Corn cherry scones (adapted from The Cheese Board Collective Works, makes 10-12 scones)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda*
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2/3 cup and also 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal*
• 2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter, cut into small “pea-sized” cubes
• 3/4 cup dried sweet cherries
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk*

Preheat the oven to 425˚F, bitches! Mix the flour, baking powder and soda together and then sift it into a mixing bowl of highest quality. Add the salt, 2/3 cup of sugar, and cornmeal, and mix with a wooden spoon until it is nigh on homogeneous. Add the butter and use your fingertips to incorporate the little butter-chunks into the dough (don’t mix it too much, though, just get the dry ingredients to adhere nicely to the outside of the butter). Mix the cherries in so that they are mingling casually with the dry ingredients, then make a well in the center of the bowl, pour the buttermilk in, and mix/fold until just combined.

Separate the dough into 10-12 scone-sized rounded chunks and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle them with the remaining sugar so the tops are coated nicely and then stick ‘em in the oven and immediately bring the temperature down to 375˚F. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are done. [Mine needed 25 minutes or so.]

* Notes on the ingredients: I think these might need a smidgen more baking soda. I couldn’t find any gradations of cornmeal other than “cornmeal” and “polenta,” but the latter is probably too coarse, so use the former (which seems right). I used %1 buttermilk and that also seems to have worked fine; who knows what difference whole buttermilk would make though?

Chicken and summer squash cornbread casserole

• 4-6 chicken breasts, cooked/leftover or poached, then shredded (see below)
• 3 boxes pre-mixed cornbread batter (such as Jiffy) prepared according to instructions (for Jiffy, you’ll need 3 eggs and also X c of milk)
• optional: 4-10 diced jalapeños mixed into the Jiffy cornbread, for added heat. :9
• 1 lb summer squash, peeled, sliced thin, and browned in a pan with some salt for about 5 minutes
• 2 1/2 c frozen then thawed corn kernels, or about 5 ears worth of corn kernels (instructions on cooking fresh corn can be found by consulting the internet)
• 3 c shredded cheese, in whatever combination of cheddar and monterey jack pleases you. Panela is actually the preferred variety, but it’s hard to find(?)
• 4 cups roasted tomatillo salsa, recipe below (can be substituted with store-bought salsa verde, but it is really easy)

Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a greased lasagna dish, lay down about half of the cornbread batter, then half of the squash, half of the corn, half of the chicken, half of the salsa, and half of the cheese. Repeat. Bake for 30 minutes, covered with foil. Remove foil, bring the oven down to 350˚F, and bake another 30 minutes, or until outer layer of cheese is golden brown and an inserted knife comes out clean. (The real difficulty is getting the middle layer of cornbread to cook; it is essential to the casserole’s structure.

Roasted tomatillo salsa
This yields about 6 cups. The recipe calls for 4 cups, but the rest is for serving. Also, salsa verde is something awesome to have around for other reasons.

• about 60 tomatillos, leaves removed, and rinsed under warm water to remove the stickiness
• 10 large cloves garlic, *with* skins
• 12 jalapeños (or 8 serrano chiles, if you can find them)
• 1 c fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• salt, to taste

Preheat broiler to high, oven rack in center position. Place tomatillos, garlic, and chiles on a foil lined baking dish, and broil for 8 minutes, turning tomatillos halfway through. Skin garlic, stem chiles, and blend these, the tomatillos, and the cilantro in batches in a food processor.* It doesn’t have to be puréed, but fairly smooth is better for this dish.

Poached chicken breasts

• chicken breasts
• water, salt
• appropriate herbs and spices

Put chicken breasts at the bottom of a pot such that they do not overlap (too much). Fill pot with water such that the chicken breasts are fully submerged. Add salt and other flavorings as desired (for this recipe I used about 2 tsp salt for two chicken breasts, plus some garlic powder and probably about 2 tsp of chili powder, but it depends on what you’re making). Bring to a gentle boil on medium-high heat, then bring it down to a simmer on low, cover, and simmer for 2-4 minutes. Turn off heat, and let the pot stand covered on the range for 20-30 minutes. Chicken should be done all the way through by then. You can reuse the water for more chicken breasts, too… also, you don’t really have to thaw them if they are frozen, because you’re heating them already, and adding water when poaching is a-okay. Poached chicken breasts are ready to eat, and there’s no added fat from the cooking. D:

Shredding a hot poached chicken breast is fairly easy; I found the best way was to attack it like some kind of madman dual-wielding forks. Shredded chicken is great in Mexican dishes (esp. enchiladas verdes) and also you can make it into delicious chicken salad for lunchtime sammiches.

It’s grade-A coma-inducing comfort food. :v

*Apparently we obtained a food processor at some point, and I didn’t even know! So useful.

rosemary bread yet again

First I baked rosemary bread yet again, for a dinner party, following this recipe for an unkneaded peasant bread. This time it came out much much lighter, fluffier, and more delicious. Basically I followed the directions more carefully and this worked (who knew!) although I also stuck my roommate’s pizza stone in the oven while it was preheating, then stuck the bread pan right on top of it to while baking, which may have helped.

I infused some olive oil with garlic and left-over fresh rosemary while it was baking, too, for dipping purposes. This was a good idea.

mm breakfast!

