Cornmeal not just for cornbread!

Blog-checking lines: Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

Well here it is my first Daring Cooks Blog!!! I though long and hard about joining daring cooks, wondering would I actually be able to participate in the challenges that the hosts were presenting. With encouragement from my husband and my mom I realized that of course I could do it, I may have successes and I may have disasters, but it would be fun and challenging none the less. So here it is. My very first blog. The challenge this month was cornmeal. For me cornmeal has been ever present in our home, from cornbread to hush puppies and then coating for fish; however that was really the extent of my experience with it so I was interested to try a few things I had not done yet.

My first thought was to give polenta a try and OMG was I glad I did. The polenta recipe I found was from Epicurious, their recipe is skillet polenta with tomatoes and Gorgonzola, I modified it a bit and doctored my recipe a lot. I did follow the base recipe for the polenta however I did not add the fresh basil as I did not purchase it at the store, and instead of Gorgonzola I used a blue cheese that I picked up and actually stirred it in the polenta with some Parmesan and two tablespoons of butter at the end. It was fantastic, the best thing I though initially to come out of this experience. To go with the polenta I prepared some chicken sausage with tomatoes and onions which we spooned over the polenta. It was all so yummy, it was all we could do to not eat the pan of polenta that night!

Creamy blue cheese polenta with sausage tomatoes and onion.

The photo just does not do it justice, and I realize I did not take pictures of the process which is disappointing I must try to do better next time. I did have to ask Ashley to assist some while cooking as I put the sausage and tomatoes on at the same time as the polenta because I wanted both done together. I will certainly be doing this again in the very near future.

My second attempt at the cornmeal challenge was a dessert; which I can report I failed at. I attempted to make one of the desserts that was suggested in the challenge; Poudine Mais. I tried and that is the most important part of this whole challenge. I was so excited, I was trying something new again, and after the polenta success I thought there really is no way I can mess this up. Boy was I wrong! So the things I realized after the fact was that I did not cook the cornmeal long enough. I was not able to find the sultans that the recipe called for so I added yellow raisins. I also felt like the dessert was not sweet enough. Ashley and I talked about this and as this is a dessert not made for American tastes we figured that it may be a less sweet dessert; which was confirmed once I posted my failure to The Daring Kitchen's forums. Regardless I tried it, and here is an actual photo of my failure.



Photos of the process.

Finished product, you can't really see it well in the photo but liquid gathered on the edge of the pudding which makes me think I should have cooked it longer; also I did not top with extra coconut because Ashley does not care for it.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in the final outcome of the pudding, but I was determined to not end my first challenge on a sour note! My final attempt at the challenge was to try something not only that I had never made, but in all of my years in South Texas and trips to Mexico that I had never eaten! I wanted to make Gorditas, and am I glad that I gave them an attempt. The recipe I used and modified came from a little book I picked up while we were in Florida and at Epcot in the World Showcase Mexico attraction; Recetas De Viejo Mexico (Recipes of Old Mexico). I ended up modifying it a bit as after following the directions I realized I needed more liquid and some lard or butter, so here is the full recipe I used with my modifications in parentheses.

Gorditas

2cups of masa harina

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (plus two tablespoons) water

(2 tablespoons of unsalted butter)

Mix the ingredients to form a stiff dough (added the extra water and butter when I felt the dough was not coming together well.) Pinch off small portions of dough and form 2-inch balls. Flatten to form a patty about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick (mine were a bit bigger, I went with 3 inch balls and about 4.5 inch wide patties.) Fry in hot oil until golden brown, turn to cook on both sides (I tried to use as little oil as possible in this situation). Drain on paper towels. Make a slit through the middle, open slightly and stuff with filling of choice.

We filled ours with a shredded chicken mix I can pick up at the local grocery store so I cheated a bit here, but I figured I was making Gorditas at home after working all night the night before, this was the best I could do. Regardless of using premade chicken, they were DELICIOUS!!!! We topped them off with lettuce, tomato, and cheese and had them with some refried beans and sliced avocado. We did realize it is important to have a bit of sauce as the gordita shells can be a bit dry, but that was easily remedied and they were so good. Here are some photos of the process.

