Friday, November 30, 2012

Rosie Is Published.

Please check out Rosie's November column
in the Outer Banks Voice.



on a bed of creamy, buttery, cheesy polenta.

 Here's my original post.

Thanks again, Ange in Wisconsin,


Thanksgiving Moreovers. Part 1.

Did you have any doubt that I would post
about Thanksgiving Moreovers?

Today, I'm making turkey and ham pot pies.


With a phyllo dough topping.

I have 1 diced onion, 1 stalk celery, diced,
1 carrot, diced, 1 potato, diced

Add potato to about 2-3 tablespoons melted butter.

Stir around for a minute or two.

Add in carrots, ...

...  celery, and ...


...  onions.


Cook for a few minutes, stirring.

Block of frozen peas.

Add about 3 TB flour.

And cook it to get the raw taste out of the flour.

Slowly add in chicken broth.

I found some corn in the fridge,
so I'm using that.



Cook until nicely thickened.
The starch from the potatoes gives it a boost here.

I diced some turkey meat and ...

...  added that to the pot.

Then I diced some ham and ...

...  added the ham to the pot.
Heat through.

I filled assorted ramekins
and miniature loaf pans with the turkey and ham mixture.



I had phyllo sheets in the freezer
and decided to semi-ho my moreovers,
instead of making pie dough from scratch.

Butter each layer of phyllo.

Bake at 350 degrees until the tops are nicely browned.


I liked the crunch of the phyllo.
Nice change to pie dough.


What I would have liked in here
is a few leaves of tarragon,
but my little Hawthornelets are purists
when it comes to their pot pies.
Heck - the phyllo was enough for them to get over.
I don't think they'd take kindly to tarragon.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Rosie Makes Yummy Corn Muffies.

I made something intensely good the other day.
I made excellent corn muffins.

I've always been very strict with my cornbread.
I want perfect cornbread,
whether I use muffin tins, or an 8" square glass pan,
or an iron skillet,
or my newest iron pan -
my corn muffin ear pan.

Rosie's Corn Muffies

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 scant TB sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup corn
2 TB butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, divided

Grease corn-shaped molds
and place in oven.
Heat oven to 425 degrees.

While the molds are heating,
make the batter:
Stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar,
 baking powder, salt, and cayenne.
Add the corn and stir to coat.

In a small bowl,
lightly whisk together
the melted butter, cream, and yolk.

Beat the egg white until soft peaks form.

Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture.
Gently fold in the egg white.

To fill the molds,
I used a plastic bag with the tip snipped off
and piped the corn bread mixture in.
Smooth the batter.

Bake the corn muffies for 12-15 minutes,
or until golden brown.
Unmold and serve warm, with butter.


My mise en place

I don't always do a mise en place.
Sometimes it's not worth the time or the messy containers.
But other times, 
it is essential.
Whenever I stir fry or bake,
I have a mise en place.
I want/need everything within reach.
I don't want to have to stop
and go look for an ingredient.
At top, the egg white,
then corn, salt, cayenne,
melted butter, baking powder, heavy cream,
flour, cornmeal, sugar,
and the egg yolk.

Add the dry ingredients to a small bowl and ...

...  mix well.

Add in the drained corn.

Toss to coat.

Set aside while you prepare the wet ingredients:
Melt the butter.

Add the yolk.

Add the cream and whisk.

Set aside and start on the egg white:
Start a-whuppin'.

Whup until you have nice soft peaks.

 
Assemble your basic ingredients:
Butter, yolk, and cream in the front.
Dry mixture with corn back left.
Whupped egg white on right.


Add the wet to the dry.
Mix together.

Gently fold in the beaten white.




I had Mr. Hawthorne pipe the corn mixture
into the greased, hot corn muffin pan.



Try to smooth and neaten out the muffies.


And bake.
425 minutes.
12 - 15 degrees.
Until golden.
Turn out onto colorful kitchen towel.

Arrange on platter for photo op.

Ole.

Tuck some butter inside.

Tender cornbread.
Butter.
Corn kernels.

I was having a lovely time eating these delightful morsels.

They were tender.
They were corny.
They were crusty and cakey at the same time.

I was using a little softened butter,
splashed against the muffie,
and I watched it melt into the crevices of the corn finger.

And then I turned to Mr. Hawthorne
and watched what he was eating.
He had just steamed live crabs
and was pickin' de crabs.

On his diet,
he won't use melted butter
for a crab meat dip.
He adheres to a Balsamic vinegar
 and Old Bay Seasoning dip...
...  which was delicious with the corn muffie dipped in.

Balsamic vinegar with a sprinkling of Old Bay.
Try it.
You'll be happily surprised.