Cinnamon Bread, Picture Frame, Recipe, Gift

To welcome my friends from Texas, I wanted to make some gift bags with home made goodies they could enjoy in their hotel room.  You know what it's like to be hungry, or want a snack, and there is literally nothing to eat, or only expensive machines in the hall that have nothing you like and you have no change.

While "cruising" Pinterest recently, I had seen this idea which was so cool.  At least I think that's where I saw it.  Couldn't find it again.  Baked individual loaves of bread were tied to a picture frame containing the recipe for the attached bread.  Perfect for gift giving.  How great of an idea is that?  That was my starting point.  They would definitely be getting this awesome cinnamon bread that I had found at redflycreations.com.  This bread is amazing and so easy to make.

I found adorable picture frames to use for holding the recipe.  The recipe was all typed and ready to print.  The biggest problem was we were out of printer ink.  NOOOOOO.  So, I had to write out the recipes at the last minute.  

It may not be as neat as printed recipes, but it did the trick.  No one complained.

To their bags, I also added home made Mr. Goodbar Bites that you can find on my blog.  Basically, they are chocolate covered peanut mounds.  Yum.  There were some nice cups with lids and straws that could be used over and over that I filled with different flavors of Crystal Lite.  In addition, there was trail mix, peanut butter crackers and other assorted goodies.  Hopefully, all things they would enjoy.

The Texas Troupe arrived on Thursday evening.  We met them for dinner and I gave them their "welcome" bags.  They let me know they did enjoy them!  Linda had eaten her cinnamon bread before breakfast on Friday morning.  The others wanted to sample and she told them they would have to eat their own.  I don't think the Mr. Goodbar Bites lasted much longer.  They all came in drinking out of their cups, so all in all it was a rousing success.

To make the cinnamon bread, here is what you need:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk  (add 2 tsps. vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk if you don't have buttermilk)
4 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda

Cinnamon/Sugar Mix

2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
mix together in a small bowl

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

This recipe makes 2 large loaves or 1 large loaf and 4 small loaves.  Grease and flour loaf pans and set aside.

Cream together butter, 2 cups sugar and eggs.  Add milk, flour, and baking soda.

Fill prepared pans 1/2 (or slightly less) full with batter.

Sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon mixture over the top of the batter in the pans.  Add remaining batter.  Sprinkle with last of the sugar.  Swirl with knife.  (I forgot to do that, but it didn't make any difference - other than how it looks.)

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool 20 minutes.  Remove from pan.

Since I was giving these individual loaves as gifts, I left them in the disposable aluminum pans and wrapped them in a clear cellophane party bag and tied them to the picture frame with twine.

This.  Bread.  Is.  Beyond.  Delicious!  Oh my, it is so, so good.  We kept the big loaf and shared it during craft time on Saturday.  This is one I will make again and again.  Yummers.

When you need a gift, give a gift of home made love.  Bake your favorite bread and give the recipe with it.  Using the picture frame is such a great idea.  Then, they have a keepsake and something wonderful to eat.  Great idea for teachers, new mothers, neighbors, or anyone for that matter.

Also, you will definitely want to make this recipe for you and your family. They will LOVE it.  It won't last long and you will wish you had more.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.  For in the dew of little things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.     Khalil Gibran

Cornbread From Scratch AND Cornbread Dressing - Two Recipes For The Price Of One

AND

Hello friends!  It's a good day, no - it's a great day, when  you get two for the price of one.  At least I think it is.  Sometimes I make one recipe knowing there will be a great use for it in another recipe.  Like here.  Delicious cornbread made from scratch and leftovers used to make a fabulous cornbread dressing!  Oh yes, two of my all time favorites.

I am going to show you how to make cornbread like my Kentucky grandma did and how to make cornbread dressing like a true southerner.   Oh boy, oh boy, are they both fantastic!  We enjoyed cornbread with fried catfish two nights ago and tonight we had the world famous roast beef and dressing.  What?  Did I say roast beef and dressing?  I sure did!  Most of us think of dressing with turkey or chicken.  You mean you can have it with roast beef?  You can and absolutely should!  

