Tex Mex Fabulous Cornbread

Corn meal and Maize is the source of much sustenance for Americans and other countries, and more so in the Southern lying states in America and New England.  Since the American Indians' introduction of a process called Nixtamalization, which is corn ground into a meal or soaked in a lime or alkaline salt to make hominy, the possibilities for providing with a plethora sustainable menu ideas is virtually endless.  Referred to as "Johnnycakes", journey cakes, shawnee cakes, to name a few, consisting of ground corn or corn meal, moistened with milk that has been scalded or water and salt, these cake variations were commonly fried in some sort of animal fat on a griddle type device or depending on the area, baked in the oven or fires and served savory or with sweeteners such as maple syrup or honey.  References to the johnny cake span from 1739 in New England.
The history of the journey cake is similar to that of the "Hoecake", by way of ingredients, but dissimilar in regard to preparation.  Hoecakes and the name therein has roots dating back to the negro  field hands, who without the means to afford certain cooking vessels, would use their ingenuity and used their hoes used in the cotton fields, as a griddle or baking sheet of sorts, to cook their cornmeal cakes over an open fire.  Hoes used for cotton farming were large and flat with a long, detachable handle, made for a suitable cooking device once greased with animal fat. Some of  the first noted references to hoecakes date back to 1745 by writers like Barlow and Washington Irving.
Ironically enough, here in our "middle-east" South, which I use to refer to here in Southwestern  Virginia, Hoecakes are considered as simply home-made, hand-shaped bread biscuits made from flour.  In lieu of cornbread, we seldom serve it without adding a measure of sugar for sweetness, which for us is the optimal way to serve the sumptuous, buttered corn cake.   At any rate, today's recipe features corn meal, embellished with wonderful Tex-Mex ingredients and baked in an old fashioned, seasoned cast iron skillet, which remains one of the staples in my kitchen.  Preparation is simple and time conscious, using  a packaged corn muffin mix to bring these fabulous items together.  This recipe pairs well with any meal, especially chili beans, pinto beans, or long simmered legumes of your choice or as the starch to serve alongside a fragrant, roasted chicken as I served this recipe to my family.
Recipe:
2 pkgs. corn muffin mix, such as Jiffy
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2/3 c. milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp. Agave nectar

1/2 c. Colby Jack cheese cubes
1/2 c. whole kernel corn, drained
olive oil for drizzling
1 chipotle chili, small diced, (optional)
Preheat oven and

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greased cast iron skillet to 400*F.  Mix dry ingredients and in separate vessel, the wet ingredients and combined until just blended.  fold in corn and cheese, and chili if desired and carefully pour into cast iron skillet.  Bake until knife or fork inserted comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Serve with butter if desired.   Serves 6 to 8.

Meat Free! Mushroom Quiche w/Gruyere and Provolone

This quiche recipe is an extension of an entry past featuring a delightful quiche with sausage.  Normally, when  I venture into a specific dish, I make variations and try several types offering vegetarian or meat free options alongside the versions containing animal proteins.  While on my quiche 'kick', I came up with this recipe that is as equally enjoyable as the next and full of wonderful earthy mushrooms and spectacular Gruyere.
Recipe:
16 oz. button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 small onion, chopped, about 1/3 c.
4 tbsp. salted butter
1 1/2 c. Gruyere, shredded
1/2 c. provolone, diced or shredded
4 large eggs
2 c. 1 1/2% milk
2 9 inch deep dish pie crusts
1/4 tsp. Sriracha
olive oil for drizzling
SPST
Preheat oven to 425*F.
In a skillet over medium high heat, melt butter and a drizzle of olive oil. When small bubbles form, add mushrooms. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until signs of browning starts to occur and add onion, cooking for another 2 minutes.  SPST.  Turn off heat.
Beat eggs, milk and sriracha together.  SPST
Divide mushroom mixture and cheese among the two pie crusts. Divide egg mixture among the two.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300*F, covering loosely with foil if needed to keep from over browning and bake until knife  inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Serves 6

Jerk Roasted Fingerlings-Happy New Year!!

 Just a quick recipe I  whipped up a few months ago that compliments the meatloaf and green bean recipes in my past two entries, for a great meal any day of the week.  When serving potatoes, one generally can't go wrong with the crowd, and when serving fingerling potatoes of various colors, special can be thrown into the mix of words describing the affair.  These puppies can get rather expensive, depending on the vendor, so by all means feel free to substitute with red, white or even russet.  The ingredients are minimal and you only have to invest about 30 minutes of  loosely supervised time and depending on what the main course is and the cooking method, this side dish can be prepared during the last stretch of cooking.
2 lb. fingerling potatoes, split lengthwise
1 tbsp. Jerk Seasoning
olive oil for drizzling
SPST
Place potatoes in large bowl and toss with seasoning and drizzled olive oil.  Let stand for about 30 minutes for flavors to permeate the potatoes.
Preheat oven to 400*F.  Spread potatoes in one layer on baking sheet,  SPST, and roast until golden, turning once if necessary, about 20 minutes.

