Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

I love cornbread.  Nobody else in my family did.  If I made a pan of cornbread, I ended up eating most of it.  Then, I started making this.

Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread

• 1 cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup finely chopped seeded jalapeño peppers 
• 3/4 cup corn, cooked
• 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a 10" cast iron skillet with olive oil.

Combine the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cayenne)  in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, combine the honey, melted butter, egg, and buttermilk.  Stir in the jalapeno, corn, and cheddar.

Pour the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the skillet. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Eggplant Parmesan

The eggplant Parmesan recipe is almost the same as the zucchini Parmesan recipe.

Eggplant Parmesan

2 lb. eggplant
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 C.  dry breadcrumbs
1 quart jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (or shredded mozzarella, if you prefer)

Peel (if you would like) and slice the eggplant. I am normally not a huge fan of peeling vegetables, but if your eggplant has tough skin, I would recommend it. Sprinkle the eggplant on both sides with a little salt, and let rest for 20 minutes or so. Then pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 350.

In the mean time, beat the eggs and milk in a flat-bottomed dish with a larger diameter than your eggplant.

Mix the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and herbs in another flat-bottomed dish, or a plate with a rim.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Dip each eggplant slice in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumb mixture, and arrange on the baking sheet so they are not touching. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn over the eggplant slices and bake for another 10 minutes.

Spread a little spaghetti sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish. Put a layer of eggplant in the dish, then cover with some sauce.  Add another layer of eggplant and more sauce until you have run out of eggplant. Arrange the sliced mozzarella over the eggplant. Bake for 20 minutes.

Spinach Quiche

I've been making quiche using this method for years.  You can substitute pretty much and cheese or vegetable.  I also really like it with 2 cups broccoli instead of the spinach, and cheddar in place of the gruyere.

Spinach Quiche

Preheat the oven to 375.

Crust:
Mix 1 1/3 cups flour and 1/2 tsp. salt in a large bowl.  In a measuring cup, put 1/3 cup sunflower oil and 3 Tbs. milk (or your favorite substitute). 
Pour the milk and oil into the flour and stir until combined.  Press the crust mixture into a straight-sided quiche pan.

Filling:
Saute 1 clove garlic, chopped, in 1 Tbs. olive oil.  Add 4 cups chopped fresh spinach.  Saute until the spinach wilts.

Custard:
In a large bowl, lightly beat 4 eggs.  Add 1 1/3 cups milk (or your favorite substitute), and beat until combined.

In the quiche crust, layer 1 C gruyere cheese, the spinach mixture (drained) and the custard.
Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the middle of the custard comes out clean.

Braised Winter Greens

Greens are in season!  When I first moved to the south, the only two greens I had heard of were lettuce and spinach.  Lettuce was mostly the ghastly pale iceburg and spinach came from the freezer aisle, frozen into a dark green brick.

Now we are so lucky!  We have fresh, home grown greens all winter long.

Here is my standard greens recipe. I use it for kale, collards, chard, mustard and spinach:

Braised Greens

• take your greens of choice, remove the tough stems, and chop the leaves coarsely
• heat some olive oil in a large pan.  Add 1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic.
• add the chopped greens, and stir to coat the greens with the olive oil
• if they are not tender at this point, add a little water (1 tablespoon - 1/4 cup) or other liquid such as broth. Put a lid on, turn down the heat, and let them steam for a few minutes.

This is how we have kale and eggs for breakfast.

Guacamole Salad

Usually, when you go to a Mexican Restaurant, guacamole salad is shredded iceberg lettuce topped with guacamole. Here's what I've been doing instead.  Chopping avocados is easier than making guacamole, and it makes a really nice texture in the salad.

The other thing I really like about this is that you don't use an oil based dressing.  You just top it with salsa (and sour cream or Greek yogurt, if you like).

Guacamole Salad

Mixed field greens (or chopped romaine)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped or a cup of grape tomatoes cut in 2
1 avocado, diced
tomatillos, diced

Toss all the ingredients.

 Dress with salsa and sour cream.

Lightly Lemoned Pound Cake with Mixed Berry Compote

So my husband wanted me to enter the Come For Dessert Contest sponsored by the Egg Council. I feel like you should have an item that is really your "thing" to enter a contest.  Recently I have started to make Pound Cake with Mixed Berry Compote, and it is starting to become my signature dessert. The compote is a great way to use up small amounts of berries, and whatever is in the freezer.

Lightly Lemoned Pound Cake with Mixed Berry Compote

1 c butter
3 c pure cane sugar
6 eggs
3 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c plain greek yogurt or sour cream
juice from 1 lemon (about 2 Tbs.)
zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tsp.)
powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Grease and flour a tube pan or bundt pan.
3. In a bowl, cream butter. 
4. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. 
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
6. Combine flour, baking soda and salt.
7. Combine yogurt, lemon juice and zest. 
8. Add flour mixture alternately with yogurt mixture, beating until just combined.
9. Pour into prepared pan.
10. Bake at 325 for 70 - 80 minutes, until tester comes out clean.
11. Cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely.
12. Sprinkle with  powdered sugar, if you would like

Mixed Berry Compote

2 Tbs Lemon Juice
3 Tbs Butter
4 Tbs Brown sugar
3 cups mixed berries (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, ground cherry)

Heat lemon juice, butter, and brown sugar until bubbly. Add berries, and stir.  Heat for 3 minutes, until it looks bubbly again. You can serve the compote hot or room temperature.  Let people scoop the compote over their slices of cake.

Did I mention it won 2nd place?

Poached eggs on a bed of braised greens

Greens and eggs are a delicious combination. We've made this with kale, collards, and spinach.  You can use leftover greens from last night's dinner, and have a quick, healthy breakfast.

Poached Eggs on a Bed of Braised Greens

1 bunch greens of your choice, tough stems removed, chopped coarsely
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 C water or stock
4 eggs

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan.  
2. Add garlic and the chopped greens, and stir fry for a few minutes until the greens are coated and bright green.
3. If the greens are not tender at this point, add water and put a lid on, turn down the heat, and let them steam for a few minutes. (Spinach will likely be done, but collards will probably need to steam.)
4. Make 4 little egg-sized wells in the greens. Put an egg in each of the wells, cover, and cook until the eggs are done the way you like them.