my 6th catering gig

i finally got around to catering again. this time i made meatball stroganoff, lemon meringue pie and cheese scones. i made the cheese scones last minute because i didn't think i made enough food and they were really good. i had never made scones before but this recipe was really simple. i made these delicious scones in 20 minutes!

2 C. all-purpose flour

1 C. yellow or blue stone-ground cornmeal

1/3 C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/3 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

12 T. (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, well-chilled and cut into small bits

1 C. buttermilk

3/4 C. dried currants

Preheat oven to 400° F. Butter a cookie sheet.

In a food processor, whir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse the mixture just until it resembles coarse meal. Pour in the buttermilk and pulse the mixture just until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and scatter the currants over it. Gently pat out the dough and fold it back over itself about a half-dozen times, until smooth. (A dough scraper helps with this.) Use a light hand and don't overmix.

Divide the dough in half and pat it out again into two 3/4-inch thick disks. Cut each disk into 6 plump pie-shaped wedges. Transfer the scones to the prepared cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar if you wish. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until golden. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 1 dozen.

Variation: Substitute 3 ounces (about 3/4 cup) grated Cheddar cheese for the currants and add with the butter.

lemon meringue pie

gillian telepathically asked me to make lemon meringue pie. i've never made lemon meringue pie so i found a simple recipe from paula deen to use. it was easy to make a delicious. next time i'll work on the pie crust.

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3 egg yolks

1 (8-inch) prebaked pie shell or crumb crust

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream or tartar

1/4 cup sugar

Directions

In medium bowl, combine milk, lemon juice, and zest; blend in egg yolks. Pour into cooled crust.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks from. Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff. Spread over filling; seal to edge of crust. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

cornmeal pancakes

who doesn't love pancakes? decided to change up regular pancakes by making cornmeal pancakes. i still have half a bag left of cornmeal. i wonder what else i can make?

1 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 medium egg

oil for frying

In a good sized mixing bowl combine the cornmeal, sugar or honey, and salt. Add the boiling water. The cornmeal will swell up into a lumpy mess. That’s alright, don’t worry about it. Stir the lumpy mess vigorously with a whisk or fork until it is a thick batter. Let it cool down a little bit. Add the flour, baking powder, milk and egg. Keep stirring the batter until it is nice and smooth. Drop the mixture by 1/3 cupfuls onto a hot, greased skillet. Fry until the underside is golden brown, and the top side bubbles a bit. Turn the pancakes over and continue frying until well browned.

orange cornmeal cake

i bought a bunch of cornmeal so i figure i try to use it up a bit. i found a bunch of recipes using cornmeal but i had to try this one. it sounded like a nice springtime cake.

Orange Cornmeal Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar, plus 1/3 cup for the topping

1/2 cup orange juice (or dry white wine)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Zest of 1 large orange

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with oil (can use butter for this too); line the bottom of the pan with wax paper or parchment paper, and brush the top of the paper with oil.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, 1 cup of the sugar, and orange juice until smooth. Add flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and orange zest; whisk lightly to combine.

3 Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan; sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25-35 minutes.

4 Cool the cake in the pan 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to separate it from the edge of the pan. Invert the cake gently onto a plate, and remove the parchment paper. Re-invert the cake onto a rack to cool completely before serving.

Serves 8.

the only thing i recommend is to use maybe 1/8 cup but no more than 1/4 of sugar for the topping instead of 1/3 cup. the cake is in an 8" pan and i def think that's too much sugar for the topping. i used 1/4 cup and still thought that was too much. it does leave a nice crunchy crust on top but i'm sure you can get the same result with a little less sugar. also i ran out of olive oil so i used half olive and half veggie oil. i also forgot to buy an orange so i didn't have any orange zest. the cake was perfect for today. it's good for breakfast or dessert. my roommate made coconut milk lemongrass soy ice cream and i ate some with the cake and it went really well together.

jamaican cornmeal porridge

i remember my mom would bring home jamaican porridge from crown heights. i found this recipe it's close to what i remember but not as yummy. i think it's possible the place she went to used coconut milk. it had a nice flavor but it's not what i remember. it's definitely an easy and fast recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD:

1. Mix the cornmeal with 1/2 cup of the water

2. Bring the remaining 1 cup of water to the boil

3. Stir in the cornmeal mixture and salt

4. Continue cooking for 10 minutes

5. Add condensed milk and vanilla essence

6. Top with grated cinnamon and nutmeg

METHOD:

1. Mix the cornmeal with 1/2 cup of the water

2. Bring the remaining 1 cup of water to the boil

3. Stir in the cornmeal mixture and salt

4. Continue cooking for 10 minutes

5. Add condensed milk and vanilla essence

6. Top with grated cinnamon and nutmeg

Makes 3-4 servings

ecstasy bars

i haven't been baking a lot lately because i've been working two jobs. i found a quick recipe so i made it yesterday before work. it looks really messy but when it cools down it's not.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons evaporated milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the peanut butter and mix thoroughly.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix until just combined. Spread the dough into a greased 9x13x2 pan. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and, while its still piping hot, sprinkle the chocolate chips over it. Spread them evenly across the dough as they melt.

While the chocolate is melting, combine in a separate bowl the powdered sugar, peanut butter and evaporated milk. Beat together and spread onto the melted chocolate, forming a marbled pattern. Allow the bars to cool and then serve.

i tweeked the recipe just a little bit. i used chunky peanut butter for the bar then chunky peanut butter with roasted flax seed for the frosting. i also used a mixture of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips for the frosting. i also used cinnamon honey oats instead of just plain oats.

honey mustard kielbasa plus more...

us new york ladies living in tucumcari cooked a dinner a few weeks ago. i made honey mustard kielbasa and gillian made kasha and creamed spinach. it was really yummy. the honey mustard kielbasa was super easy to make. i took a bunch of kielbasa and sliced it up, added 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a 1/2 cup of mustard and some diced onions. jill told me to pour a can of beer in so it'll cook faster and that was a great suggestion.