Rosie Makes A Cornbread Salad.

How about a nice, savory cornbread parfait?

You could make it in individual glasses.

Or a big trifle bowl.

Or you could make a plated salad.

Start out with cornbread,

add a bunch of salad bar items,

and top it off with a buttermilk and fresh herb dressing.

Start the salad off with your best cornbread.

I'm not giving you a recipe for cornbread.

It's sort of like cole slaw and potato salad.

Everybody's got their own recipe.

However, I will offer some suggestions.

I use a cast iron pan for my cornbread.

Pour the batter in and let it cook on the stove top

on medium heat for about 7 minutes to give it a nice crust.

Then put it in the oven to bake.

Also, for a bit of tang,

I like to use buttermilk instead of regular milk.

For more corn flavor,

 add in corn kernels, either from a can or off the cob.

And I like toppings.

Before baking, add on a few slices of tomato and onion, 

jalapeño, if you like,

sprinkle with some cumin,

then add grated cheddar cheese.

After baking the cornbread, let it rest a bit.

When you're ready to build your salad,

cut the bread into cubes and lightly toast.

For your salad layers, use your imagination.

Pick and choose.

Here are some suggestions:

diced tomatoes

chopped red onion or Vidalia onion

diced sweet bell peppers (assorted colors for the pretty)

corn kernels 

diced cucumber

kidney beans or black beans

crumbled bacon

grated cheddar cheese

chopped basil leaves

Rosie Note:  For the beans, I always use dried, not canned.
It is not necessary to soak dried beans overnight.
The reason for soaking overnight is simply to cut back on the cooking time.
Am I the only one who sees the irony in that?
When I want beans I want them now, not tomorrow.
So here's a tip: 
To hasten your cooking time for beans,
add a little baking soda to the cooking water -
maybe a  teaspoon per cup of beans.
The alkalinity breaks down the pectin,
causing the beans to soften and cook much quicker.
Simmer your beans until tender, then rinse.

Assemble your layered salad

and pour a fresh herb and buttermilk dressing over top.

Rosie's Herb and Buttermilk Dressing

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 TB lemon juice

1 tsp cider vinegar

1 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 TB chopped fresh dill

1 TB chopped fresh parsley

1 TB chopped fresh chives

Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

'

Enjoy!

Rosie Loves Her Corn Bread.

You know how Rosie loves her cornbread.
I'm always trying to find the "ultimate" cornbread, and I've come quite close several times.  One recipe I have that was probably the best so far I can't share with you, because I was sworn to secrecy.
(Looking at you, Debbie!)

So I've gone on my merry little way, experimenting...

Mr. Hawthorne and Good Neighbor Zippy drove up to Currituck the other day and came back with some mighty fine Currituck Corn.  Sweet as can be!  And it makes some mighty fine cornbread.

 I was getting ready to shoot the first picture of the cornbread and suddenly, there was this hand, reaching into the picture.

Someone couldn't wait.

I searched for cornbread recipes and found this one from America's Test Kitchen.
Mr. Hawthorne and I usually watch America's Test Kitchen every afternoon on PBS and find it to be the best food show.  Period.  Food Network basically sucks.  It's a poor attempt at "entertainment," which is the only thing that can explain some of the crap that airs on that network.  Food Network is basically worthless.  America's Test Kitchen is informative and the book compendium of their shows is a terrific source of information.  They explain to you the whys and wherefores of what they do.  What worked and what didn't.  That said, here's ATK's recipe for corn bread.

America's Test Kitchen Cornbread

1 1/3 cups stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 TB sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 ears corn, kernels cut off
6 TB unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, plus 1 yolk

Heat oven to 400°.

Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

Process corn kernels in blender until very smooth, scraping down sides, about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer purée to medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until very thick and deep yellow, about 10 minutes.  Remove pan from heat.  Add 5 TB butter and whisk until melted and incorporated.  Add buttermilk and whisk until incorporated.  Add eggs and yolk and whisk until incorporated.  Transfer corn mixture to bowl with cornmeal mixture and, using rubber spatula, fold together until just combined.  Melt remaining tablespoon butter in 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Scrape batter into skillet and spread into even layer.  Bake until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 23-28 minutes.  Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.  Remove cornbread from skillet and let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Enjoy!

 Now, once you have your basic cornbread,

what else can you do with it?

 You can make a cornbread salad.

 Just cube the remaining cornbread...

   Add a bunch of other stuff...
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, beans...

 

 And pour in some ranch dressing.

I made my own, but Hidden Valley ranch packets

will do in a pinch.

Rosie's Cornbread Salad

2 cups cubed cornbread
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced green, yellow, orange, and red pepper
(I like all the colors.)
1 tomato, peeled, seeded, juiced, and diced
2 scallions, sliced
1 cup kidney beans
Combine all ingredients and toss with 1/2 cup ranch dressing,
or more to taste.

Rosie Note: I always use dried beans and simmer until tender.
Then rinse and drain.
It's really not necessary to soak overnight.
I rarely do.  Don't have the time.


And I don't like canned beans.
You can use them if you must.
Le sigh...
Just rinse the slime off first.


 Rosie's Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp sugar
2 TB cider vingear
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Mix all together until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using
to let all the flavors get acquainted.

Toss cornbread salad ingredients with Ranch Dressing

and enjoy!

Rosie Makes Moreover Cornbread.

 Rosie doesn't do Leftovers.

Rosie does Moreovers.

Here's what I wrote several years ago:

Nothing goes to waste in the Hawthorne Household.
And I don't refer to the remnants as leftovers.
Immediately after writing the word "leftovers,"
I knew I needed another word
that was more real, more definitive, and positive.
First I thought of the word re-do's.
But that implies it wasn't done right
the first time around
when it certainly was.
Then I considered do-overs.
But, of course,
that, too, has a negative connotation.
I've put a lot of thought into this
trying to come up with just the right word which describes
the process of what I do
in the life chain of the produce and viande
I prepare and serve and consume.

And my word is moreovers.

Think about it:
You've already produced and served
a wonderful, satisfying, convivial repast.
So, what's next?
MORE is next.
When you say "Moreover,"
you're likely going to top what you previously said,
put an exclamation point there,
and/or put it in bold or italics.
So, I have no leftovers.
I have MOREOVERS!

The other day,

I made cornbread along with some 

seasoned and seared sirloin strips for my Hawthorne Boys.

 I had about 1/4 of the cornbread left,

so I must dress it up in another guise

before my Hawthornelets will eat it again.

I'm making a cornbread salad.

 

 I keep trying different recipes for cornbread.

This was just the latest.

I put in pockets of Pepper Jack cheese and

roasted red peppers.

The texture after sitting for a day or two

was heavier than when this was fresh.

I attribute that to the flour in the batter.

I'm usually against flour in cornbread.

I tend to be a cornbread purist.

 I cubed my cornbread.

And it probably cubed so neatly

because of the flour in the batter.

 

 I ended up with a heaping 4 cups of cornbread cubes.

 

 A homegrown tomato is a thing of beauty.

This one is still warm from the sun.

 Peel, halve, seed, juice, chop, salt and pepper.

 Peel, halve, seed, and ...

  ... dice a cucumber.

 I chopped half of a large red onion.

 

 And minced a jalapeno.

 Add tomato, cucumber, red onion,

and jalapeno to cornbread.

Now I need a dressing.

And let me digest for a moment.

A proper Southern meal has cornbread.

It's a given.

What does a good Southerner do with leftover cornbread?
Well, you've learned to slice it thinly and sauté it in butter

for a special breakfast treat.

And if you're Real Southern,

then you know to dip cornbread in buttermilk,

give a few grinds of pepper,

and let go at it.

My dressing for the cornbread salad

involves buttermilk tang and black pepper spice.