The prep, cooking, and before stuffed photos.

These were so yummy, and they reheated very well a few days later!

In all I would say that my first Daring Cooks Challenge was a success. I loved the experience of trying to make new things, and eating new things. Ashley enjoyed the experiment as well. I might even continue in my attempts at the cornmeal pudding as it was an interesting concept. I have done some research, and looks like there are many cultures that have a cornmeal pudding of sorts. Anyway, I look forward to the next challenge and hope to have as many delicious results as I did this time around! Enjoy your kitchen a bit more, I know I am enjoying mine! Thanks for reading. 



Day at Hollywood Disney!

So we as a family are currently here in wonderful Orlando Florida spending time together as a family that is often 5.5 hours apart. So it is me and Ashley, Steph her kids and her fiancé Mike, then mom and dad! Let's talk ride and adventures first. We rode the Star Tours first which was a ride based on Star Wars which is one of my favorite series. Then the rest went and rode the The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror then on to the Rock'n' Roller Coaster Staring Areosmith while mom, Kali, and I went shopping around the park. I shop because I so do not most of the rides, yep yep I am a whimp! I do have to say though that the Star Tours which was a 3D ride was awesome. We did the great movie ride which was okay but not necessarily as good as I expected it to be. We participated in a little bit of video gaming when the whole family tried their hands at the Toy Story Midway Mania, Ashley had the top score in our crew with 138,000. We also went to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which is a live show spliced with clips from the movie. I though the first part of the show was the best when they used black like and had people dressed in black moving the puppets, then back to the Rock'n Rollercoster as Steph and Mike and the kids wanted another go at it, I should add the kids went a total of two times. Now I think I should talk about the food. So we are staying in one of the park hotels, which is nice, the food though is terrible. So far I have had stuff that would certainly only be considered sustenance. So certainly not something to write home about but certainly something to blog about. The best thing I had today was the beef with broccoli that was for dinner. We are all so very exhausted today but we all had a blast. Tomorrow is on to Epcot and we get to have dinner at the french restaurant; the one dinner most are looking forward to. Shopping has been good. I got a hat, and then noticed that there are some really nice looking things that might be fun to have for the kitchen. Will hopefully keep you posted about tomorrow. Sweet sleeping...

Summer is upon us...

This week while I was off I did a bit of cooking and really got to enjoy the season. I did a recipe I have done before and followed it up with two I had not tried yet. I will share them with you in order of preparation.

Mom and I went to Fredricksburge to Marburger Orchard, which we do every year and have now done for the last 5 years. The trip is always long it takes us about two hours from the house, and we leave before most people are up to get ready for work. We always get out there with in about 10 minutes of opening and this year we had to try for earlier as their crops have been ready earlier then years in the past, and apparently folks are really enjoying going out to pick because they have regularly had to close early this year. We were the third car out there when we arrived at 8:05am and there were more coming behind us. We listened to the same education we have had for the last three years and then we were off. The peaches were not the largest this year but they were still delicious!

The peaches were just wonderful!



My mom and I canned 11 jars of peaches before she had to leave; we did them in light syrup and followed the Ball Canning Book directions. My mom and I split up the remaining 3/4 of the bushel, and sent 1/2 a bushel home with her and kept a 1/4 bushel to use in peach butter. I love peach butter and actually made it the first time with my sister the first time we canned together.

Steph and I canning the peach butter in 2007.

This year I did them on my own. The book is The New Preserves: Pickles, Jams, and Jellies the recipe is for the peach butter, there is also a spiced peach butter version as well. I like the book because it allows one to make a small batch as you get four 1/2 pint jars with about 9 peaches.

Peeled peaches no sugar.

Peach puree with sugar

Peach puree with sugar turning into peach butter.

I do not have a photo from the final canning process but I can say it is wonderful. It tastes like summer. I can not wait to have it on toast, biscuits, and maybe even in a petit fours recipe.

