Ultimate Skillet Cornbread  

Posted by Sarah in , , ,


Being from the north, cornbread in my mind is suppose to have a sweetness to it. When I've made cornbread in the past, I've made cornbreads that tasted great but simply did not stay together-forget crumbles, it looked like a plate of cornmeal. I've tried for southern-traditional recipes which provide a good texture but tasted like cardboard and lacked the sweetness that I feel needs to be there to offset a nice spicy bowl of chili.

I have looked at hundreds of cornbread recipes. All the recipes have c
ornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and some amount of eggs. Most have nothing more. I know that is the traditional southern cornbread and I can get those same results from a box. Not horrible, edible, yet nothing memorable.

As I continued to search, I found some that have yogurt or sour cream. Although I am sure this would be wonderful, they are not necessarily things that I have on hand all the time. Some have random spices. Spices could be good, but they would have to be adjusted accordingly to provide the proper accompaniment to the meal being served.

The recipe I created has a perfect sweetness that offsets the spiciness of chili, it has a slight crumble but does not disintegrate the moment you try to pick it up. It would be excellent with a tablespoon or two of fresh thyme or rosemary crushed and included in the mix.


1 C medium grind cornmeal (or a mixture of fine and course ground would work as well its what i used)
1 C all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C buttermilk
1/3 C honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a 9inch cast iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, buttermilk, honey, and eggs. Stir until just combined, the batter will be a little lumpy. Allow to sit for a few minutes until it starts to rise.

Place stick of butter into the hot skillet to melt and grease the skillet.

Stir in melted butter, leaving about 1 Tbs of butter in the skillet. Pour batter into the hot skillet and make 18-25 minutes.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories: 280

Fat: 13.4g

Protein: 4.9g

Fiber: 1.6g

Sugars: 12.6g

Vit A: 9%

Calcium: 11%

Vit C: 0%

Iron: 9%

Carbs: 37.0g

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Vegetarian Chili  

Posted by Sarah in , , ,

My fiancé has decided he is obese and has decided that low/no carbs is the way to go for dinner to loose weight. (Not to mention that his breakfast and lunch are now these ridiculous shakes and a handful of vitamins.) He doesn't understand why I eat anywhere from 3-5 real (and large) meals every day and I remain a size 4. My theory on that is that I avoid highly processed and artificial food. Whatever the reason, I am not in need of losing weight, so last night's dinner was my first attempt to balance his low calorie, low carb ideas with my desire to have a filling meal that has substance. For his diet, my fiancé picked out the potatoes, added avocado salsa, and avoided the corn bread.




Vegetarian Chili


2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
14 ounce can of black beans, drained and well rinsed
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
14 ounces vegetable stock
1 C water
2 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 potatoes, cooked and diced

Heat the oil in a 6 quart cast iron Dutch oven, or large saucepan, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers. Cook until tender, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes or until bright in color. Add the beans, tomatoes, vegetable stock, chili powder, garlic, cumin, oregano, basil, bay leaves, and cilantro and simmer for at least 20 minutes. Slow cooking for hours will greatly add to the flavor. Add celery and potatoes 20 minutes before serving, continuing to simmer.

To serve, top with cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, avocado salsa, or cheese.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories: 495

Fat: 5.1g

Protein: 27.1g

Fiber: 21.0g

Sugars: 8.6g

Vit A: 47%

Calcium: 18%

Vit C: 128%

Iron: 41%

Carbs: 88.8g


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Lala's Gooey Brownie Pie  

Posted by Sarah in , ,

My fiancé has spent a year telling me about this chocolate pie that his grandmother use to make when he was little. His mother doesn't have a clue, his grandmother cannot remember, his sister called it a chess pie, his aunt swiped the recipe book and refuses to share...this leaves me with the following description: "It was chocolate, looked like a brownie on top, but was gooey in the middle.It wasn't like a pudding or custard pie, more like a half cooked brownie. Oh and it had pecans on the top."

Last summer I started searching out chocolate chess pie recipes. After hours of Googling, numerous recipe books being searched through in the library, and a few dozen different attempts, I think I have figured out this mystery pie. My biggest struggle has been that I was searching for chess pies, and this is not a chess pie. (Chess pies are made simply from eggs, sugar, butter, flour/cornmeal, and flavoring.) So I went about creating my own recipe, and it turned out extremely yummy!







