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

If It Says Gooey And Butter It Has To Be Good!

Sunday was the brunch celebration we hosted for our youngest son's girlfriend Cortney.  She just finished her BS in nursing.  This is one of the menu items served and I cannot tell you  - or stress enough - how absolutely divine this Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake is!   I have been making gooey butter cake for years from a recipe in a cook book my children gave me called St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights.   Three of our children went to Webster University Conservatory in St. Louis and they gave me this book as a gift (because I love recipes and cookbooks).  It is a compilation of recipes by the Junior League of Saint Louis and many of the recipes are from local restaurants.  In the forward to the book, it says 

"The title Saint Louis Days...Saint Louis Nights symbolizes the diversity of culinary specialities prepared in St. Louis kitchens.  Since its humble beginning as a French fur trapping outpost more than 300 years ago, the city has attracted people with wonderfully rich ethnic traditions, and St. Louis cuisine, which is as varied as day and night, has been strongly influenced by this melting pot of nationalities and customs.  The incredible array of outstanding restaurants which covers the metropolitan area proves St. Louisians love to eat.  It includes everything from Midwestern meat and potatoes, to the mighty Mississippi's contribution of catfish, to the renowned Italian specialities from "the Hill," to the latest trends in fine cuisine.

St. Louis famous culinary firsts include the ice cream cone and hot dog, which both originated from the 1904 World's Fair, toasted ravioli created by the Italian chef on "the Hill" who accidentally knocked a plate of ravioli into a pan of hot grease; and the sinfully rich Gooey Butter Cake that came from the German bakers in South St. Louis."

So now you know where Gooey Butter Cake originated and this is the recipe I have used again and again..  Renowned cook, Paula Deen, has put her spin on Gooey Butter Cake by creating several variations on a theme.  I am posting the original recipe and the one I used on Sunday, which is her recipe for Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake and it is outstanding.  Enough said.

Original  St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake Recipe

Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine

Filling:

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cups evaporated milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla 

powdered sugar

Crust:  In a mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling.  Pat into the bottom and sides of a 9x9x2 greased baking pan.

Filling:

In a mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Mix in egg until combined.  Add alternately flour and evaporated milk, mixing after each addition.  Add corn syrup and vanilla.  Mix at medium speed until well blended.  Pour batter into crust-lined baking pan.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes or until cake is nearly set.  DO NOT overcook.  Cool in pan.

Here is Paul Deen's recipe for Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream

I made one change in this recipe.  I am not a big fan of nutmeg, so I doubled the cinnamon which is delicious!  Otherwise, it is a really easy recipe to make and even easier to enjoy.  Because it is so rich and decadent, I cut it into 2x2 inch pieces that are easy to pop in your mouth.  If you want bigger servings, just simply cut it into bigger pieces.  It doesn't matter how you serve it, it is scrumptious.  This is how good it is.  One of our son's friends who was in attendance had never eaten pumpkin pie but agreed to try the pumpkin gooey butter cake.  He ate one, then another and said if I wanted to send some home with him he would gladly take it (which I did)!  How's that for a testimonial?

With the holiday's rapidly approaching, this is a fantastic and easy desert to serve.  Actually, it's wonderful anytime throughout the fall and winter season.  Give it a try, you will love it and it's easier than making pumpkin pie with the same delicious results.  Enjoy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

 You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.” ― Eckhart Tolle

Soaking Up Some Vitamin D

Thankfully, the sun finally decided to show it's face in mid-Tennessee today and it was certainly appreciated.  It heated up to a balmy 72 degrees, so that meant it was time for some yard maintenance.  The vegetable garden needed weeding, there were recently purchased blooming plants to repot, deck furniture to clean and trees and shrubs to trim.


Dan weeded the garden while I repotted plants.  I had bought lovely red geraniums, electric red-orange and yellow gerbera daisies, and red and purple petunias.   After transferring to decorative pots, I put some of the plants around my grecian urn fountain, added a boston fern and a red mandevilla.  Other pots were placed around the deck and on the steps.  Colorful patio lights are hung from the deck rail (purple, blue, emerald green and fuchsia) ready for all the summer nights ahead. The birdbath was cleaned and set up awaiting all it's winged summer visitors.  Dan trimmed low hanging tree branches while I gave all the holly bushes their summer haircut.  Things are starting to shape up.  Dan turned over ground for the herb garden.  We planted a few more heirloom tomatoes, basil, rosemary, dill, oregano, cilantro and thyme.  Nice.  Now it's time to move to the front porch.  


