Cornbread=Good

Rachel here: In my book, corn bread is one of the great things to eat. Obviously it's not fancy, but it sure is delicious and, fresh from the oven, few things are quite as certain to put a smile on my face. I made the recipe I'm posting below for the first time this week to compliment my pork, black-eyed peas and greens (posted earlier in the week). It was insanely easy to prep and start to finish took me 30 minutes. It's pretty basic and definitely would lend itself well to variations (for instance, next time I think I might sprinkle a bit of demerara sugar on top or add some cheese and bacon to the dry mix). While it didn't blow my mind, it definitely hit the spot and, for its ease, the recipe gets a major thumbs up. Shock of shocks, I grabbed the recipe out of my go-to ("The Best Recipe" by Cooks Illustrated).

Golden Northern Cornbread
serves 9

Ingredients
1 c. yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tspn. baking powder
1/2 tspn. baking soda
4 tspn. sugar
1/2 tspn. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 c. buttermilk
2/3 c. milk
2 T. unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a 9-inch metal pan (the recipe calls for a square pan, but I just used a pie plate and all was well). In a large bowl, whisk together the yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Form a well in the middle of the bowl by pushing the dry ingredients to the side in a circle. Crack the eggs in the whole in the middle of your fry ingredients and stir them lightly (the recipe calls for the use of a wooden spoon but I just used a spatula and, again, everything turned out fine). Add the buttermilk and then the milk. Stir all of the wet ingredients and then mix everything in the bowl together until just combined. Add the melted butter and finish mixing. Pour the batter (it's a wet batter, just so you know) into your pan and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy!

Janet here: Sadly, the family I cook for prefers its cornbread from the Jiffy box rather than something homemade. As son S said after I made the Barefoot Contessa's jalapeno cheddar cornbread, thinking I would be sitting through dinner listening to rave reviews, "Cornbread is not meant to be messed with." So there it is.

At any rate, I will tell you that this recipe is mighty tasty and the next time I'm having people over who have corn bread taste buds, I will mix up another batch of this and S will obviously not be among those sitting at the dinner table.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
makes 12 large pieces

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts plus extra for garnish (3 scallions)
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers (2-3 peppers)

Method
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs and butter. With a wooden spoon, stire the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix. Mix in two cups of the grated cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oven to 350 degrees. Greast a 9 X 13 X 2-inch baking pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Soup du Jour ... Or Not

Rachel here: Ok, so obviously soup was the name of the game for this post. My mom and I seem to both really enjoy soup (which is sort of funny since I don't recall eating it much when I was growing up, but anyway) and when we were caucusing last week about this week's posts and I was stressing out about my looming midterms, soup seemed like the perfect meal to make. It would have been, too...

So, the other afternoon I decided that I would make soup with the various vegetables in our fridge that were about to turn or of which we just had awkward bits left. Things started out spectacularly as I sauteed celery, carrots, shallot and a bit of onion in olive oil (with a little butter for good measure). I felt so pleased with myself for retaining some of the information I've been made privy to living with John, with this as a really great way to start soups as an example. I was thoroughly enjoying my break from studying, too, and so when I looked in the fridge and discovered a mere half-cup of chicken stock I didn't bat an eye. If I could tackle 3 midterms and a paper in addition to a million pages of reading this week, I could certainly overcome a serious stock shortage. I looked in the door of the fridge and saw a bit of tomato juice and thought, "Eureka! All will be well."

HA!

I added my chicken stock and whopping cup of tomato juice to the soup and things were smelling pretty good, though I was acutely aware of needing to come up with way more liquid if this had any hope of not just being a pot of mushed vegetables. Out of the corner of my eye, on top of the refrigerator I eyed an opened bottle of red wine. "Jackpot," I thought.

Now, in case you were at all curious, you can't make soup with wine. You just can't. I poured almost half a bottle of wine into my soup pot and the next morning my house still smelled like a sorority. Sure, a little wine can be a lovely thing in a soup, but using it as the bulk of your stock (ok, obviously there is no such thing as wine stock and this should have been a major clue to me prior to my generous pour) is just nasty. Like, really, truly, awfully nasty. All I can say is, should you find yourself in a similar situation, I suggest pouring yourself a glass of wine and ordering take-out instead.

And so, I abandoned the soup. In a moment of total type-A-ness, I planned on making soup the next night so I could save face for this post. I told my mother (much to her cackling delight) about my faux pas, though, and she and I agreed that we're not here to blow your mind, we're here to tell you about our lives through recipes. Let's just say this is a recipe that, if all goes according to plan, won't be making a reappearance in my life. My ma's recipe below, however, looks absolutely scrumptious.



Janet here: Soup is my go-to supper when I want to make sure there is something tasty for dinner sometime later in the week. It's easy to make ahead, uses up all kinds of ingredients (if that's part of your intent), and it's cheap. One of my favorite soup cookbooks is Soup Suppers by Arthur Schwartz. This is a man who fully understands the heft a good soup can have as a meal. Just add a little salad, maybe some bread and cheese, and you are good to go. Now that's my kind of weekday meal.


Tuscan Bean Soup
serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 pound dried cannellini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about one cup)
1 medium carrot, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium potato, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (about 1 cup)
1 3/4 chicken or beef or vegetable stock
2-3 fresh sage leaves, 2 teaspoons dried leaf sage or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon marjoram
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 of a 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach or kale, defrosted or 2 cups finely shredded kale or 2 cups finely shredded Savoy cabbage


Method
Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover (or at least several hours)
In a 4-6 quart saucepan, warm the olive oil and saute the onions and carrots until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the potato, broth, sage and garlic.

Drain the beans and add them, along with enough water to cover, about 6 cups. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer steadily for 40 minutes to one hour until the beans are very tender

Ladle out half the beans and pass them through a blender or food processor. Add them back to the soup. Continue to simmer. Season to taste. Add the spinach or kale or cabbage and simmer about 15 minutes more.

Serve in bowls topped with thin croutons and a drizzle of olive oil.