It's sweet corn season, plus foods we miss

Hello friends,

Over the weekend I had a taste of some of the first of the summer's sweet corn. My friend had picked it up at Sunscape Farms , and it was incredibly sweet and crispy. I'm sure it's turning up at other farm stands, so get yours now.

I usually enjoy corn prepared simply with butter and salt, but here are some other possibilities from the archives:

∎ Put it in a healthy salad (my article also gives hints about cooking it).

∎ Add it to a salad with bacon and peppers (from the Rochester Public Market).

∎ Serve it to guests with a buffet of toppings (from my predecessor Karen Miltner).

∎ Add it to fritters on the waffle iron .

Got a favorite corn recipe? Know of a restaurant doing something wonderful with local sweet corn? Send details my way!

Foods we miss

I recently got a press release that said the discontinued fast food menu items that we miss the most are:

• McDonald’s McRib
• Chipotle Carne Asada
• Domino’s Brooklyn Style Pizza
• Taco Bell Enchirito
• Mcdonald's Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait
• Burger King Salads
• Arby’s Potato Cakes
• Taco Bell Meximelt
• Taco Bell Taco Salad
• KFC Potato Wedges

I pondered what fast foods I miss and couldn't come up with a dang thing. I remember ordering a McRib once and thought it was awful. I ate many an Enchirito when I was younger, but don't particularly miss it.

My mind wandered to other Rochester-area foods I miss:

• The Manhattan Pecan Kuchen from Wegmans.
• The big round loaves of cinnamon swirl bread at Montana Mills, later Great Harvest Bread. It made the world's best French toast. I also loved their turkey sandwich , which had a tasty herb mayo; I'd order it the day they served cranberry orange bread.
• The macaroni and cheese pizza at Great Northern Pizza Kitchen. (Sounds gross, I know, but my sons loved it when they were little and I'd always snag a few bites.)
• Seafood skewers at Jonathan's Broiled Seafood, the place before Tully's on Jefferson Road.
• The gorgeous lobster ravioli and the comforting steak pasta at The Brasserie downtown.
• The melanzane torte , a layered eggplant-and-veggie pie served only as a special at Remington's on Merchants.
• And those Korean chicken wings at ButaPub sure were good.

Do you have a local food or dish that you miss? Send me an email and tell me about it.

Events of the week

New York Kitchen will host a New York State of Mind series of events Aug. 9 to 13 . Some will feature chef Nancy Fuller , a native of Claverack, New York. She hosts the Food Network show Farmhouse Rules, wrote a cookbook by the same name, and she's also known for being a judge on the Food Network shows Holiday Baking Championship and Spring Baking Championship.

On Saturday, Aug. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m., New York Kitchen and The Lake House on Canandaigua will a cohost a five-course Finger Lakes Farmhouse Wine Dinner . The meal will feature recipes from Fuller's cookbook, prepared by Lake House executive chef Garrette Gray and his team. Each course will be paired with a Finger Lakes wine. The cost of the dinner at The Lake House on Canandaigua, 770 S. Main St. in Canandaigua, is $250 per person. Before the meal, guests may attend a meet and greet with Fuller from 5:30 to 6 p.m. for an additional $30. A portion of each ticket will support New York Kitchen’s culinary and craft beverage education programs.

On Sunday, Aug. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. New York State distillers Black Button Distilling, Iron Smoke Distillery , and McKenzie bourbon crafted at Finger Lakes Distilling will go head-to-head in a Battle of the Bourbons. Guests will be greeted with Fuller's GiGi Juice and appetizer recipes from her cookbook. Competitors will take the stage to talk about their bourbon and demonstrate a signature cocktail recipe, followed by a panel discussion with Fuller and the distillers. Tastings will be neat and in cocktail form. Guests will vote on a favorite. Tickets are $55.

Find more info and purchase tickets for all the events at nykitchen.com .

Find more summer food and drink events here . And if you have an event you think is worth mentioning, send it to me at tracys@gannett.com .

Scroll down for this week's food headlines. I'll be heading out for a summer vacation, so I'll be back in two weeks!

Tracy Schuhmacher, food, drink and culture reporter

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: It's sweet corn season, plus foods we miss