Cornbread

May, June and July tend to be our busiest months of the year - we literally live on a baseball or a softball field most evenings and most weekends.  They are my most challenging months in terms of cooking.  So - starting next week, I'll be starting a "Picnic at the Park" series.  I will feature recipes that are easy to make, easy to travel and easy to eat.  So, no spaghetti dinners - I tried that once, and it was a DISASTER to have a 3 year old try to eat spaghetti outside.  Mama mia!  I would LOVE to hear your ideas for meals that meet these 3 criteria!

I have been in search of a good cornbread recipe - I made one from a trusted, well known chef, and it turned out horrendous.  Everyone tried to choke it down, myself included, until we all decided that it wasn't even good enough for the dog to eat.  Oy vey!

I found this recipe in my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, and I have not found one bad recipe in this book yet.  It really is my go-to cookbook when I am looking to bake.  I found this recipe - and of course, it's a winner.  Waaaa-hooooo!!! 

Here's what I love about making cornbread - it's simple.  That's it.  No fancy kitchen tools.  Only takes a few minutes of my time before I toss it in the oven.  And - then we get to slather it in butter and eat it nice and hot.  Aaaahhhh. . . .

Oh - I guess I did make one little adjustment.  The original recipe calls for shortening.  I am not sure how you feel about shortening, but I hate the stuff.  So, I replaced it with butter - which I'll indicate below in the recipe.  :-)

Cornbread
Recipe by Martha Stewart's "The Baking Handbook", pg. 51

1/3 C vegetable shortening (I used 1/3 C butter, instead)
1 T unsalted butter
1 C corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 C all purpose flour
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 C stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 C milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Coat an 8" square baking pan with vegetable shortening (I used Pam with Flour spray); set aside.  Melt 1 T butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat; add corn.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn has softened and some of the kernels have begun to turn light golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the cornmeal.  Using a pastry blender, cut shortening (I used butter instead) into mixture until it resembles coarse meal.  Add milk, egg, and reserved corn; stir to combine.  Do not overmix. 

3. Transfer batter to the prepared pan, and bake until the top begins to turn golden and a cake tester comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Cornbread is best served the day it is baked, but it can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic, for up to one day.

This was a great accompaniment to Dr. Pepper Ribs, Sloppy, Sloppy Joes, Baked Bean Casserole, or Basic Baked Macaroni and Cheese for dinner. 

Please click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina

Beer Bread

Someone asked me if I had a good beer bread recipe and I had this one that I have used in the past.  When I was asked about it, I realized that I just had to make it again - power of suggestion?  Yeah, it exists.

I had forgotten how easy Beer Bread is to make - Miss Sunshine even helped me with it.  While I TOTALLY love to bake, it was a nice break to make something that didn't require me to haul out all my major counter appliances!!  This just required a bowl and a spoon. :-)

Disclaimer: I suppose I'm not real acquainted with different types of breads, as I'm not a big fan of them.  I made this beer bread and really liked it.  However, I've never had any other beer bread so I have nothing to compare it to!  I hope it tastes like what it's supposed to taste like!  Regardless, it's still good :-)

Beer Bread
Original Recipe by Alton Brown

Nonstick spray

8 ounces all-purpose flour

4 ounces whole-wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill (omitted by me this time)

4 1/2 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated

12 ounces cold beer, ale or stout

1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, optional

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick spray and set aside.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dill in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheese and stir in the beer just to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds, if using.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 to 55 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chef’s Note: decrease salt to 1 teaspoon instead.  Add shredded cheddar on top during last 5 minutes of baking, if desired.

Please click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy
Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina

Raspberry and White Chocolate Scones

Happy Friday morning to all of you!  Glad the weekend is upon us?  I for one, am ecstatic!  One big reason is this is the first weekend in many weeks that we won't be running off to a basketball tournament across town!  Our season is over, and I am ready for a break.  My son however, is in a minor mourning period.  Thank God we have a hoop in the driveway :-) 

Another reason is my husband and I are running our first 7k tomorrow - we love to run races, but we have such limited opportunities to do so.  We are excited to take this time for ourselves, finally. 

Being that it's Friday - I thought, why not post a yummy breakfast item that you can potentially indulge yourself with over the weekend?  I hope you enjoy it - they were soo good!!!  Raspberries are my favorite fruit and they are even better with white chocolate!

These really are easy to make - I invited a friend and her daughter over to play one morning, and Miss Sunshine and I whipped these up that same morning and it wasn't a big deal! 

