I’ve never been enthusiastic about coosa zucchini. I usually find it bland and uninteresting. Tonight I decided to treat it differently: a screaming-hot pan for deep caramelization, garlic added at the end, fresh basil from the garden, lemon, and Gustiamo pignoli. It completely changed my opinion of the vegetable.

My plan for dinner tonight was to make a long-time favorite of mine, Pan-Roasted Corn Risotto. It was invented over 25 years ago by one of the chefs in Todd English’s restaurant, Figs.

After buying the corn this afternoon at Harper’s Farm in Lancaster, MA, I decided to buy some Coosa Zucchini, a somewhat bulbous vegetable to add as a side dish.

The next step was to confer with my colleague, ChatGPT, to figure out how to cook this in a new way. Here was his suggestion:

We are not crazy about Mint, so I substituted Fresh Basil from the garden and added some excellent Italian pine nuts from Gustiamo, and then proceeded from there. The results were outstanding, reinforced by a glass of Vermentino from Birichino in California.

ChatGPT is a very helpful partner in these ventures, but he also has difficulty restraining the urge to be a marketing guy, too. I’ll give him a few lines for his contributions:

The dinner now reads like this:

• Pan-Roasted Corn Risotto
• Charred Coosa Zucchini with garlic, basil, lemon, and Gustiamo pignoli
• Birichino Vermentino

I’d also mention the wine. Something as simple as:

The Birichino Vermentino was the perfect partner. Its citrus, herbal notes, and lively acidity balanced the sweetness of the corn and refreshed the palate after each creamy bite of risotto.

Buon appetito!