Southern Cornbread

Last night for dinner we had Taco Soup (it's a favorite in this house). I decided to try a different recipe for our cornbread. I typically make a sweeter cornbread but I wanted to try a more "southern" style. I really enjoyed the way this came out. I had mixed reviews about from the boys. They all liked it but a couple preferred the sweeter bread. All said it went really well with the soup though. Making cornbread from scratch is not any more labor intensive than opening a box of Jiffy mix!

*I pulled this recipe from a food network magazine from a couple years ago. It's a Chef Cat Cora recipe.

Southern Cornbread

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (shake before measuring)
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and position a rack in the middle. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan.

Melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish in three 15-second intervals on high or in a small pan on the stove. Set it aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the eggs. Add the melted butter. Add the flour-cornmeal mixture and stir just until combined. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until it just begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 23 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Drop Biscuits

(Someday I will own a fancy camera that will take better food pictures than my point and shoot digital camera)

I admit I used to be a big Bisquick biscuit fan. I used to think it was just the easiest way to go when it came to making drop biscuits. Then I came across this recipe from Chef John Besh and I haven't looked back. These are very simple to make and so tasty. I whipped these biscuits up last night to make biscuits and gravy for dinner last night. Then I popped a couple of the leftover biscuits in the oven this morning and has a wonderful breakfast of biscuits with homemade apple butter. These are perfect for strawberry shortcakes (just add a little more sugar to sweeten it up a bit).

Easy Drop Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in large mixing bowl. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut the butter into the mixture. Slowly stir in the milk and mix gently until the dough comes together.

Drop the dough onto a baking sheet by spoon fulls to make 12 biscuits. Leave enough space between each biscuit for them to expand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
Two cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 tablespoons, cold (1 stick)
3/4 cup of buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, you can take just under 1 cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, mix and let sit for about 15 minutes)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and work into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add the liquid, mixing until a bit loose and sticky.
Pour dough out on a floured surface, and knead for a minute. Dough should be smooth and no longer wet. You can sprinkle more flour on the surface if you find it’s sticking.
Take dough into a ball, knead it for a few more minutes. Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half. Using a round cutter cut out your biscuits from folded dough.
Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Sausage Biscuits & Gravy

Sometimes I feel lazy and don't want to go all out for dinner. Nothing is more simple and pleasing than breakfast for dinner! Last night we had Biscuits and Gravy and everyone was happy. A friend asked me if I even made the biscuits with "cut butter" and all. The answer is yes...it's not hard to do though it might sound intimidating.

Here is a simple recipe to use as a base for your gravy. You can really use this cream gravy with anything..mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak, biscuits..whatever makes you happy!

I typically brown up some sausage to sprinkle into the gravy and then I also use the drippings from the sausage as the fat in my gravy.

Cream gravy
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons pan drippings, (sausage drippings work best if you are making sausage biscuits and gravy, if you are making gravy for something else...vegetable oil works well)
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk (2% or higher works best to make your gravy creamier)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, we like the extra kick)

1 lb browned crumbled sausage

Salt to taste

Combine fat with flour in a hot skillet, continuously stirring, cook on medium for a couple of minutes until a dark roux is formed.

Add milk slowly to skillet, and mix with roux using a whisk. Turn heat to low and continue stirring until mixture is thickened, this takes about 2 to 3 minutes, make sure you mix out any lumps. Add sausage and then pepper and salt to taste.

Important note! Do not expect your gravy to be beautiful and white. If it's a bit darker that's okay..it will be just as tasty!

Here are a couple recipes for biscuits to use in this recipe...Buttermilk Biscuits or Easy Drop Biscuits

Brie with Fresh Raspberries & Blackberries

Yesterday while I was shopping at the commissary, I came across mini fillo shells (yes, I know it's phyllo but that's what the box says!) I thought they were cute and would make a cute, fun treat for my boys. I used one of the recipes from the box and the boys really enjoyed it.

Brie with Fresh Raspberry (and Blackberry in our case)

5 oz Brie cheese
15 Athens Mini Fillo Shells (1 box)
15 Fresh raspberries, figs or pear slices (or blackberries)

In a food processor, pulse Brie cheese (including rind) until smooth. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon of Brie into each Fillo Shell. Top with one raspberry (or whatever fruit you have). Bake in preheated oven 350 F oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve warm.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

So thanks to my new addiction, Pinterest...I have found even MORE recipes to try. This was one of those I knew my boys would love. They have quite the affection for buffalo wings AND egg rolls, how could I go wrong? I found a picture of the egg rolls on Pinterest linked to this site. I made a few changes.

As a side note...I am participating in a Pinterest Challenge over on Bohemian Transplant's blog. You can check it out here.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

makes 12

12 egg roll wrappers (roughly 4 square inches) - I actually used lumpia wrappers, I don't like how thick egg roll wrappers are and always use lumpia wrappers when I make egg rolls of any type.

1 cup cooked and shredded chicken (6 ounces)

1/2- 2/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1 cup crumbled blue cheese (4 ounces)

1 cup broccoli slaw or cole slaw (dry) - I used the cole slaw

Small bowl of water - I like to use a cornstarch slurry - 2 tbsp cornstarch with 1/4 water

Nonstick cooking spray

Blue cheese dressing, for serving - we also used Ranch since I can only handle so much blue cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay egg roll wrappers on a clean work surface. In a small bowl, stir chicken* (see note below) and hot sauce until well coated, using more or less sauce depending on your spice preference. The meat should be moist with sauce.

Begin by placing one tablespoon of the slaw on the diagonal of the bottom right corner of one of the wrappers. Next, place 2 tablespoons of shredded spicy chicken evenly on top of the slaw. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the blue cheese crumbles over the chicken. Do not overfill.

To fold: Fold the bottom right corner over the stuffing mixture so that it covers it completely, with the tip of the corner now pointing to the center of the egg roll wrapper. Fold in the bottom left corner, followed by the right, so that you now have formed an envelope. Roll the wrap upward one time, leaving the top left corner open. Wet your index finger in the small bowl of water and press to moisten the top left corner. Now fold that down on top of the filled roll, sealing it like you would an envelope.

Repeat with remaining rolls.

Place the rolls on a wire rack set on top of a cookie sheet (or just on a greased cookie sheet) coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spritz each roll evenly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the rolls crisp and turn a light golden brown.

*Note: To make the chicken, place 1/2 lb of uncooked chicken breast in a small pot and fill with enough water just to cover it. Bring to a boil on your stovetop, reduce the heat slightly, then simmer for about 12 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain and let cool before shredding with two forks, pulling against the grain of the meat.

Refrigerator Pickles

These pickles are a huge favorite in our home. My 10-year old will just pull the half gallon jar out and sit with a fork and just eat.

I found this recipe here, last summer and it's a great one!

One clean, sterilized jar and lid

One 8-10" cucumber
Small white onion cut into slices
Several sprigs of dill or 1-2 tsp dry dill (I've used both and both work well)
3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled.

Layer your jar with 3-5 cucumber slices*, a couple of onion slices, a garlic clove, and a sprig of dill. Repeat the layers, filling the jar. The goal is to get all the flavors layered in against one another.

Brine:
2/3 cup of water
2/3 cup of vinegar
2/3 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of coarse salt (Kosher or sea salt both work well).

Stir to blend, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Pour brine over your veggies, filling up to about 1/2 inch from the top. Put lid on, and flip jar. Allow to cool, and store in the fridge.

*If you like crunchy pickles (like Claussen's) then you'll want to chill the cucumbers first in ice water for a few hours.