The second recipe I tried was specifically for my mom. I found the recipe on Pinterest.com (I totally feel like the I found it on Pinterest card). My mom is planning on a throwing a beach themed party for her sorority next May. So I have of course been looking for ideas and recipes for her it is like party planning vicariously through my mom. One of the things I found were some sand dollar cookies, they are so pretty, they are courtesy of Monda Rosenberg from the website lcbo.com. Well fortunately they taste as good as they look.









Sand Dollar cookies with almond slivers.

The final thing I made tonight was corn dogs. I made them from scratch; my dad made them for us several times when we were kids and it is a nice memory. I was talking with Ashley today and learned that he has never in his life had corn dogs. Since growing up in England and Norway I am almost certain there was not a Sonic or a State Fair down the road so I wanted to give it a shot and see what he thought. He was not impressed. The thing that he disliked the most was the texture. I liked them okay however I actually prefer the ones that you get at Sonic. While we were talking about the corn dogs before I made them tonight I told him it is a must to have mustard with them. Then while at lunch with my dear friend Emily the three of us were talking and she too said you must have a corn dog with mustard. There is just something about the tartness of mustard that cuts through the fat of the corn dog. I would try them again at least maybe a different recipe or a different cooking method. Again this was a recipe for corn dogs I found on Pinterest.com courtesy of the homesicktexan.blogspot.com, the recipe makes a lot of batter and I most likely could have battered several dogs, but chose to stick with the 8 that the recipe suggests; it's just the two of us and we will have lots of left overs.

Final results of the corn dogs. Ashley is not so keen on me taking his picture while eating.

So three things in a matter of two days. I am hoping to come up with more posts soon however it will not be for a week or two as we are headed to Disney and the in-laws next week. Happy cooking, happy eating. 

Quick Upday on Daring Kitchen.

Okay, so we got thedaringkitchen.com challenge, I am so excited! I can not wait to start cooking, I may have to start today and see what I come up with. No reveal for about a month, how am I going to keep it secret.. I guess I will have to post other things until then!

Well it is official, I will be posting more to the blog. I have been contemplating for about a year and a half or so joining The Daring Kitchen and while my mom was here last week, between her and Ashley's encouragement I joined. I just got word early this morning that I have been accepted for at least the Daring Cooks Challenge, I am still awaiting word for Daring Bakers Challenge. I am super excited and can not wait to see what the first challenge I get to participate in will be. Be on the look out for it; if you are interested in seeing what it's all about you can check out The Daring Kitchen web site http://thedaringkitchen.com/ , I know this will be a fun challenge for me each month I just hope that family and friends will enjoy the benefits of my experimentation!!! To keep you posted, and be watching for the Daring Cooks reveals after the 14th of each month; NEVER before.. Happy cooking!

Xmas Time.

I have been very lazy with posts here of late. But that is not because I have not been cooking. I in fact have been cooking a lot. For Thanksgiving we had a houseful of friends who were not able to be with their families so they were with their surrogate family. There were three other couples who joined us, all who brought with them something special to share with the group for Thanksgiving. We had Matt and Beth who brought apple cider and Matt's most delish ham cheese ball, and a somewhat modified green bean casserol which was so yummy. Christine and Phil came and they brought homemade cranberry sauce which also had blue berries, heaven and Christine's family recipe for chocolate mousse, which Ashley ate us all that was left at the house! Rachel and Bruce came. Rachel is a friend from when I worked over at DCMC and is another social worker. They brought amazing wine and a chocolate hazelnut tort with caramel. I of course made the turkey which I brined this year, and it was a total success and so yummy. I made a sausage and pecan white bread and corn bread dressing. The traditional sides of corn casserole, mashed tatos and gravy. Then for the desserts that I made I of course made the pecan pie and then found a recipe for a pumpkin custard which was yummy, I have since shared that with a few of my WeightWatcher friends as it is only 3 pps per serving.

