We don’t know who threw Lucky Peach over our virtual transom, but we were stunned at how far David Chang’s food magazine and site come since its early days. Its archive is chock full of compelling  and recipes and the thinking-behind-them from some of today’s most out-there chefs. It makes for sublime food porn, as well as really exciting summer cooking, from the great Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies to breezy do-able summer fare, including some sensational salads and infused whipped creams —corn, fennel…— to Alex Stupak’s Cheeseburger Tacos to  some challenging molecular gastronomy numbers by Wylie Dufresne et al.

 

Our favorite: Brooks Headley Corn Whipped Cream (above), as much for the IDEA of infusing corn cobs in cream to make a corn-infused whipped cream as for her funny, evocative writing. (Hidden within it is a method for an infused apricot-kernel “Pit Cream” whose method of extracting the apricot kernel by cracking them with a frying pan was “really fun, ominous, and gratifying“.

Here’s Headley’s description (slightly edited):

My deputy Annie and I made flavored whipped creams rather than deal with that goddamn piece-of-shit Carpigiani Quartetto gelato machine (the name rankles my neck hairs still). It was summer, and we had amazing Italian apricots and not-so-hot Italian corn on the cob. For all the polenta consumed in Northern Italy, you would think you could find nice fresh corn. I found only weird, starchy garbage…

The corn was inedible. It tasted like corn, but the kernels refused to break down as you chewed. So we stripped the cobs and soaked them in cream to make a corn stock. The cobs looked like chicken bones or chicken necks floating in the pot. But they infused the liquid with a beautiful corn flavor: a perfect match for blackberries.

You’ll find the simple recipe here.

While we’re on the subject of infused whipped cream, dig this simple method for making Fennel Whipped Cream that we found in Kristen Rasmussen’s Cherry and Wild Fennel Clafoutis (at top):

Place chopped fennel in a Mason jar, pour the whipping cream over the top, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Remove fennel and beat cream to soft peaks, adding the sugar and vanilla towards the end of beating. Refrigerate until ready to use.

The GREAT Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies are here:  “a blend of dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Crisp enough to crunch as you bite into the edge of the cookie, sweet enough to satisfy your three p.m. or three a.m. cravings, and, with their subtle salt finish, sophisticated enough to serve at high tea or homecoming. 

Joshua McFadden’s Grilled Chicories with Pine Nuts, Dried Blueberries, Chilies, and Breadcrumbs is “is all about the sweet and sour, plus a solid hit of bitter”  and comes with a psychological headsup: “Make sure to pay attention as you’re grilling…[the chicories]  You want a nice char, but you don’t want it incinerated. Move it around the fire a bit, and don’t lose your nerve.”

We are seriously craving Gabrielle Hamilton’s brilliant Marinated White Anchovies with Shaved Celery and Warm Marcona Almonds, which combines 2 of Spain’s archetypical ingredients with celery and parsley leaves.