Rosie Makes Cornbread Muffins And Roasted Red Pepper And Corn Soup.

Rosie is on the road now, visiting with her Mommie.
 I made this supper on October 1, 2009,
 and I've been saving this draft ever since then.

Please enjoy.

Not too long ago,
 I came across a recipe for The Best Corn Muffins ... Ever
  from a wonderful food blog - Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.
 My recipe for corn muffins is adapted from The Best Corn Muffins.
My ingredients:
 1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
 1 TB baking powder
 2 eggs
 1/2 cup buttermilk
 1/2 cup heavy cream
 3 TB butter, melted
1 TB honey
 1/2 cup sour cream
 1 cup Swiss cheese
 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
 1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can corn, drained (pretend it's in the picture)
 handful of green onions,
 chopped 1 jalapeno, minced
 salt and pepper

In a large bowl,
 I mixed the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

In another bowl, I added the eggs, honey, ...

buttermilk, cream, ...

melted butter, ...

and sour cream.

I grated my Swiss cheese,
 chopped my onions and olives, and minced my jalapeno.

I poured the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients,
then added in the drained can of corn.

The onions, drained tomatoes and green chiles, and olives went in.

And finally the Swiss cheese went in.

This filled up 24 muffin tins, which I had greased.

Each muffin was topped with grated cheddar cheese.
 Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Isn't this a pretty little muffin?
 Tasty, too
. Just the right hint of heat from the jalapeno
 and delicious cheesiness.
 Before I started on my Roasted Red Pepper and Corn Soup,
 I made a quick sour cream topping.

Just 1/2 cup sour cream,
 mixed with the zest and juice of 1 lime, and about 1 TB cilantro.

You can adjust lime and cilantro to taste.
And for those of you cilantro-haters out there,
and I know you're there, substitute parsley.
 A little minced jalapeno would not be unwelcome here.

Ingredients for my Roasted Red Pepper and Corn Soup:
 1 quart chicken consomme
 3 small red peppers
 1 onion
 2 cloves garlic
 1 TB cornstarch
 1/2 cup heavy cream (Imagine it's in the picture.)
 1 can corn
 basil
 parsley
 cilantro (optional)
 Swiss cheese cubes (to be added at end)

First I skewered 3 red peppers
 and roasted them over an open flame until blackened all over.

When the peppers are thoroughly blackened,

immediately submerge in ice water.
 Some recipes for blackened peppers
say to put them in a paper bag, close it,
 and let the steam work the skin off.
But I've found that the ice bath technique
 is quicker and cleaner.
You can just push off the skin with you thumbs
 and the water washes the char right away.

Pat dry and slice into small pieces.

Next I chopped my onion and minced my garlic.

To one pan with a little olive oil, I added the corn to roast it a bit.

In another pan, I added the onions, cooked for about a minute,

then added in the garlic.
 Never overcook or burn garlic.
It becomes very bitter and basically inedible.

Next, I added about 3/4 of the roasted red peppers to the onion mixture ...

and 1/4 to the corn.

I added in 1 TB of cornstarch to the onion mixture
and cooked for a minute ...

then gradually added in my chicken consomme.

Next, I added most of the roasted corn to the soup.

I left a little bit of corn and pepper for a garnish.

My soup was not quite as thick as I wanted
so I added in a cornstarch slurry - 1 TB cornstarch and 1 TB cold water.

I love my immersion blender.

Finally, I added in 1/2 cup heavy cream, tasted,
 and added freshly ground salt and pepper.

I minced 1/2 jalapeno and some basil and parsley.

I ladled the soup into my bowl,
 added some small cubes of Swiss cheese,
and topped with the jalapeno and herbs
 and a dollop of the sour cream.

Little corn muffin on the side and some croutons in the soup.

Excellent corn muffins.

I decided to crumble the muffin up
and add that to the soup too.
 This hit my autumnal spot perfectly.
The soup was a comforting blend of flavors,
 the corn muffin complemented the soup,
 and the herbs and jalapeno and sour cream
 just rounded the whole thing out.