Cornmeal Buns- Parker House Rolls and Cornbread have a baby!

I found this recipe in the 2003 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. For the most part, I want to focus on posing recipes that our mine but these are way too good not to share! They are a original and fun combination on two fantastic breads. The sweet richness of a Parker house roll and the texture and moistness of cornbread come together for a really tasty final product.

I cut this recipe in half, served dinner to 4 and we had leftovers.

6 to 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups milk (I used heavy cream because that's all I had . .. boy were they rich and delicious!)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp salt (I used Kosher)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups cornmeal (I opted to used a medium coarseness cornmeal, the texture was great, if you want something a little smoother then go for a fine ground cornmeal)

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together 3 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a med saucepan heat and stir the milk, sugar,butter and salt until just warm and butter is about melted. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; add eggs. (At this point, I used my KitchenAid which made all of the mixing and kneading ahead VERY EASY) Beat with an electric mixer (or KitchenAid) on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add cornmeal, beating on low until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface (or leave it in the KitchenAid if you are using one). Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape into ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (at least 1 to 1/4 hours- I was gone for much longer and it still worked great).

3. Meanwhile, grease 36 muffin cups (3 pans of cups); set aside. Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface and shape into 72 balls. Place 2 balls of dough in each prepared muffin cups. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double ( 50 to 60 minutes).

4. Preheat oven to 375. Bake 12 to 15 minutes (12 was perfect for my oven- so make sure you check them at 12 minutes) or until buns are golden. Immediately transfer from pans to wire racks. Serve HOT with butter . . . oh sooooooooo good!

** I served these bites of pure yummyness with taco soup, I think that they go great with anything that you would serve cornbread with. They would also pair nicely with a southwestern salad, BBQ chicken or most any soup (just to name a few).

Dinner in the oven in 20 minutes- 3 Cheese Inside Out Broccoli Quiche

This is really a rather ghetto recipe I have come up with. It's tasty, quick, easy and covers all of the food groups in one pot, and it's what I had lying around tonight, so viola . . . a great week day recipe and my 2 year old even liked it. I am calling it "inside out" because the crust is mixed into all of the eggy goodness instead of a separate crust like a traditional quiche.

For the "crust"

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Egg mixture

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream ( I know, not figure friendly but oh so good, use skim if you want, you will just be missing out)

1/2 cup water (better then 2 cups cream right?)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

The goods

2 cups broccoli (stems chopped, florets into bite size pieces)

1/2 cup red onion, small dice

3/4 cup cheddar, grated

3/4 cup jack, grated

1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (use the real stuff people, it tastes SO much better and a little goes a long)

1/3 cup fresh finely chopped Italian parsley

3 tablespoons butter, melted

As simple as this

Preheat oven to 375 and spray your baking dish of choice

Place "the goods" in a deep dish pie pan or oven proof skillet, toss together well. Make sure it's not a small pie pan- this guy is too big for that.

Whisk the dry mixture together

Whisk the egg mixture together

Combine dry ingredients and egg mixture, stir together until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour the egg mixture over "the goods"

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a knife entered into the center comes out clean.

We had this as dinner, but it could easily be served as breakfast. If you want a more complete meal, serve it with a fruit salad. If you are serving it for dinner, you could even serve it with a yummy green salad.

Crepes with sauteed Peaches and Spiced Cinnamon Creme

This was Graham's Fathers Day Breakfast this morning, I promise, it's award winning ( I will start posting pics of my food soon . . . waiting on a camera)

Crepes

1 cup flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup heavy cream (you can use regular milk, the cream makes them richer and a little heavier, which goes great with the peaches and cream)

3 eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter and cooled, plus 1 more tbs for brushing pan

1/2 tsp salt (kosher if you have it)

Peaches

6 large ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Spiced Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Crepes- In a blender or food processor, combine the flour, water, cream, eggs butter and salt. Pulse or blend for about 5 seconds, turn it off and scrape down the sides and mix in flour at the bottom. Blend for about another 20 seconds, until the batter is smooth. The consistency should be about like heavy whipping cream. If you are using milk you may not need to add the 2 tablespoons water, add it if you are using cream. Transfer batter to a bowl and let it sit for 30 to 60 minutes.

Peaches- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saute pan on medium/low heat. When butter is melted, add the peaches and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and toss well. The beauty of the peaches is time, let them do their thing on a low simmer for at least 30 minutes. The peaches will get soft and the extra sugar/butter combo will start to caramelize creating a yummy syrup to drizzle over your finished product.

Spiced Cream- As the batter is resting and the peaches are perfecting, make the cream. Pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream into a medium bowl (glass is best) and beat the whipping cream for about 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar and cinnamon and continue to whip the cream until it thickens into a thick cream. With home made whipped cream, it is partially about preference- do you like it kind of runny or really thick. I prefer somewhere in the middle. Just make sure you don't beat it too long or it will become stiff and dry. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Cooking the Crepes- Don't be intimidated- crepes are actually pretty easy- after you have made them a few times, you will have it down.

Heat an 8 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush lightly with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into the hot pan twirling it so that the batter spreads out evenly into a very thin layer. Cook for about 40 seconds until crepe comes away from the side of the pan. Gently flip the crepe over with your fingers or with the help of a rubber spatula (I do both) and continue cooking for a few more seconds. Transfer crepe to a plate and repeat process until all batter is used. Makes 9 to 10 crepes.

Final Product- Fill crepes with peaches and roll together. Top with a large dollop of cream and drizzle with syrup from the peaches. This serves about 4 people (2 crepes per person with a few crepes left over)

THE START OF SOMETHING FABULOUS

Here I begin my JOURNEY into what is so near and dear to me. . .  FOOD, COOKING, my PASSION!  Some people are good at art, photography, sewing, writing and all of those other WONDERFUL CRAFTY and CREATIVE things, I, AM NOT!  I can however COOK and BAKE. Besides dancing (which I no longer do) it is the only thing where I truly feel I get to express myself, it is my creative outlet (thank goodness because I can't even draw a decent stick figure).  Pictures and RECIPES will start coming soon, but for my first post I wanted to just list some of the things I have made (all original Rhandi recipes) in the past week or two.  

Black Bean Couscous Salad with a Sweet Lime Vinaigrette 

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pizza on a Flax & Honey Whole Wheat Crust

Maple & Flax Whole Wheat Bread 

Berry Trifle with Sweet Cake and Lemon Curd

Sweet Potato Pancakes with Peach Butter 

3 Bean Chili with a Cheddar & Cilantro Cornbread Crust 

Creamy Fresh Basil Alfredo 

Triple Berry Mixed Greens Salad 

This is just a quick list that I came up with in less then 5 minutes.   It is going to take me a WHILE to get this blog where I want, but this is start with MUCH more TANTALIZING TASTINESS to come!