Spoon-Bread Muffins and a Winner

January 11th, 2010

I got up very early on Sunday morning. It was a day of travel. The Lake Lure cottage had been put back in order, the Christmas decorations packed away for another year, and the refrigerator cleaned. We were returning to Florida. Under normal circumstances this would be a good thing, but the whole eastern half of the United States is under a deep-freeze and the temperatures in Florida are no better than North Carolina. I packed extra sweaters and perused the contents of the refrigerator once more. There was a pesky carton of buttermilk that needed to be used or tossed. I find it difficult to waste good food. so I decided to make this easy recipe for spoon-bread muffins. The recipe came from Scott Peacock, an Atlanta chef and cookbook author and companion to the late Edna Lewis. These muffins are not like normal cornbread. They are lighter and contain no sugar and very little fat. After all of the indulgences of the holidays, they seemed just the thing to get us started on our trip. And they contain lots of buttermilk.
SPOON-BREAD MUFFINS
1 1/2 cups extra-fine grind white cornmeal ( I used what I had )
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbls unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. with rack in middle. Butter muffin cups.
Whisk together cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. whisk buttermilk into eggs, then add to cornmeal mixture and whisk vigorously until smooth. Whisk in butter.
Divide batter among muffin cups and bake until edges begin to pull away from sides and a wooden pick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. (Check at 15 minutes. Mine cooked fast.) Turn out onto a rack and serve warm.
It is Monday morning now. The trip was pleasant but last night the temperatures in Florida dipped to a new low. I’m afraid we will lose our lemon and lime plants, even though they are covered.
As promised, I put all of your names in a hat and had David draw one. I couldn’t take a picture because he is still sleeping and he grumbled about having to stir enough just to do that. I wasn’t about to whip out my camera, turn on all the lights and say smile! The winner of the Julia Child book is Karen of Karen Cooks. I will email you Karen to get your address. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Turkey Leftovers

November 29th, 2009


As promised, here is a picture of my kitchen after the Thanksgiving blowout. A few of us who posted pictures of our pristinely clean kitchens for The Kitchen Reveal agreed to post pictures of what our kitchens normally look like after marathon cooking sessions. The good news is that I had lots of help getting everything cleaned up.

We are in Disney World right now with our family. There are six adults and one 3 1/2 year old Granddaughter. Both sets of Grandparents and her Parents are treating her to four days of fantasy and breakfast with the Princesses. Do you think this child may be just a little overindulged? Nah, I don’t think so.
Since I am not doing any cooking for a while, I will leave you with a recipe that I posted earlier which is a good use for turkey leftovers. We fixed it before we left for Orlando and because it is a Mexican dish it doesn’t feel like leftovers. Go here for delicious Chicken (or in this case turkey) Chilaquiles.

An Award and Reflections

March 27th, 2009

I am thrilled and honored to have received The Sisterhood Award from Sam Hoffer of My Carolina Kitchen, a fellow North Carolina food blogger and food columnist. Sam has been supportive of my blog from the very beginning and I have enjoyed reading and commenting on her blog. I am anxiously awaiting the publication of her memoir, Living on Island Time, about her ten years living in the Abacos. The Sisterhood award is an award from bloggers to bloggers in recognition of a blogspot which shows attitude and/or gratitude. I am grateful to her for cheering me on.

I wish to pay this forward to the following sister bloggers who have, in their own ways, made me so glad that I am doing this blog.

1. Sharon of . . . thrice shy who has been cheering loudly from my very first post. She is a food columnist for the Rutland Daily Herald in Vermont and has definite attitude and we all need to heed her words on eating locally grown food. We went to the same high school! This writing thing can be credited to our English teachers, Mr. Scott and Mr. Klett ( my late father-in-law ).

2. Mimi of French Kitchen in America. I admire her style and philosophy and wonderful posts on France. And though our blog design is similar, I promise I did not copy her on purpose.

3. KatieZ of Thyme for Cooking the Blog. Katie makes me laugh at the pitfalls and joys of renovating a French farmhouse. I can relate so much to what she is going through, as we were doing the same thing last summer in Lake Lure and face more of it this summer.

4. Penny of The Comforts of Home. We share the same name and live within 30 miles of each other in NC and have much in common. I would not have known of her if it had not been for my blog.
5. Irena Chalmers of the Food Jobs Blog. She was the one who sparked my interest in cooking when I was in my twenties through her cooking school. She is now teaching at the Culinary Institute of America and has recently authored Food Jobs; 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers. There is even a section in the book on food blogs. If you have ever entertained the idea of making a career of your food passion this is the book for you.