This combination comes from my first job.  I started working at Mead Johnson and Company in Evansville, Indiana, the week after I graduated high school in 1966.  I worked in the Medical Research Department.  There was an employee cafeteria that served wonderful food for super reasonable prices.  I mean real home cooked food.  On Thursday, once a month they served roast beef and dressing.  The cafeteria was always absolutely packed on that day and you knew you had to wait in line for a while, but is was so worth the wait.  I don't know about you, but my mom always made dressing with poultry, we never had it with beef.  This is where I learned that not only could you have it with beef, it was one of the best things ever!

Let me walk you through how to make cornbread in a cast iron skillet - a true southern treat.  Don't get me wrong, I like Jiffy cornbread and I use it a lot, but it doesn't even compare with REAL cornbread.  Kentucky cornbread.  Southern cornbread.  The most important part is a cast iron skillet, corn muffin, or corn stick baking pan.  Yes, they come in cast iron.  It's vitally important for that fabulously crispy, crunchy crust on the outside.  No other baking pan will make your cornbread turn out this way.  Seriously.

I have a 10 inch cast iron skillet that I use to bake my biscuits and cornbread in.  Once you do it this way, you will understand why.  Example - do you like Cracker Barrel cornbread?  It's because they bake it in cast iron.  It is soooooo yummy.  Now, here is a BIG secret to good cornbread.  The oil that you use in the batter should be heated in the cast iron skillet, swirled around the skillet then poured into the batter.  This keeps the bread from sticking to the pan and makes for a better cornbread.  Why?  I don't really know, but it does and it is the way grandma and mom always did it.  So, I do it too.  

Here is what you need for the cornbread

1 1/2 cups self rising cornmeal mix  (that means it already has the baking powder and salt in it, so you don't have to add it)  If you can't find self rising cornmeal mix, look on line to find out how to make it.

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk (add 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice to whole milk if you don't have buttermilk on hand and let sit for 5 minutes)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

*1/4 cup sugar  (we NEVER add sugar to our cornbread, feel free if you like it sweet)

Heat your oven to 450 degrees F.  

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl and stir in the buttermilk, corn meal mix, flour (and sugar) until smooth.  Heat the oil in the pan (I do this in the oven for about a minute), swirl it around the pan and add it to the batter.  REMEMBER, HANDLE WILL BE HOT ON CAST IRON - USE A HOT PAD!!!!!

Mix the batter until smooth.  It should be pourable, not too thick.  If it seems too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk.  Pour into prepared pan. 

Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.  

See, the batter is thick but pourable, like a brownie batter.   After you remove the baked cornbread from the oven, let the pan sit for a few minutes, get a plate and flip the pan over so the cornbread  can be cut and the beautiful crusty bottom becomes the top.  This is how it looks.

Oh my goodness, it is so good.  Eat it hot with a big slab of butter melted on it, or you could do it like my grandma always did for a night snack.  Crumble cold cornbread up in a glass of milk or buttermilk and eat it with a spoon.  Several of our family members had relatives who did the same.  Did anyone in your family do this?  Have I done it?  No.  Thanks.  It might be delicious, but I can't stand anything floating in my milk other than cereal.  Feel free to try it if you want.  Let me know what you think.

Dan and I enjoyed this wonderful cornbread with our fried catfish the other night.  Another reason for making the cornbread from scratch was so I could make dressing to go with our roast beef tonight.  Two birds with one cornbread.  Love it!  

If you like stove top stuffing, you are going to love this recipe!  It is super wonderful and so flavorful.  It's really easy to make if you already have the cornbread made and you want it to be a day or two old.  The dressing just works better with older bread, it doesn't get as soggy.

Here is how to make cornbread stuffing our family's way.

4-5 cups crumbled cornbread

3 slices bread, lightly toasted and crumbled

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced celery

1/2 stick butter

1 tsp salt

fresh cracked black pepper

1 Tbsp ground sage

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

2 large eggs, beaten

3 cups beef stock (from a box or can), or a little more if needed.

Dice onions and celery.  Melt butter in a skillet and add onions and celery.  Cook until onions start to get clear - do not brown!  You want them to be crunchy in the dressing.

Crumble cornbread and bread in a large bowl.  Add 1 tsp salt and lots of fresh cracked black pepper. 