Raspberry and White Chocolate Scones
Original Recipe by Tyler Florence
Adapted Recipe by Kitchen Groovy

2 C All-purpose flour
3 T sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter - cold, and diced
1 1/2 C fresh raspberries, washed and dried
3/4 C buttermilk, plus more to brush on scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add cold butter cubes and pulse until you have the texture of coarse bread crumbs. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, then add 3/4 cup of buttermilk and stir to combine. As it comes together add berries and fold dough to incorporate berries but not break them up too much.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of each scone lightly with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake until golden brown, and nice and puffy, about 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

Chef Note: the recipe says to fold the dough gently as not to break up the berries.  I purposely broke up some of the berries, as it seemed easier to get the dough to come together.  That is why my scones have bursts of blue and purple in the dough, which is why they may not be as pretty as they could have been.  It's up to you if you want to do the same :-)

Please click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

Ever feel like you have bitten off more than you can chew?  If you say no, then I'm just going to have to say "c'mon now, don't lie" :-)  We've all been there, right?!  These last few weeks have felt that way.  I certainly didn't plan it to be that way, but things and events started stacking up on top of each other and all of a sudden I was asking myself "how did this happen?"  We never mean for it to happen, it just does.  So, we've had frozen pizzas and have had take-out for dinner (there goes my "monthly meal plan", by the way - we'll get back on track next week!).  However, I must make a point to say: we do what we have to do to stay sane!  If mom is feeling crazy, it's nothing but downhill from there.  Anybody relate?

When you have nothing but craziness on your plate, the last thing on your mind is making a breakfast from scratch.  So, save this for a Sunday morning!  But, also know that this isn't as time consuming as you might think.  I would even argue that this might be faster than making an omelet :-)

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits
Original Recipe by Ina Garten, Back to Basics Cookbook, pg. 228

All purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced
1/2 C cold buttermilk, shaken
1 cold extra large egg
1 C grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese (I use Vermont white cheddar)
1 egg beaten with 1 T water or milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  Place 2 C flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas.
  Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small glass measuring cup and beat lightly with a fork.  With the mixer still on low, quickly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix only until moistened.  In a small bowl, mix the Cheddar with a small handful of flour and, with the mixer still on low, add the cheese to the dough.  Mix only until roughly combined.
  Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times.  Roll the dough out to a rectangle 5x10 inches.  With a sharp, floured knife, cut the dough lengthwise in half and then across in quarters, making 8 rough rectangles.  Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the biscuits are cooked through. 
Serve hot or warm.

Of course, you have to put a pad of butter on your biscuits!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!

Carina

Oh Mama Mac n Cheese Pizza

When you ask my family what their favorite meal is, well - Miss Sunshine's favorite meal (other than Chicken, Cheese & Brocolli casserole) is macaroni and cheese, hands down.  Helloooo!  She's five years old, what do you expect?  Actually, that was my favorite dish into most of my adult life :-)  My 14 year old son will tell you pizza, chicken wings or steak.  My husband loves pizza.  So - I was faced with what to make for dinner last night.  I could have stuck to my meal plan, but I was headed out for a little last minute "girl's night out" and wanted to make something easy for the family. 

Collectively, based on what the family loves - I decided to try a Macaroni and Cheese Pizza.  I have ordered this once from a local pizza joint a couple of years ago, and thought "I could do this!". 

It was DEEE-LIC-IOUS!!  You could do a store bought crust, but I didn't make it to the store and I made one from scratch.  I had never made one before, and I was surprised at how easy it was!  I also used jarred pizza sauce from Green Mill.  I loooovve their 'za sauce. 

Chef Note: when I make Kraft macaroni and cheese, I always substitute the milk for sour cream.  It produces a much creamier mac n cheese. 

Oh Mama Mac n Cheese Pizza
Created by Kitchen Groovy

1 Basic Pizza Crust Dough (recipe to follow)
1 1/2 C your favorite pizza sauce
Pepporoni - enough for one layer
1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, prepared
1 C mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp. dried oregano
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spead out pizza dough to about 12-14".  Take a brush and gently rub olive oil over the entire surface. 

Spread pizza sauce to edge of pizza, then layer with pepperoni's.  (I got excited and added the mac n cheese before taking my picture!)

Layer on prepared macaroni and cheese on top of pepperoni's.

Spread mozzarella cheese, then spread cheddar cheese on top of mozzarella.  Sprinkle with dried oregano.

Bake at 450 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

Slice, get it on a plate and enjoy!  It was goooooodddd. 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Basic Pizza Dough
Recipe from "How to Cook Everything", pg. 258
Makes: 1 large or 2 or more small pizzas
Time: At least 1 hour, largely unatttended

1 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
3 C (about 14oz.) all purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed
2 tsp. coarse kosher or sea salt, plus extra for spinkling
1 - 1 1/4 C water
2 T plus 1 tsp. olive oil

1. Combine the yeast, flour and 2 tsp. salt in the container of a food processor.  Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube.
2. Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to te touch.  If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds.  (In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.)
3. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball.  Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it.  Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. 

To freeze: wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina