ears corn
    ½ cup heavy cream
    ½ cup chicken stock
    Salt and pepper
    ¼ tsp. dried thyme, or 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
    3 tbsp. parmesan cheese

    Remove the husks and stems from the ears of corn. Grate each ear lengthwise against a grater to produce a chunky but milky corn puree. Set aside.
    In a medium saucepan or pot, combine all ingredients except for the cheese, and bring to a nice simmer. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and mix until well incorporated. Set aside while you cook the shrimp.

    Shrimp

    1 tbsp. butter
    1 tbsp. olive oil
    20 large shrimp, or 16 jumbo (U12) shrimp, peeled and deveined
    ½ tsp. salt
    ½ tsp. black pepper

    Season the shrimp with the salt and pepper.
    Heat the butter and olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the butter has begun to foam, toss the shrimp in. Stir as needed until the shrimp have turned pink and are thoroughly cooked through, about five minutes.
    To serve: In the center of each plate, ladle out a generous serving of the corn polenta. Place 4 or 5 shrimp on top of the polenta and then spoon the sweet corn sauce over the shrimp. If you are using fresh thyme, you can garnish the dish with a small sprig of the herb.

    5 large potatoes, washed and peeled, sliced into ¼-inch-thick pieces
    4—6 oz. Stilton cheese, crumbled
    3 tbsp. chopped parsley
    Salt and white pepper
    3 cups heavy cream
    2 eggs, beaten

    Preheat oven to 350o. Grease a 9 X 9-inch baking pan and layer the bottom of the pan with potato slices. Sprinkle on some of the Stilton and the parsley, and then add a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Repeat the layering process, beginning with the potatoes, until you have filled the baking dish. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small pan and remove from heat. Temper the beaten eggs by adding a small amount of the hot cream and whisking until incorporated. Slowly add the rest of the cream, whisking as you go. Pour this mixture evenly over the potatoes and bake uncovered at 350o for 45 minutes or until the cream sauce is bubbling and the potatoes are tender.

    Depending on where you shop, you may or may not be able to find true “baby” vegetables, but you can simply buy larger sizes of your favorites and cut them down into roughly one-inch chunks. For this dish, you can use whatever vegetables you choose and select from the best of the season, but you’ll want to select hard, dense vegetables (butternut squash, carrots) as opposed to softer ones (summer squash, tomatoes). If you are making the Stilton Potato Cake, you can pop your tray of vegetables in to cook with it.

    Recommended Vegetables

    All of your vegetables need to be well washed, peeled, and destemmed. Use any or all of the following to total about four cups:

    Baby carrots (not the prepackaged, bagged ones)
    Cauliflower florets
    Butternut or acorn squash
    Baby onions or any larger onions
    Baby or regular-sized beets
    Brussels sprouts, sliced in half
    Celery root
    Parsnips
    Beets

    Other ingredients:

    ⅓ cup olive oil
    1 tsp. each salt and pepper
    Optional: 3 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme or both, or 2 tsp. of dried herbs

    Preheat the oven