So that was Thanksgiving, as the Xmas holiday approaches though I have lots of baking on the horizon. I have so far made Tricia Caralton's Cheese log, which I shared with Emily and Jules, Annie and Jon, and then I have had several bits with crackers. I think I will make more of that soon! Then yesterday I made some peppermint sugar cookies that were a bit cheater style, as they were the Pillsbury premade dough, they are good, but I prefer a cookie a bit undercooked, so have to watch instant closely. Once those were done I made the recipe my family has always used for Cranberry Orange Bread, I have since had two slices and it is delish!!! I think also that this may be the best loaf of that I have ever made, IT CAME OUT PERFECT! So today I have been working away on mom's sugar cookies, she has the best recipe ever! The cookies are a perfect tender when the are rolled and cut then decorated, all of which will happen later. I have plans for apricot coconut bars this afternoon, and also some candy cane cookies in a Christmas cookbook which I will blog about later.

On a few personal notes... Since starting WeightWatchers again in October I have lost almost 15lbs. Which makes me a very happy girl! Ashley's mom has had surgery on her knee and then when she broke her femur during rehab had to have surgery on that as well. We are trying to keep up with her progress. Then my sweet husband Ashly has been having some dental issues, and has spent a good portion of the morning at the dentist. I hope that all goes well. More to come. Happy eating all!!!

French Pastry.....Croissants

So I may have said this before, and truthfully anyone who knows me knows I LOVE things french. I, for years, have wanted to attempt to make croissants but have always felt a bit intimidated by the amount of time it would take the whole process. Well my wonderful husband encourages me to just try anything I have thought about making, so I tried them this week. I pulled the recipe from a book that is a bit hard to find, The Encyclopedia of French Pastry, the book though has many recipes, I was fortunate enough to find it at half price books years ago.

The task initially seems pretty daunting, I read and reread the recipe countless times. I fretted over it, and finally Ashley said "just do it," this of course was at about 10:30 at night. I was able to quickly mix up the three different bowls of ingredients they was the recipe instructed, then mixed them all together like directed and placed the dough in the fridge overnight for the resting time.

I woke up the next morning not really sure how they were going to do, the dough smelled like bread dough is suppose to, that natural yeasty smell that really good bread has. I had to pound the two sticks of butter together to make one rectangle, once done with that, the enveloping of the butter with the dough occurred. Now the way you achieve the flaky crusty layers is pretty simple and amazing, you roll the dough, and fold it over on it's self try fold style, chill in the fridge, then you roll and fold again, you do this 4 times, Ashley did the math and it comes out to something like 19,000 layers in the end, now those layers are butter and dough layers; as you roll the butter gets thinner and thinner and the dough gets thinner and thinner. I was just certain that this was not going to work out the way it is suppose to.

After the final chill, you take out the dough, roll it out to a foot by 36 inches and cut out your croissants and roll them up. (I finally have pictures..)

You end up with enough dough for 24 three inch croissants. You can not really tell in the photo that the layers are visible but it was perfect how well you could see them. The unfortunate thing is that they did not hold their crescent shape too well.

These are the final version. My in-laws thought it was funny that I was taking pictures of food, which they have seen me do countless times, but I can not help it, I like to remember what the dish I consumed looked like. Regardless, I took the photo after they came out of the oven, don't they look beautiful.

No as far as taste... I have yet to find anything that is as close to the croissants you can get in Paris until now. It was like biting into a cloud of flaky buttery deliciousness. I was so surprised about how well they turned out, and frankly I can not wait to make them again. It is not a quick process, however it was a process well worth it! Next time I may try the ones filled with chocolate too.

I had the good fortune to share these with my husband and his parents. If only there were a way to easily make these for my mom, dad, and sister. Better yet, if my grandparents were still around, they would have loved them. I have them both to thank for my love of things French, and what a wonderful way to have a moment to remember them both by, a warm flaky home made croissant and a hot chocolate.

The one thing I learned with this recipe, is that I can accomplish many things, even things that initially I believe are beyond my abilities, as I thought with croissants. I hope those of you who read this will be inspired to try something a bit out of your skill set. Until next time.

Kim