Hungry grad students ate all my bread at once, so the next day I made scones, using my current favorite recipe (via Smitten Kitchen, with modifications here), only lemon-zest-and-cranberry this time (I had no oranges). A nice thing I’d forgotten about this recipe is it involves no eggs, except for the glaze, so licking the spoon is completely acceptable.

Finally, I made tomatoes filled with rice again (for the third time!) and yet again, they were devoured before photographic evidence could be acquired. You’ll just have to trust me on them.

Here's the bread rising, looking bizarre

Both times I’ve made the loaf I have had to add a little bit of water after the kneading process, but not a huge amount..  The bread tastes pretty good by itself. It is sweet, but not overly strawberry flavored. I find that it actually tastes more strawberry-like when it’s made into french toast, but even then don’t expect to be hit with an intense strawberry flavor. It’s very subtle (but delicious!)

For french toast, I recommend cutting the loaf into about 12 slices for thick-but-not-too-thick french toast.  I admit that I don’t follow an exact recipe for french toast, but the basic gist of it is to warm up a griddle or frying pan (be sure you have some kind of substance to help the french toast not stick – butter, pam, whatever..)  I usually soak the bread in a mixture of eggs,  milk, vanilla and cinnamon until it is saturated – but not excessively dripping.  The strawberry bread is very dense, so it helps if you poke the bread a few times with a fork while soaking to let it go all the way through. Then cook the bread on the heated surface until it’s golden brown (and not dripping liquid ).    Top with maple syrup or strawberries and whipped cream or even just a little pat of butter… and enjoy!

I stumbled upon parrano at the store; the label read something like,  ”nutty flavor of parmagiano-reggiano, soft texture of gouda,” and I figured it would be pretty good even if that was mostly (but not entirely) true.  I got it.  I tried it.  Believe the hype.

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cap of largish shiitake mushroom; I was amazed by how much flavor I got out of such a small amount of mushroom.
• Tiny dash of thyme, powdered probably preferable.
• grated parrano, enough to make a very thin coating on the inside surface of the omelette. Too much and you will taste nothing but parrano- not bad, but not the point.

Whisk your eggs then add the thyme and the shiitake strips and whisk a bit more.  Cook in an omelette/small frying pan with the top on;  I think the extra moisture and heat will help bring out the delicious aroma of the mushroom.

The rest is, to me, common-sense egg and cheese preparation 101 but I’ll write it out anyway.  Flip once the egg is sturdy enough and put the parrano on top while the bottom solidifies a bit.  Once the bottom is good, fold the egg in half, enveloping the parrano in warm egg.  Put the top back on and remove from heat; let it stand to melt the cheese some more.  I suggest eating it with some bacon and a roll of bread with olives in.  Maybe it will fill you up; two eggs just gets me started.

Edit- this just in from Wikipedia: “Parrano won a gold medal at the 2006 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin for ‘Best of class, Gouda.’ It was also first runner up for the World Champion Cheese Title.”  I think I would enjoy visiting the World Championship Cheese Contest.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (I would increase this next time, maybe 1/2 or even 2/3)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest (I would increase this as well)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (we only had vegetable, but same difference)
• Confectioners’ sugar, or maple syrup

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk ricotta, sugar, eggs, and orange zest. Then whisk in 2/3 cup all-purpose flour until just combined. (The mixture produced is far thicker and goopier than your average pancake batter (Fig. 1) but fear not! It works out ok.)
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Working in batches (and adding more oil to skillet as needed), add batter, using a scant 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (This part is a bit tricky, as you have to scoop and place the batter rather than pour it.  Also, the timing is a bit delicate, and you need to use a lot more oil than you would for normal pancakes.)
   
3. Transfer pancakes to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, dusted with confectioners’ sugar or drizzled with maple syrup. (Fig. 2)
   

Results:

As a commentor on the original site said “Not my idea of a pancake!” Haha. Actually, these pancakes are tasty but slightly weird!  I think it is because the texture is kind of spongy and the outside is a little fried by the oil.  George and I agree that they are not quite sweet enough, and suggest adding more sugar.  Err on the side of more browned rather than less browned when cooking them as well. Overall a great idea, but needs a bit of adjusting.  I will probably try making these again at some point and report any improvements I discover.
P.S. Having produced food by the time I would normally wake up makes me feel super productive even though I haven’t really accomplished anything…

Bacon and Cheddar Scones

Ingredients (makes about 8 large scones)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 4-6 slices of bacon, depending on the thickness
• 1/2 cup scallions, sliced very thinly
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, black pepper, cheddar and scallions together.  I decided to try a “stout cheddar”, which is basically aged cheddar with some stout beer in it. Cook the bacon in a pan  and then crumble into little bits.  Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers. The mixture should get a cornmeal-like texture once the butter is mostly cut in.  Add the bacon, mix, and then mix in the heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork.  Mix until it starts to be dough-like and a bit sticky, then put it on a lightly floured surface and pat it out into a circular shape about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut it like a pizza, and you’ll get 8 triangular scones! Stick in the oven for about 15 minutes.

The results: quite tasty! I love plain savory scones for breakfast. The cranberry ones definitely go well with clotted cream and some jam.  I think the savory scones ended up a bit salty, which I suspect is due to the cheese I picked. So if you’re trying a batch yourself, try adjusting the amt of cheese to account for how intense the cheese is.

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