Remove onions and celery from the stove and add to bread crumbs.  Add salt, pepper, and spices.  Mix thoroughly!!!!  Add beef stock, mix thoroughly.  Taste before adding eggs.  Add anything you think needed now.  (I like lots of sage, you may only want to use 2 tsps ground sage if you are not a fan.)  Beat eggs with a fork in a bowl, add to bread mixture.  Mix thoroughly!  If the dressing seems dry, add a bit more beef stock.  You want it very moist before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  Put all the dressing mixture in the pan and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and serve.

Look at all the bright green celery and onions everywhere.  Yummmmmmmmo!  I like the vegetables to have a bit of crunch to them instead of being soggy.  That's why it is important not to overcook them in the skillet.  This reheats beautifully in the microwave in case you don't eat it all .  

Oh such succulent roast beef laying over that savory dressing.  I have to tell you, it was a wonderful meal!  Wish you could have joined us.  The really exciting part is, we have left overs for tomorrow.  I LOVE when that happens.  Give these recipes a try.  You are going to be cooking like a southerner in no time!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I remember as a kid being cold a lot, and hungry sometimes. We'd go to bed with just cornbread and milk, and I remember wearing shoes with holes in the bottom. I remember having twine for shoestrings.

~ Buck Owens

Layered Salad with Ham, Pasta, Broccoli and Home Made Buttermilk Dressing - No cooking required

Summertiiiiiiiime, and the livin' is easy.  (Sing with me now),  Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high........ .  Who doesn't love this song by George Gershwin?  It certainly idealizes summer and is a truly beautiful song, BUT this summer has been more like.....  Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty, All around people looking half dead, walking on a sidewalk hotter than a match head.  Yeahhhhhhhhhhh.  Thank you Lovin' Spoonful, Summer in the City is one of my all time favorite songs.  I know I left out a few lines, but you get the picture.


This summer as been hot, hotter and then hottest.  We were in triple digits for several weeks and that was before July 4th.  Besides being hotter than a match head, it was dryer than dry.  No rain.  Grass looked like late August, crops are drying up and our garden was really suffering.  Even though we watered it every day, it's just not the same as a good soaking rain.  Happily, I can report that we had almost 6 inches of rain last week and the grass and garden are looking so much better.  We are supposed to have more rain this week which will certainly make it all better.  Corn and soybeans on the other hand, may not be salvaged.  I feel so bad for all the farmers.  


Since it has been so hot, who wants to cook?  We even had a grilling ban so it was the kitchen or nothing.  Fortunately, I found this wonderful recipe for a layered salad in my Food Network magazine that my two dear friends, Don and Rick, gave me for Christmas.  What a wonderful gift this has been.  
Unfortunately, I am not a food stylist and my picture doesn't look nearly as good as the one in the magazine, but the recipe is fantastic and it requires absolutely NO cooking.  It is a complete meal in one bowl and it's cool, crispy, crunchy, and delicious.  It even has protein in it.   What more could you ask for on these hot summer days?


Here is what you need.


8 ounces farfalle (bow tie pasta, about 4 cups,  I used gluten free fusilli so our son in love could eat it)
2 stalks broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used basil and thyme from my herb garden instead of parsley)
juice of 1 lime
freshly ground pepper
2 avocados, diced
1 12 ounce piece of deli ham, diced (about 2 cups)
8 ounces yellow cheddar cheese, shredded
1 small head romaine lettuce, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced  ( I used cherry tomatoes from our garden because big tomatoes were not ripe yet)
I also added some sliced radishes from our garden.


1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta according to directions until al dente (about 2 minutes less than the label directs).  Add broccoli during the last 2 minutes of cooking.  (The recipe says last 4 minutes, but I thought it made the broccoli too squishy, I like it crunchy).  Drain the pasta and broccoli and rinse under cool water; shake off the excess.  Remove the broccoli and pat dry.


2.  Whisk the mayonnaise, buttermilk, 1/4 cup chives, herbs, half of the lime juice, 1/4 tsp salt, and pepper to taste.  Toss the pasta in a few tablespoons of the dressing in a medium bowl.


3.  Assemble the salad;  Toss the avocados with the remaining lime juice in a large glass serving bowl and season with salt.  Arrange in an even layer.  Top with layers of the ham, broccoli, pasta, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.  Drizzle some of the remaining dressing on top and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of chives or cover and refrigerate the salad and dressing separately up to 6 hours.  Bring to room temperature before serving.


