This is Day 6 of my Sweet on Corn series. That means it is the sixth of seven posts dedicated to sweet summer corn. I always forget how hard these series can be, too. But when I say seven posts in a row. I mean it. Seven posts. Seven days. No breaks.

But that doesn't mean I can't simplify some. So today's corn conundrum solves itself with a pasta dish.

It’s not something you see every day but “fresh corn and pasta make a great combination of flavors. When sun-dried tomatoes and toasted garlic are added you get an intensity of flavors that belies the simplicity of the cooking.”

That’s a quote from Michael Chiarello. He sums this pasta dish up very well– so I went ahead and included his words. The inspiration and flavors for today’s corn recipe comes from him. Sure I simplified and edited quite a bit from his original recipe, but I do believe I kept the spirit intact. So much intact that the quote seems to work with my version as well as it works with his. Besides I can’t imagine saying it any better than he did. Especially on day six of a week-long corn marathon.

But I still need to put my two cents in some place, so I decided to illustrate the perfect simplicity that defines this dish with an equally simple still life as my mise en place photo. I get a lot of pleasure putting together ingredient vignettes like this. The photo meanies don't seem to like them, but it's Day 6 and I don't really care! Besides I like to think these shots are art, not food porn. Because for me there is pleasure in mise en place in general, whether I plan to photograph it or not.

There is something about finger food. It seems both sophisticated and mischievous.

I guess that's because there is something heedless and hedonistic about eating with your fingers. It's the standing part that makes it feel so sophisticated.

Still, on the flip side– finger food can make you feel downright childlike too (and I mean that in a good way). Boring old grown-ups sit politely while eating, napkins in laps. But us cocktail kids get to slink around the room– glass in one hand, tidbit in the other. It’s that wonderful moment when your past and present selves playfully intertwine in a way that seldom happens at the dinner table.

Of course the best thing about finger food is that it is associated with parties. I guess that's why finger food doesn’t feel like calories, does it? Finger food usually mingles on a communal platter, enticing its intended targets (you and I) to follow suit.