Sunday Meatloaf w/ Tangy Pepper Jelly Glaze

This recipe is full of complimentary flavors and colors, while also being high in vitamins, minerals, and iron.   This is also great for people who don't feel the need to have gravy with their meatloaves at least not all the time anyway.  Meatloaf has been an affordable mainstay to the American family surfacing here in and around the Great Depression, as a great way to stretch your proteins, especially with a larger family. Various grains and cereals such as oats and rice were used in doing so, which were more prevalent.  Meatloaf has  European origins, traditionally in Germany and Belgium, with references made to it as early as the 5th century, in Roman books of cookery.
There is no right or wrong way Per Se to prepare a meatloaf and it can be made as casual or as upscale as you want.  Many meat loaf recipes call for a tri-fecta of meats like beef, veal, and pork, but lamb, venison and organ meats are also included in some cultures.   Because of availability, I generally opt for beef and pork or beef and ground turkey.  Careful though when choosing ground turkey and chicken, as some suppliers grind the skin as well, making a protein as fatty as if not more so than traditional 75/25 ground beef.  The cooking process will undoubtedly render the loaf of much of it's excess fat, but sometimes it's better and neater to be safe than sorry.
Today's recipe is one of many varieties of the meatloaves I make sans brown, tomato or onion gravy!  This is also a meatloaf that I prepare without eggs.  Breadcrumbs serve as the binding agent, so I can shave off about 200 calories and 10  grams of fat, without missing out or skimming on taste. Green and red peppers, spinach, onions and  garlic make up the powerhouse of antioxidant and vitamin rich produce, that serves as flavor builders and part of your "5 a day's" and served alongside your favorite starch and steamed, blanched or baked veggies, makes for a meal good enough for a special Sunday dinner.  This recipe is also good to help utilize the red pepper jelly called for in some of my other blog entries, and cut down on condiment waste.
Recipe:
2 lbs. ground beef, preferably round or chuck
1 lb. ground pork
1 tomato and chicken soft cube
1 beef soft cube
1 c. chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 c. mini or regular red peppers, chopped
1/4 c. green pepper, chopped
2 c. chopped fresh spinach
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4. c. good quality ketchup
2 tbsp. medium chunky salsa
1/4 c. Parmigiano Reggiano
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
SPST
Glaze:
2 tbsp. good quality ketchup
1 tbsp. hot pepper jelly
1/2 tsp. Tamari
Preheat oven to 375*F.
In a large bowl, add beef and pork. Grate in bouillon, stir and let stand for about 10 minutes for flavors to
marry.
Microwave or saute until softened onions, garlic, celery seed and peppers drizzled with olive oil and a scant amount of SPST.  Set aside to cool slightly before mixing with other ingredients.
Add remaining wet and dry ingredients to beef mixture and combine well without overworking the meat.  SPST.
Shape into elongated oval  and put in suitable sized loaf pan or baking dish.  Bake until juices run clear and the internal temperature is 170 degrees, about 40 minutes, carefully pouring off excess fat and discarding.
Combine glaze ingredients and paint onto loaf in two batches during last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
You may microwave the hot pepper jelly briefly to aide in blending process.
Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serves 8-10.

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Green Bean Casserole, Revisited

Looking for a fast and wonderful side dish popular around the board and fancied up on taste, then this recipe fits the bill.  Instead of traditional green bean casserole, which has almost lost some of it's seemingly traditional and festive nostalgia, at least in my opinion and is usually either highly revered or religiously abhorred,  try some variations you may enjoy!
  The popularity of this dish is one of circumstance.  In  1955, Campbell Soup Co. wanted to create a dish that was affordable and of on hand pantry ingredients, which included mushroom soup and canned green beans.  After that, this dish has been a go-to especially during Thanksgiving and major holidays like Christmas.
 For myself, using the can variety of cream of mushroom, adds an exorbitant  level of sodium that can be avoided  simply by making the cream of mushroom from scratch, following the basic premise of a bechamel after the mushrooms have been lightly sauteed  and simmered in butter.  Flour and milk soon follow and the thickened sauce is one to rival that of any Michelin starred restaurant or bistro.  Fresh green beans are fabulous, making sure you remove the stringy and fibrous parts before blanching.  These two simple steps will bring your green casserole back to the forefront and high in flavor, not sodium!!  If time is of the essesence, try my version of a green bean saute, mimicking the flavor components and just a tad flashier than the oven baked version!
Green Bean and Mushroom Saute w/ Red Miso and Garlic
1 lb. fresh green beans, stringy fibers removed and trimmed
4 oz. sliced button mushrooms
1 clove garlic, pressed or fnely minced
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. Red Miso
Splash Sherry
Splash seasoned rice vinegar
French fried onions for garnish
olive oil for drizzling
 SPST
In a large saute pan over medium high heat, drizzle with olive oil  and melt butter.
When tiny bubbles form, add mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Add garlic and green beans and toss.  Saute about 4 more minutes until green beans are tender crisp and stir in Miso.
Add sherry and vinegar to de-glaze pan and toss to coat.
SPST.
Garnish with french fried onions.
Serves 6 to 8.

The picture shown is of my original recipe Green Bean Saute w/ Red Miso and Garlic featured with another recipe called "Everything Gravy", posted in September.  The revamped recipe is the same with the addition of sauteed mushrooms and french fried onions, creating the green bean casserole effect.

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Hoisin Baked Country Style Ribs

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There are more ways to prepare ribs than just smoked or with a traditional bbq sauce.  I like to mix and match sauces from different cuisines that complement Southern American  dishes and flavors.  The sauce in particular that I chose for this recipe is hoisin sauce.
Hoisin is sometimes referred to as Chinese BBQ sauce and is made from a soybean paste, starch of some type and some spices that vary by recipe. The name is translated to literally mean "Seafood Sauce". It is  generally thick and somewhat creamy sauce, thinned with water or oil if desired, that may be used for marinades, bastes, and  dipping sauce, especially for Pho, a Vietnamese noodle bowl with slivers of tender beef .  This recipe is virtually maintenance free, other than some last minute basting , and goes well with rice or your favorite starchy grain.
The following picture is borrowed because I had a long evening this particular day and neglected to log a photo.  The color is accurate and the portion size of the country style ribs is accurate in comparison to my actual recipe. The link will take you to the recipe on another site, which is amazing.
Recipe:
4 lbs. country style bone in ribs
2 stalks celery, cut into thirds
1 large onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1/2 c. hoisin sauce, mixed with about 1/4 c. broth or water
SPST
pinch of red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 300*F.
Spread veggies in bottom of cooking vessel and lay ribs atop.  SPST
Spoon about 1 tbsp. atop each rib and cover tightly with foil.
Bake until tender, about 2 hours.
Pour off excess fat and coat ribs with remaining sauce.
Bake an additional 20 minutes with foil tented loosely until ribs are glazed over.
Serves 6 to 8.
http://images.wisegeek.com/small/pork-hoisin-sauce.jpg

Fiesta Stuffed Mushrooms w/ Chardonnay Dipping Sauce

This recipe is a quick and easy way to add a little spark to any menu or gathering.  It's just in time for the holidays and the wonderful dipping sauce can be made with the wine you plan to serve for the occasion.  The ingredients can be grouped as decidedly Latin inspired with the incorporation of the bollio roll, in conjunction with the peppers and jack cheese.  These puppies keep well at room temperature and re-heat well also.  For a vegetarian fare, simply omit the sausage and add a pinch of sage, maybe even a pinch of cumin, for a well rounded Latin effect.  Boca crumbles may be added instead if you prefer for texture variance.  This recipe makes 14-16 stuffed mushrooms or 6 to 7, 2 'shroom appetizer servings.
Recipe:
1 lb. baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed
1/3 lb. good quality sage sausage
1 small shallot, small dice
2 tbsp. mini peppers, various colors
pinch celery seeds
1/2 bollio roll, crumbled roughly
2 tbsp. butter
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, plus more for broiling
Preheat Broiler.
Brown sausage over medium high heat.  Add shallot, peppers, celery seed and bollio.  Cook for about 2 minutes and stir in cheese and remove from heat.
Divide stuffing equally among mushrooms, depending of course on size of the mushroom.
Sprinkle a scant amount of cheese atop each mushroom and broil on bottom rack until cheese melts and mushroom is heated through, about 5 minutes.
Chardonnay Dipping Sauce:
2 tbsp. red pepper jelly
2 tbsp. tamari
2 tbsp. Chardonnay
In small saucepan, bring up to a boil, stirring constantly and continuing a rolling simmer until alcohol is cooked off, about 4 minutes and reduced by about 1 tbsp.
Remove from heat.
Makes about 1/4 cup.