This salad is so good and the dressing is divine.  Spoon more dressing over the salad when you are ready to eat.  


Here are a couple of changes I would make.  I would add bacon to this salad.  I would put a layer of crisp fried bacon that had been crumbled on top of the lettuce.  Yum.  I know that requires cooking, but it would be worth it.  Also, I would make the bottom layer the ham and put the avocado higher in the salad so it didn't stick together in the bottom of the bowl.  Just a suggestion.  Other than that, you have one delicious salad with no cooking required which is more than perfect for hot summer days.  I know there are other layered salad recipes around and I have made a few, but this one is so good with the broccoli and pasta and the delicious buttermilk dressing.  My daughter just kept saying, I have to make this, it's so good.  


Thank you Food Network magazine for a wonderful summertime recipe.  They list total prep time as 30 minutes and it serves 8 if it's a main course, or many more if you use it as a side to another entree.  Be sure and reach all the way to the bottom when serving so you get all the goodness in the salad.  You don't want to miss any of it.  I have also made this dressing for other salads, it's that good.  


Next time it's too hot, too hot, too hot baby, give this salad a try - especially if you have absolutely NO desire to turn on the stove but want something really, really good to eat.  Try it, you'll like it and if you don't eat it all, you have left overs!  Yes!!


Everyday Donna


Things to Remember:


“Summertime is always the best of what might be.”
― Charles Bowden

Fried Green Tomatoes With Horseradish Sauce - Divine!

Were you a picky eater as a child?  Are you still a picky eater?  Do you cook food the way your mother did or have you ventured out into other cuisines and methods?  Certain foods hold memories for us and we go to them when we need comfort, thus the term comfort foods.    Food holds such an important place in our daily lives - good, bad or indifferent.  Personally, I love food, certain foods more than others.   Some dishes can take me to a specific time and place in my life just like a song can.  How about you?  Are you emotionally affected by food?  I really think we all are in many ways, whether we realize it or not.

My parents were both children of the depression and both came from families who struggled a lot economically during that time.  My mother grew up in town and tells stories of her mother not eating many meals so there would be food for the children.  My dad grew up on a farm in Kentucky and they were lucky enough to be able to grow much of their food.  The things they could not produce, like flour and sugar, were gotten at the little general store in "town".  My grandmother made quilts and traded them for the flour and sugar.  How many of us would be willing to do that today?  We are very spoiled and take so much for granted.  Grandma told a story about a year during the depression when the only cash money they had during the entire year was 50 cents.  That is correct - 50 cents - period!  They were able to raise enough food and trade for necessities to feed their family of 6.  Personally, it terrifies me to think we would ever have to do this.  Don't get me wrong, they didn't have a lot but they did get to eat.

Growing up we had a lot of "country" food that my parents had eaten growing up.  Every week my mom would fix a pot of white beans, cook some cabbage, fry some potatoes and make a skillet of corn bread.  We would have several meals of just that, many times having no meat or maybe one piece of bacon for each of us.  In the summer we would have lots of fresh vegetables and again, no meat - or maybe a piece of fried baloney.  Ever had fried baloney?  It's not too bad really.  Sometimes there were pork chops or meat loaf.  On the weekend dad would grill burgers and on Sunday we may have roast.  My dad was a meat, beans and potatoes kind of guy.  It was his comfort food, what he had grown up on.  Dan's dad was the same way.  He never tasted pizza in his life, didn't want to.  He also would not eat Jello because he said he had no desire to eat anything that wiggled.  No casseroles, nothing mixed together.  He just wanted what we would call plain food - meat, potatoes and some kind of beans.  Now, how have our lives changed from this?  A LOT!

Our parents rarely ate out, it was too expensive and there weren't that many places when we were growing up.  I remember when the first McDonald's came to town.  My dad actually took us there.  You had to walk up to the window and order your food and eat it in the car.  We thought it was amazing!  Today, many of us eat out many nights during the week because it is easier.  Me, I still like to cook and eat at home most of the time.

