Fireworks, Fanfare, and a Week of Fridays.

So... have you ever had one of those weeks where every day feels like it should be Friday? It was Tuesday evening and I was like man, tomorrow I can just hang out and chill....wrong. Tuesday was definitely not Friday. I can't begin to explain to you how deeply bummed I was that it was not Friday. All that to say that it has been a long week. I am looking forward to this weekend! I love fireworks, I love the smells of barbecuing, and most of all I love getting together with friends, enjoying good games, eating some awesome food and of course drinking cold beer! Gluten-Free beer of course...well most of the time. I still have to cheat a little when I can! 

I have been thinking about what to take to our friend's party and decided that there are two awesome things I'd love to take! First is going to be something so simple that I could do it in my sleep. Now that I have you at least a little interested I'll just go ahead and tell you! Can you guess? Corn...but not just any corn it has to be Silver Queen corn!! It is a white variety that is so sweet it's almost like eating candy! We usually get it from the local farmer's market where it was literally picked that morning. Freshness is the key to good corn because it starts to lose its sweetness as soon as it is picked.  Don't be afraid to ask them if you can open one up and taste it right then and there! The kernels should be really plump and sweet! You should choose corn that looks full. Now the hard part....husking it....blah! May it never be! Don't even move your greedy little hands towards that husk! Just leave it alone. I promise you that there is a great reward to those who wait! I said NO! Leave it alone or you'll go blind! lol Seriously though this recipe is so easy! Just fire up the oven to 350 degrees and when the oven is ready pull the silk off the top of the corn and toss those babies right in there. Place 'em right on the rack. No pan. No anything! Just on the rack. Now forget about them for about 35 minutes. The husk will keep the moisture in and impart a deep earthy sweetness that will rock your taste-buds! To serve it just peel the husks back and stack them on a plate. They look really festive and really gourmet! Your friends will be astonished! I promise they will because no one knows about this beautiful native Mexican secret! Well most Mexicans do but hey... I love to serve mine with a chipolte butter and a little Old Bay seasoning! Or, my wife thinks this is so gross, I love to eat mine with a little mayo, kosher salt, and fresh pepper! Wow is that good! Hey you should try it and then comment about how good it is! :) Hahaha! 

So the other item is not so easy and I really don't have a recipe for it yet but after this weekend I will. I going to attempt to make a dessert pizza! Not to hard until you factor in the whole gluten-free issue! I imagine that it is going to go something like this: Gluten-free shortbread cookie crust lavished with my own tropical whipped cream ( no not coolwhip real honest cream, etc.) Like I said recipe next week! Then topped with freshly picked blueberries, fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple, and brushed with a minted simple syrup to make it glossy! All easy except the shortbread part! Not sure even how to make a shortbread cookie gluten-free because real flour is sooooo different than gluten-free flour blends. Well we shall see together. I will let you know on Monday how it went! Oh and as a teaser I think that I may have worked out a gluten-free Chicago Deep Dish Pizza recipe last night as I could not sleep!! What?! I am so trying it out this weekend! Lots to write about next week! Ok I promis that even if I fail I will let you know so that you won't make the same mistakes I did. See, I know you all look up to me to waste time and money working these things out so that you don't have to. :) 

Have a safe and happy 4th!  

Recipe for corn on recipes page for quick reference.