Greater Than the Sum: Penne with Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes

This one is another dish that's only as good as the veggies you can get your hands on; last night it was transcendent but if you made it with crappy vegetables (in the winter, say) it might not be much fun. It's also endlessly adaptable--I'm guessing most vegetables would do pretty well in this, although the combination in the original isn't something I'd necessarily want to mess with.

Basically, take the corn off three or so ears--you want about a cup of kernels--and brown them in some olive oil. Then add the zucchini, let it go a few more minutes, and then add the onions and optional garlic. When the onions are softened, you add some diced tomatoes, turn down the heat a bit, and cook the pasta.

When the pasta's just about done (don't overcook it) throw it in the pan with the veggies, mix, add a bit more olive oil and some of the pasta cooking water if you like, and you're done. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Cracking the Dressings: Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette

18 Variations on Vinaigrette, another chart in How to Cook Everything that's just completely loaded with potential. All of them are variations on the classic template: oil, acid (vinegar, lemon juice, what have you), salt, pepper, hopefully some shallot and maybe a little bit of garlic.

Bittman swears by emulsifying it all in the food processor, as the cleanup time still makes up for the whisking-by-hand time, not to mention the stress on your wrist.

So for Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette, first you roast a pepper (in this case, a red one). I do this on the burner, turning it with tongs until it's black all over. The one you see here is about halfway there.

Then stick it in a plastic bag and seal it so that the pepper steams as it cools. You can then peel it with your fingers under running cold water, slice it open, remove the stem and seeds, and you're ready to make the dressing.

Olive oil (something like 1/3 cup), good wine vinegar (I used sherry vinegar, around 3 tbs.) and the pepper are all that Bittman suggests, along with salt and pepper, of course. I added to this a bit of shallot, because hey, why not?

Let 'er rip.

And here's what you get: a delicious salad dressing that tastes so much better than even the best storebought (which, for the record, is Newman's Own). If only it kept for longer, I'd make it by the gallon. Oh, well. Can't win 'em all.