Destinee Hooker plays for the US Women’s volleyball team…At 6’4″ and 150lbs, she’s an intimidating presence on the team and one of the most talked about athletes at this Olympics. Destinee can jump 12 feet to attack a ball mid-arc.

It was the press coverage surrounding Destinee – well, actually, it was her name which I thought at first that I misheard – that made me tune-in to Women’s Volleyball the other day. I’m not well-versed in the sport. Outside of the accidental inclusion in a gym class game, my best experience comes from cringing when I remember the scene from Meet the Parents. During an intensely competitive game of pool volleyball, Ben Stiller’s character clad in ’70s Speedo slams a ball into the face of his fiancee’s sister breaking her nose just before her wedding. The cringing starts when Ben Stiller emerges from the dressing room in his Speedo and culminates with the super slo-mo shot into his sister-in-law to be’s face. OK…cringing now.

Pain is not really my thing and, as one of my friends aptly put it as we were watching the game (or is it a match in Volleyball???) ‘That looks like it really hurts’.

In addition to learning a good deal about Destinee and her fierce athletic ability, I also picked up a term or two while watching. Side-Out is when the serving team loses the point and must turn over the serve to the other team.

In honor of Destinee and all of the US Volleyball players – especially the men’s beach volleyballers – I am featuring a delicious and easy side dish:

Toasted Corn

Put 4-5 medium sized ears of corn in a large stock pot and fill with water

Put the pot on the stove top with the burner on ‘high’

Add 1-2 pats of butter and a healthy splash of milk

When the pot comes to a boil, turn the heat off and cover the pot

After 12 minutes, remove the lid and extract the ears of corn

Allow the corn to cool slightly

Heat a tsp of Olive Oil in a large frying pan or cast iron skillet

While the oil is heating, carefully slice the kernels off of each cob and transfer to a bowl.

When the oil is just shy of smoking, add the kernels

Stir occasionally as the kernels toast in the Olive Oil

Once toasted to taste – Anne Burrell says ‘Brown Food is Good Food’ and I agree – remove from the pan and serve.

Enjoy! and….Go USA!