Cornbread

I'd like to prepare some cornbread tonight to go with our chicken and rice and veggies. I'm pretty excited about it, too because I've not yet tried cornbread but I hear it's delish by my fellows down south.

Fact is: I don't own a cast iron skillet as of yet. It's either something I'll pick up soon or put on the wedding gift registry. Though I happen to think registries are for things like china and knick-knacks, but that's just me and I'm not always in my right mind as many will attest. If you speak with some, the only real way to make cornbread is in a cast iron pan and that's it. I don't own one yet so this will have to do.


So, simple easy cornbread recipe I picked up goes as follows:

Ingredients
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil (I'm assuming canola or vegetable but it's not specific)
2 whole eggs, beaten.
1 cup milk (some recipes I've seen call for a buttermilk-milk mixture--prob just a personal taste thing)
1-1/2 cup Flour (again, I've seen some recipes say self-rising flour but maybe that's an American thing?)
1 Tbsp Baking Powder.
1/8 tsp salt (regular table salt, not the chunky sea variety of course)
1-1/2 c. Yellow cornmeal (though I've also seen white cornmeal stated. Not sure what the difference is...bleached, perhaps? Any of my American readers know this?)

To prepare:
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until moist. Bake in a greased 9" pan at 400F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note: You can probably play around with the amount of sugar you use, and or add things like onion, garlic, bacon, broccoli, jalapenos, cheese. I've seen it all...just never tried it. For now, though I will just try the basic recipe.

Post-cooking note: It turned out EXCELLENT! I actually ended up serving some marinated pork instead of chicken breasts and what I really loved was how the cornbread added a little sweetness to the savory of the pork marinade. It also picks up a lot of the flavours like most breads would do. RB is slowly devouring the pan of it. Oh, and instead of the square pan I decided to use a round cake pan which would have it turn out similar to using the skillet. A+ for this stuff!

Recipe for disaster

I am pretty excited at the moment because I received yesterday my Etsy purchase--a hand-made wooden recipe box in an open concept so you can see the pretty colourful dividers. Recipe for disaster? Only because I'll spend more time filling out the cute recipe cards and less time writing my thesis. At least RB will be fed.

Is it weird to be excited about a recipe box?

You can find this recipe box by rfrantzdesign and other wickedly-awesome-rockin'-diy items at Etsy online!

Just in time for Christmas gift shopping! Find something unique for friends and family because after all--we are unique!

Love you all,
Dawn

Macaroni et deux fromage

I have always been a fan of KD, ever since I was a kid. Original is always great, but I loved the spiral and white cheddar as well. Suffice it to say I have tried every kind of KD there is--but nothing beats the homemade stuff!

This is a recipe I kind of made up on my own. If you know how to make a basic cheese sauce you can pretty much do anything you like to make it. I like to bake mine after with something called butter crumbs. I enjoy creamy but I like contrasting textures and the crunchiness the crumbs give this baked macaroni and cheese is to die for. Literally. I think I die every time. Sometimes I sing to it--"I just died in your arms tonight.."

The Team

2-3 c. pasta (I use spiral but I just love their fun shape! You could use elbow macaroni too!)
3 tbsp of butter or margarine (I use margarine because it tricks my mind into thinking this is in any way healthy).
1/4 c. finely chopped onion (for flavour)
salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp flour
2 c. 2% milk (OR you could divide 1 c. 2% and 1 c. cream if you think your hips can handle it! Mine can't!)
2 c. shredded old age cheddar (I emphasize the "old age" because I find it gives a distinct flavour boost that mild cheddar cheeses fail to provide).
1/4 c. shredded swiss cheese

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan add butter and onions, salt and pepper and cook until onions become translucent.

2. Add flour and milk and whisk on medium until mixture thickens.

3. Add cheese and continue to whisk until all cheese has melted and becomes a creamy sauce.

4. Put on a pot of salted water to boil your pasta. Once cooked add to your pot of cheesy goodness.

5. Pour cheese-noodle concoction into a greased casserole dish. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Top casserole with more cheese, old age and swiss.

7. Add butter crumbs to the top, shove into the oven for about 30 minutes or until crispy top forms.

8. Serve and Enjoy!