This recipe makes me happy.

Corn & Zucchini Fritter Stacks with Bacon and Avocado.

But that is just a name. It does not begin to describe the joy you will experience when this bundle of cheddar cheese, bacon and avocado layered between two corn & zucchini fritters lands in front of you.

That’s because you pick ‘em up with your hands and eat ’em slider style. I am serving this bit of culinary craziness with some cherry tomatoes on the side. Because you just know some of that goodness is going to slip between your fingers and onto the plate. I wouldn’t want those stray corn kernels, or wayward bacon crumbles to get lonely or feel rejected. The tomatoes will be waiting on the plate to greet them as they drop down. Then in perfect phase-two style, you can pick up a fork and clean your plate in a very civilized fashion!

Can you think of a better breakfast, lunch or dinner? Though truthfully, I can’t even decide what time of day best suits this masterpiece. Because like all great art, it defies modest mores and manners. It sets a bold new direction all its own.

Oh wait, did I tell you there is a drizzle of aged balsamic in there too. Not too much, but enough. Because all “sandwiches” deserve the perfect condiment.

This is Day 4 in my corny tribute to the Sweetheart of Sigma Summer! Sweet on Corn.

I have a simple summer meal for you. Seared Scallops with Succotash.

It's a great warm weather dinner because it takes advantage of super sweet summer corn while it’s at its best. Besides there is no oven to turn on and very little hanging over a hot stove involved. The scallops are seared a mere 4 or 5 minutes. The succotash just a few moments longer. It could even be made ahead and served at room temperature. Further simplifying the preparation.

But I think its best served warm, with a cool and crisply acidic chardonnay. Which is no bother because two people working in tandem can get this meal on the table in 8 minutes flat, once the prep work is done.

Still, just because this is a quick cook meal does not mean you can get sloppy about the details. I am quite finicky about scallops.

Scallops should be served rare, if you cook them all the way through you are destroying their delicate nature. An overcooked scallop is a rubbery waste of money. But just because I won't submit to an overcooked scallop does not mean I want it undercooked or improperly cooked either. In fact I like quite a bit of crunchy crusty searing on my scallops.

Okay who is Claire Robinson and why is she stealing all my best ideas? It is particularly annoying because somehow she has figured out a way to steal all my best ideas before I even have them. Now that’s nefarious!

Last year I made Chili Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were an excellent inspiration I’d had while nibbling on a candy bar from Lindt. It was a chili chocolate candy bar made from very dark chocolate and a hint of heat in the form of chili powder.

It was a sumptuously interesting bite of chocolate too, and I immediately knew it would find its way into a cookie from my kitchen. Though I had enjoyed chili-infused chocolate before during my travels in Mexico, this Lindt version was the first time I had seen this combination of flavors north of the border– in a nationally available brand.

I was very pleased with those cookies and I recently had the hankering to make them again. But, you know what? I nailed those cookies the first time I made them. They were no challenge to me at all. I craved a chocolaty, chili-induced challenge. And then, at that precise moment it hit me… just like the Chili Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe the idea for another chili chocolate recipe popped into my head fully formed. Chocolate Chili Dipped Strawberries!