1 1/2 C Sugar
4 Tbs cocoa powder
1/2 C butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
5 ounces evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C chopped pecans (optional)
2 Tbs dark corn syrup





Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, mix together butter, sugar, and cocoa. Add in eggs and beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Pour in evaporated milk and vanilla and mix on lowest speed for 1 minute, or until thoroughly mixed. Mix in chopped pecans.

Pour into a 9-inch pie shell. Arrange pecan halves on top (if desired). Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven, brush corn syrup over the top, place back in oven for additional 5 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before serving.

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Limoncello Creme Torte - Copycat from Cheesecake Factory  

Posted by Sarah in ,


Recently, my fiancée and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Naturally, I ate little lunch and more than my share of cheesecake. He doesn't care for cheesecake, so he ordered the Lemoncello Cream Torte, and naturally I had to sample it. I decided I could make it better. I searched a few million sites and recipes for a copycat version of this cake. They all used cream cheese, box mixes, and other less-than adequate substitutions. The cake and filling recipes were translated from Italian and then slightly modified to fit my needs. The icing is my own creation.



Torte:
1 C unsalted butter, softened
2 C granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 C self-rising flour
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.

Cream the butter. Then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add the flour in four parts, alternating with the milk. Mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove immediately from pans and allow to cool completely.

After the cake has cooled, pour a mixture of 4 Tbs Limoncello and 1/4 cup lemon juice over each layer. Be careful not to make the cake soggy, more or less liquid may be needed.


Filling between layers:
1 C heavy whipping cream (not the stuff made from skim milk and chemicals)
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1/3 C granulated sugar
4 Tbs Limoncello liqueur
1 tsp lemon extract

Beat all ingredients together until soft peaks are formed. Spread evenly between the cooled cake layers. Optional: sprinkle with finely grated lemon rind.

Frosting:
1 C unsalted butter, softened
1/4 C solid vegetable shortening
5 C (approx. 1 lb) confectioner's sugar
6 Tbs fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs Limoncello
2 Tbs lemon flavored gelatin

Dissolve the gelatin in lemon juice and Limoncello.

Mix all ingredients together with electric mixer at medium speed until you reach the desired consistency. For a yellow color add a few drops of yellow food coloring.

Keep the cake chilled, allow to warm a few minutes before serving.





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Authentic Pasta Primavera  

Posted by Sarah


One dish I see on EVERY menu in Italian restaurants is Pasta Primavera. If it is such a common dish, why is it that no restaurants seem to make it the same? Some have tomato based sauce, some a white-wine and butter sauce, some Alfredo sauce...so my mission was to answer one simple question; what is the authentic way to make it?
Well after harassing an Italian speaking friend and making good use of Google's translating features, I have found that the majority of true Italian recipes for this Spring Pasta use an olive oil based dressing. So I began experimenting. My taste buds concluded that this was the best combination of spring veggies, garlic, Parmesan & Romano cheeses, and olive oil.
This recipe is designed to serve 2-3 people.
Prep time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 20 minutes.
4-5 oz spaghetti or linguine noodles (reserve 1/4 C of water from cooking)
3 Tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium sized zucchini, halved length wise and cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
6-8 asparagus stalks, cut into 2 inch long pieces
1 pepper seeded and cut into strips (I used red, but yellow or orange would work nicely too)
1/2 C broccoli florets
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbs Romano cheese, grated
8-10 cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
1/4 C olive oil
1/8 tsp ground thyme leaves
1 Tbs fresh rosemary
1 Tbs fresh basil
1 Tbs fresh oregano
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil (for easy clean up).
Begin cooking the pasta, making sure to lightly salt the water.
In a large bowl combine garlic, zucchini, asparagus, pepper, and broccoli. Add 3 Tbs olive oil and toss until evenly coated. Add the Parmesan and Romano cheese and toss. Pour out onto baking sheet making sure the vegetables are in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are soft but not mushy, turning once.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 C olive oil, thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, and lemon juice. Set aside.
Have a serving bowl big enough to hold the pasta on stand by. As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain it-remembering to reserve 1/4 C of the water. Put the pasta into the serving bowl and add the roasted vegetables and the tomatoes.
Immediately toss the pasta and vegetables with olive oil and spice mixture. Add some of the reserved pasta water and toss until evenly coated. (I only used a small portion of the 1/4 C that I reserved). Salt and pepper to taste.
**The second time I made this, I lightly broiled my vegetables for a roasted flavor. **

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