Perfect.

 Cornbread Dressing

1/3 cup mayo

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 TB cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all together.

Tweak as you think needed.

You know...  COOK!

 I have 4 big cups of cornbread salad

and a heaping cup of dressing.

I added maybe 1/2 cup of the dressing to the cornbread mixture.

Toss and mix.

 A few cuttings of scallions from the pot on my deck.

Rosie Note #346:

Buy a few shallow pots and place on deck or whatever,

right outside the kitchen door.

 Add potting soil and compost, fertilizer,

and plant a salad.

Mesclun mix, micro-greens, arugula, herbs.

I have sage, four types of basil, tarragon, marjoram,
scallions, chives, dill, sorrel, and cilantro right outside on the deck.

It's so nice to walk outside and pick a salad.

 Scissor some scallions over the cornbread salad.

Enjoy!

Rosie Makes A Cornbread Salad Trifle.

A good while back,

the Hawthornes were on a short jaunt across North Carolina

and ended up at a little diner in Robbinsville,
Lynn's Place.

At Lynn's,
we ran into this little cutie ready to ride.
This is Harley.

There are lots of bikers here traveling the nearby
Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon.
(The Dragon is 318 curves in 11 miles).

At Lynn's, I encountered
cornbread salad for the first time.
And I thought to myself,
"Self?  You can definitely do this."
 

So Rosie is making a cornbread trifle today.
It's not the same as their cornbread salad.
I think Lynn's salad,
which was made by our waitress,
had a dressing of mayo, vinegar, and sugar.
I wanted a little more flavor in my dressing
so I had to add a few touches of my own to it.
And I wanted more elements in the salad.

So I present to you
Rosie's Cornbread Trifle
 with a Buttermilk Herb Dressing.

 

Cornbread Trifle

4 cups diced cornbread, toasted

6 slices ham, diced and sautéed

1 cup cooked kidney beans

(I don't use canned beans. Don't like them.)

1 15-oz. can corn, drained

1 green pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small cucumber, peeled and diced

 1/2 red onion, diced

1 tomato, peeled, seeded, juiced, and diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Buttermilk Herb Dressing

Neatly layer all ingredients in order.

Pour 1 1/2 cups dressing over top

and refrigerate for several hours 

to allow the flavors to develop.
Save the remaining 1/2 cup of dressing
to serve with the cornbread salad.

You could use your favorite ranch dressing

or try Rosie's Buttermilk Herb Dressing.

Buttermilk Herb Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup buttermilk

2 TB cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp Kosher salt or to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

zest of 1 lime
 1 tsp chopped scallions

1 tsp chopped parsley

1 tsp chopped basil

1 tsp chopped dill
The herbs are all fresh, not dried.

Mix all together.

Cover and chill.

I'm using several types of basil

which I keep growing in a pot on the deck.

 

  Start with your favorite cornbread recipe.

I prefer to cook my cornbread in an iron skillet.

Love that crust!

Nice buttery crust.

 And you know I had to have a slice

right out of the oven with buttah on it.

 This is what I ended up with for the salad

after everybody picked over it.

 

 I toasted 4 cups of diced cornbread 

in a 300° oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

 For the ham,

the Hawthornes like Kentucky Legend

 double smoked ham, available at Food Lion.

      

 Dice and sauté the ham in butter, browning a bit.

And now we layer.

Be sure to find a pretty glass bowl

to showcase your trifle.

 Toasted cornbread for the base.

 Sautéed ham layer.

 

Next the kidney beans.

 Corn layer.

My green layer:
pepper, celery, and cucumber.

 

A red layer - red onion and tomatoes.

 

 And finally, cheese.

 One must turn this little pretty around

and admire it from all sides.

  

 I poured 1 1/2 cups of my dressing over top.

Save the rest of the dressing
for later dipping and drizzling.

You don't want to sog up the cornbread.

 Let it dribble down the sides.

 Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

 This only gets better.

 Enjoy!