Vermont Cornbread

The ingredients that go into a state or region's traditional cornbread recipe are what sets it apart from everywhere else. In the America the Beautiful Cookbook, the Vermont version of the classic cornbread recipe includes ingredients such as buttermilk, warm bacon lard, drippings, and maple syrup. I suspect it will be a far more moist, buttery tasting cornbread than the other cornbread I typically make as a turkey stuffing component.

As far as looks goes, it looks like cornbread; though the batch I took out of the oven today is of a paler yellow than traditional cornbread and that is because I used a combination of fine white cornmeal and a medium grind yellow cornmeal to make the bread. I fried some bacon for this and let the oil cool to about 130 degrees F before adding it to the batter.

A 9" cast iron skillet can be used instead of a baking dish.

Bacon makes everything taste better, including cornbread.

Ingredients

1 c fine white cornmeal
1/2 c medium-ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp bacon drippings, warmed

Directions

In a bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Drizzle in maple syrup, one lightly beaten egg, and bacon drippings. Mix until well combined.

Pour into a greased 8" x 8" baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Cornbread should be lightly browned on top and shouldn't jiggle in the center. If it does, simply turn the oven off and let the cornbread sit in the cooling oven for an additional five minutes.

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

If you enjoy the salty-sweet taste of kettle corn at the farmers market, you'll definitely enjoy these cookies. The savory cookie is a more adult version of the cookie genre. Something that you'd probably not nibble on over tea, but would go down pretty well with a glass of wine. All of my bakeware is in storage, so I'll have to improvise and borrow the toy cutters from my nephew's toy bake set. Hehehe. This ingredient ratio comes from Gourmet Magazine.

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/3 c confectioners (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp raw mild honey, clover or wildflower
1 tbsp organic granulated cane sugar
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

1. Whirl together dry ingredients in a food processor. Add in butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Empty contents into a container with a lid. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

2. Roll out cookie dough to 1/4" thickness and cut out with cookie cutters. Place unbaked cookies on a parchment-lined or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. Let cookies cook on a wire rack.

Alternative Flavorings:

Savory Thyme Cookies: substitute with fresh thyme

Brussels Sprouts in Garlic Butter

I think I should write down this recipe ratio before I forget. The oven was busy, so this batch got sauteed in a pan with olive oil and butter. I'm guessing on the portion sizing since not everyone who attends a party will eat these.

Feeds: 8-10 adults

Ingredients

2 lb fresh brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and halved
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3-4 tbsp unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed flat with a knife blade
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional, about 1/4 c)

Directions

1. In a nonstick skillet, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Stir in garlic cloves until the oil is fragrant. Remove garlic from the pan and add sprouts, cut side down.

2. Let the sprouts cook until lightly browned. For two pounds, you'll have to work in batches to get everything evenly cooked until sprouts are fork-tender; about 8 minutes.

3. Before removing from the skillet, add salt, black pepper, and half the grated Parmesan cheese. Give the vegetables a quick stir before removing them to a plate. Sprinkle more cheese on top, if desired.

Delicata Squash

What? That makes two of us. I never heard of it either. This was just another (random) winter squash picked up from the farmers market. I had to look at image galleries of squash available in the Pacific NW before matching the name to this one. I've read that it is an alternative to butternut squash; I suppose other food bloggers are suggesting that it is the next best thing for preparation and how it is used.

Photo: Delicata Squash

I am preparing this tonight with two recipes. The first is a baking method, 375 degrees F for 40 minutes; with the peeled de-seeded squash halved and filled with olive oil and brown sugar. One and a half squashes were used since that's all that would fit in the 8" x 8" baking pan. That would mean that I have a total of three of these strange squashes to use as tonight's vegetable. 

The second is a frying method proposed by Jerry Traunfeld, author of the Herbfarm Cookbook. The Herbfarm, a Woodinville restaurant, is curiously just five miles away (I wasn't aware of that either until today). I suppose my version of the recipe will have taste like it has a lot less sage and a lot more rosemary since I am only using what I have on hand. It may turn out to be sweeter than normal since the spiced apple cider I'm about to use is what is leftover from Thanksgiving. Traunfeld's recipe calls for two squash, with the assumption that each squash is about a pound each.

Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage, and Cider Glaze (Epicurious, March 2000)

1 1/2 delicata squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cut into 1/2" thick pieces

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp fresh sage, minced

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 1/2 c fresh apple cider or juice

1 c water

2 tsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Add herbs and cook until butter just begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown the herbs.

2. Add squash to the skillet, then add apple cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the liquid has reduced to a glaze and the squash is tender, 20-30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper.

Mashed Potato and Cheese Soup

Another dinner of leftovers, again! Thanksgiving sure does make a lot of leftover food. This is a recipe that you can use with leftover mashed potatoes, in the event that you find mashed potato pancakes way too salty because someone thought it'd be a great idea to mix salt, butter, and some random dairy into the mashed potatoes for T-day.

Fortunately, the main ingredient is already cooked and mashed, so now I build a soup around it. There is no added salt because the mashed potatoes are already salted. If you don't have leftover turkey stock on hand, you can substitute the liquid component of this soup with water or chicken broth.

Ingredients

2 slices of bacon, cut into thin strips
1-2 carrots, diced
1-2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced (optional)
2 c turkey broth
1-2 c mashed potatoes
3/4 c cheddar cheese, grated
Spice mix (optional): dried thyme, garlic powder, dried oregano

Directions

1. Fry bacon until crispy. Take bacon out of the pan and drain on a paper towel. This will be used to garnish the soup before serving.

2. Pour the bacon fat into the pot that will hold at least two quarts of soup. Over low-medium heat, fry onion slices until they are translucent and slightly golden brown. Add carrots and celery. Cook until vegetables are fork tender.

3. Add broth and mashed potatoes. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Puree with an immersion blender. Then, over medium heat, add grated cheese and stir until all the cheese has melted.

4. Serve hot in a bowl and top with some fried bacon bits.