I got a text last weekend from a friend who was driving home from upstate New York: “Do you need any corn?” The answer to questions like this is always yes. She arrived with a dozen ears, explaining that everyone in her house had hit the corn farm stand separately, so they had plenty to spare. I immediately put them in the microwave, four at a time for three minutes and then let them cool. The aim was to heat them just enough for the husks and the silk to slip off easily, but not enough to cook them through. Then I cut off the kernels and stuck them in the freezer so I could make sheet-pan tofu with corn and chiles and brothy corn and salmon chowder all winter long. The new question was, what to do with the cobs? Do I make corn broth or corn custard or corn cob jelly? In the end, I’m going to admit that I was tired. And it was getting late, and the compost bin was beckoning. So that’s where they went. But I regret it. What do you do with your extra corn cobs? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com. That said, at least I’ve got a freezer full of sweet corn kernels at the ready.
Crumby, not crummyThe busyness of fall hit me like a 10-ton truck. Now is when I really need all those easy, speedy back-pocket recipes to make on repeat. A family favorite is what we affectionately call “crumby pasta,” or more correctly, spaghetti with garlicky bread crumbs and anchovies. It’s my take on a Southern Italian classic, with a twist: I like to coat the pasta with egg yolk, hot sauce and fish sauce for creaminess and funk. Then the oil-crisped bread crumbs get sprinkled on top for a contrasting crunch. View this recipe: Spaghetti with garlicky bread crumbs and anchovies Recipes for your weekIn case “easy, speedy back-pocket recipes to make on repeat” got you nodding, here are five more to add to your rotation. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Reading and eatingBread crumbs always remind me of Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” It’s the coming-of-age story of Francie Nolan, a bookworm who loves reading Louisa May Alcott books on the fire escape of her Williamsburg tenement building in the shade of an ailanthus tree. Necessarily frugal (Francie’s father had a drinking problem and couldn’t keep a job), Francie’s mother made magical meals out of stale bread, turning it into bread pudding, fritters and pan-fried meatballs the family called fricadellen. In my mind, I’ve always pictured fricadellen a bit like Swedish meatballs, with the meat-to-bread ratio swapped in favor of the bread.
What are you reading? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com — I’m always looking for my next great read. That’s all for now. See you tomorrow. Melissa Clark has been writing about food for The New York Times since 1997 and is the author of 46 cookbooks. Her latest is “The Big Book of Dinner,” coming in November. You can reach her at hellomelissa@nytimes.com. Editors: Mia Leimkuhler and Li Goldstein. Host photo: Melanie Dunea. For help with your New York Times Cooking subscription, please email cookingcare@nytimes.com. Was this email forwarded to you? You can sign up for our New York Times Cooking newsletter here.
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