We have a bench our daughter Annie made when she was in middle school. That was some time ago.  It has always had a place of honor on our front porch, so it was cleaned and given it's rightful place.  Red and purple petunias were planted in the big planter on the porch, and a boston fern was hung from the porch eaves.  The white vintage ice cream table sits waiting for us anytime we want to drink our morning coffee on the porch.  Hot and tired, we were done for the day.


We went around back to sit on the deck and cool down.  I listened to the fountain joyously bubbling as I at in the sun, soaking up some vitamin D.  A delicate butterfly landed on my arm.  I sat ever so still until it decided to depart.  Dan named it Bob.  Nature showed all it's glory today, the magnificent magnolia tree in bloom, the scent of honeysuckle in the air, gentle breezes beginning to blow.  The Clarke Oil tug chugged down the Cumberland as it does every day.  Time for the General Jackson to turn around and head down river.   There is comfort in predictability sometimes.  


As I sat in my chair cooling down, I thought of all the wonderful drinks I can make this summer to enjoy  outdoors.  Easy, natural ingredients, cool and refreshing.  I thought I would share some of these recipes with you since Memorial Day is rapidly approaching and the official summer season begins.  My thoughts turned to sweet tea and fresh squeezed lemonade.  Ever try cucumber water or fruit flavored water?  How about celery soda?  So delicious.  Here are the recipes.  I use a 3 quart pitcher so you may have to adjust the recipes slightly if you use a different size.


SWEET TEA


4 small tea bags, or 2 large family sized tea bags.  I prefer Luzianne Tea
simple syrup
cold water


Place 4 tea bags or 2 large family sized tea bags in about 2 cups of water in a pan on the stove.  Heat water and tea just until it boils.  Remove from heat and let tea steep for at least 5 minutes.  Make the simple syrup by adding 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.  Heat while stirring just until the sugar melts.  Remove the tea bags from pan and pour tea into pitcher.  Add simple syrup.  Add about 10 cups of cold water.  Put tea bags back in pan and run cold water over them, squeezing any excess tea from bags.  Add to pitcher. Pour over ice in glasses and enjoy.  You can add lemon slices or mint if you prefer.


FRESH SQUEEZED LEMONADE


6 whole lemons
simple syrup
cold water


Heat lemons in microwave for 30 seconds.  This helps extract more juice from lemons.  When lemons cool, roll on counter top with your hand until lemons feel softer.  Cut lemons in half and juice.  I use an old fashioned juicer, but you can use a reamer or one of those newfangled juice extractors that are yellow and you put 1/2 a lemon in and bring the handles together extracting juice.  One of these days I will get one of those.  After juicing all 12 lemon halves, I pour the juice into the pitcher through a strainer to remove pulp and seeds.   Add the simple syrup and about 10 cups of cold water.  Slice 1/2 a lemon into rings and place in lemonade.  Place ice cubes in glasses and pour lemonade.  There is nothing powdered that tastes like fresh squeezed lemonade.  Nothing!   If you want to fancy it up a bit, add some sliced strawberries or a handfull of raspberries.  So good on a hot day!  It lemonade tastes too watery, add more lemon juice as needed,




CUCUMBER WATER


1 small cucumber or 1/2 large cucumber, thinly sliced


Place cucumbers in the bottom of pitcher, add about 12 cups water.  Place in refrigerator overnight.  You can addd the juice of one lime if you want, or some sliced honeydew melon.  So delicious and refreshing on hots days.  They drink a lot of this in the southwest.  Unbelievably good.




FRUIT FLAVORED WATER


6 strawberries, sliced in half
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 slices orange
6 slices cucumber
1/4 cup cilantro or mint, whichever you prefer (I like Cilantro)


Place in pitcher, add about 12 cups cold water.  Place in refrigerator overnight.  So, so good and no sugar added.  Don't toss fruit out, can be used for several days until strawberries get squishy, just keep filling pitcher with water




CELERY SODA

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 TBSP freshly ground celery seed

soda water

Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir to combine.  Continue to stir frequently until all sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and add celery seed.  Cover and allow to steep for 1 hour.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof container and place in refrigerator uncovered until completely cool.  Place in an airtight container and store up to 6 months.

TO USE:  add 2 TBSP celery syrup to 1 cup soda water and stir to combine

This is Alton Brown's recipe from the Food Network.  I made this for our daughter in Dallas when we were there in the heat of summer.  She also used it with Prosecco to make a refreshing cocktail.  Sweet and delicious!

These are just a few of the possibilities for refreshing summer drinks.  I hope you try these recipes and enjoy them throughout the summer.   Let the fun begin!

Things to remember:

Gratitude is an attitude!