Who Wants To Eat a Mock Shoe?

You would, if it had a stick and half of butter in it. Would it make you feel better to know that it's actually spelled "maquechoux," and is just one of those crazy French words that's pronounced not at all phonetically? In this case, it's pronounced, yes, "mock shoe." So. I make maquechoux every year. It's a Cajun kind of side dish. Not one I learned from my mother, however. My mother, as far as I know, has never had maquechoux. But that's because my mother has never had several dozen ears of corn to dispose of in a pleasing and tasty manner. But I do! Enter maquechoux. Maquechoux has very few ingredients: corn, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, butter, salt, water, cayenne pepper. The end. It's a side dish, meant to be served hot. I make a batch of it at the height of corn season (which is now--HELP) and freeze it for the winter. My batch is three quarts and maquechoux is, incidentally, fantastic dumped over mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes aren't very Cajun, but what the hell. Neither am I. The MiL REALLY loves maquechoux, by the way. In fact, I make it mostly for her. Oh, did you want the recipe? Yeah, I thought so. I know what happens when I casually mention some food and fail to give you a recipe. Anarchy, that's what. Here we go . . . Not Mama Sue's Maquechoux

Ingredients

12 ears fresh corn

1.5 sticks of butter (the original recipe I use calls for a full 2 sticks, but I think that's overkill)

1.5 cups chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped (the recipe says to peel--I never bother) OR .5 cups canned whole tomatoes, mashed with their can juice

.5 cup water

Salt and cayenne to taste (I use MAYBE an eighth of a teaspoon of cayenne--but I'm pretty wimpy) Instructions

1) Cut the corn from the cob (using, of course, my patented no-flying-corn-kernels method--not really on the patented part). Scrape the cobs with the blunt edge of the knife to remove the "milk." Set aside.

2) Heat the butter in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until golden and soft, about 10 minutes.

3) Add corn, tomatoes, and water. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

4) Add salt and cayenne and cook until corn is very tender, 20-30 minutes more.