In keeping with the tradition of passing this award forward here are the rules. The sisterhood award is an award from bloggers to bloggers in recognition of a blog spot which shows attitude and/or gratitude.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog, or sending them an email.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

REFLECTIONS

In a little over a week we will be returning to Lake Lure. The Winter in Florida has been good for us. We have good friends here and we have been able to relax and enjoy a simple life with no more demanding tasks than walking the dog, fishing, boating, cooking and reading. I started my blog here in our cozy office and it will seem strange to have to hunt a spot in our unfinished house to plant my lap top. But there are so many things that I am looking forward to. I haven’t had the chance to initiate my huge gas stove to cook griddle cakes, trays of cookies at one baking, and stir frys with my new wok ring. Then there is the fireplace. I want to experiment with hearth cooking. Napa Style has wonderful accroutrements for cooking over fire.

The above picture shows the antique stained glass door to the pantry. It is just propped up in the opening for the picture, and there are no shelves yet in the pantry. We brought this door with us from our old house because we could not part with it. The trim work, doors, shelves for my bookcase, and closet fixtures all need to be done. This second floor has the new kitchen, family room and master bedroom and bath which are still not complete. Here is the family room next to the kitchen. We have commissioned a good friend, Lake Lure artist Carole Lang, to paint an oil of Lake Lure to go over the mantel.

And that is just the upstairs of the addition. Below is the original old cottage which will include an office, sitting room, laundry and exisiting two bedrooms and bath.

As you see, we have much work to do this summer. The goal is to have it all finished by Labor Day. That is a very special time for us. Our extended family on our DIL’s side will be visiting for our annual Labor Day holiday and we are determined to get it done.

In the next few days we are taking a motorcycle trip to Sanibel Island to enjoy the last of our Florida down time. We are looking forward to Easter with Michael, Kristen and little Rachel in Cary, NC. I am looking for a small apron for her because she is is almost three and I want to make Chicken Strips with her. And maybe it is time to update our picture together.

We had our favorite Grilled Salmon last night. Before we go on our trip I will post the recipe. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Chicken Chilaquiles

January 8th, 2009

Happy Mother’s day to all of you Moms out there. Amy has asked me to do a guest post for her today. I first met Amy and David when they vacationed at our guest cottage last July. Amy was pregnant with Natalie at the time and I have since followed her progress on her blog. We are hoping that they will come back sometime so that we can meet Natalie in person. I admire all of you young Mothers who are raising families and juggling a multitude of responsiblities. That is why I chose this recipe for Chicken Chilaquiles to share with you. It is one that my wonderful daughter-in-law makes for her family on a regular basis. Kristen is a busy working Mommy, but she still manages to prepare wonderful meals for her family. My sweet granddaughter Rachel even helps her sometimes.

What is so great about this recipe is that it starts with a rotisserie chicken. You can have dinner on the table in an easy 30 minutes. The ingredients are simple but the taste is anything but simple. It is made with salsa verde which is easy to find in the grocery store with the rest of the salsas. The tortilla chips and chicken thicken the salsa and chicken broth and the topping of grated cheese and sour cream add a richness to the casserole. It is pretty to look at too. If you have time you can add other condiments to the dish. Rachel loves avocados so sometimes Kristen adds them to the top. Diced tomatoes would also be a great addition. But maybe not for Amy and David.

CHICKEN CHILAQUILES

1 cup sour cream

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

1 3/4 cups Salsa Verde (Pace has a good one, as does Trader Joe’s)

1 can reduced sodium chicken broth

Coarsely shredded chicken form a rotisserie chicken, skin removed

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips plus a few more for the top

6 ounces grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Stir together sour cream and just enough milk to get a thick pourable consistency.

Bring salsa and broth to a boil in a heavy pot over moderately high heat. Add the chicken, salt and pepper and cook, stirring until chicken is heated through, 1 to 2 minutes, then stir in 6 cups tortilla chips and cook until chips are softened (but not mushy), about 1 minute.

Transfer chilaquiles to a large platter or casserole. Sprinkle with grated cheese, sour cream broken chips and cilantro. Serve rest of sour cream on the side. Garnish with other condiments if desired.

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