Now, I have rambled about the good old days all to say this  - I love a lot of country food the way my grandma and mom prepared it.  Some of it I have improved on with additional flavors and techniques, but there is still comfort in a pan of fried potatoes with onions, or a big pot of white beans and some crusty cornbread.  Today's recipe is one I used to fix for my dad all the time in the summer.  He LOVED fried green tomatoes and I don't mean the kind with the big puffy batter on it like some restaurants serve now.  I am not a fan, let me tell you.  Green tomatoes rolled in yellow corn meal and fried crisp are the ticket.  Delicious!  Our daughter Annie is a lover of fried green tomatoes and I was lucky enough to find some really great ones at the farmer's market on Saturday so I made them for Easter Sunday.  YUM

The one thing I do borrow from the modern twist on fried green tomatoes is horseradish sauce.  It just takes the fried green tomatoes over the top!  Remember Fanny Flag's book Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe?  They made it into a movie and it is still one of my most favorite books and movies to this day.  Okay, I digress again.  Here is how I make our fried green tomatoes.

Ingredients:

Green tomatoes (I used 5 on Sunday, depends on how big they are - you will get 4 or 5 slices/tomato)
yellow corn meal
buttermilk
salt and pepper
cooking oil
sour cream
horseradish
dijon mustard

I am going to start out with giving you a big secret to great fried green tomatoes - BUTTERMILK.  Yes, you read right.  Buttermilk.  Now don't gag, you don't have to drink it, you are going to soak the green tomatoes in it to help soften them up.  Did you know buttermilk is great for marinating meat to tenderize it?  Makes the best fried chicken ever!  Okay, rambling again.  Back to the tomatoes.

Cut the top off of each tomato and cut them into slices about 4 to 5 per tomato.  Put tomato slices in a bowl and cover with buttermilk for several hours.  The calcium and acid in buttermilk help break down the fibers in meat and tomatoes.  Green tomatoes can be rather hard and even frying won't always soften them up.

When you are ready to cook the tomatoes, remove them from the buttermilk and pat them dry with a paper towel.  They need to be dry for the cornmeal to stick.  Salt and pepper both sides of each tomato slice.  Put several cups of yellow cornmeal in a flat bowl or pan (I used a corning ware dish).  Dip one side of the tomato in the cornmeal and then the other, making sure the whole surface is covered.

You just want a nice even coating of the corn meal on each side of the tomato.  Now, you want your pan and cooking oil really hot before you add the tomatoes, otherwise the cornmeal coating will stick to the pan and not the tomato.  I used my electric skillet for two reasons:  1.  I have a glass top stove and you can't use cast iron on it which is the best for frying tomatoes in.  2.  I can control the heat and keep it at an even temperature in the electric skillet - 350 degrees.

Put about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in the pan.  Grandma used lard, but it's that cholesterol thing (even though she lived to be 96).  Yeah, makes you wonder doesn't it?  Anyway, when the oil is good and hot, start adding the tomatoes.  Let them cook on one side without disturbing them until you can see that the cornmeal is getting brown around the bottom edges of the tomatoes.

This is the top side of the tomatoes before they are cooked.  When you see the brown crispy edges on the bottom, time to flip the tomatoes.  I use a fork and not a spatula.  Just poke it in the edge of the tomato and turn it over.  This is how they should look at this point.

See how nice and brown they are?  This is what you want.  (The middle one was just added to the pan when I took the picture, that's why it's still green).  Cook the second side until nice and brown and crispy.  Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.

Now, it's time to make the horseradish sauce.  Put 1/2 cup sour cream in a bowl.  Add 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of prepared horseradish from a jar.  Taste.   If you want the horseradish taste stronger, add more.  Put one squeeze of dijon mustard in the bowl and mix well.  Serve with your green tomatoes.  Oh my goodness good!

Frying these tomatoes on Easter Sunday made me think of my dad and how many times I made these for him.  He really loved fried green tomatoes and he liked mine better than mom's - or so he always said.  (Mom worked and I started doing the family cooking when I was 12).  Always made me feel so proud.  He passed away 15 years ago on April 3 and it was a good memory thinking of him and how much he loved my fried green tomatoes.  Sometimes it's the little things that can bring a smile.

I hope you give this recipe a try.  Not everyone loves fried green tomatoes, but if you do, this is the only way to eat them as far as I'm concerned.  Crispy, crunchy tangy green tomatoes with horse radish sauce are divine.  And, if you have time, watch the movie or read the book.  It's so good.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Ninny Threadgoode: Oh, what I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes like we used to have at the cafe. Ooh!    Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe