Recipes by their Ingredients

cornmeal

  • Cornbread with Cheddar Cheese and Roasted Jalapenos

    Cornbread with Cheddar Cheese & Roasted Jalapenos
    Cornbread with Cheddar Cheese & Roasted Jalapenos
    (Serves 6-10)

    1 Cup Flour, all purpose
    1 Cup Cornmeal, yellow
    1 tblsp white sugar, fine
    1½ tsp Baking Powder
    1 tsp salt
    ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
    1 Cup milk
    ½ Cup Sour Cream
    2 Large Eggs
    1½ tblsp unsalted butter, melted
    1¼ Cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
    ½ Cup corn
    3 tblsp Jalapenos, roasted


    NOTES: Roast the jalapenos by placing on skewer and rotate them over an open flame, OR you can place them in the oven under your broiler for 10 minutes then flip over for another 10 minutes. The end result n either case should be blackened/charred outside the pepper, then you run them under water and rinse the burnt and charred skins off. Some people place them in paper bags after charring to "steam off" the burnt charred skin without running under water.
     

    Pre-heat oven to 400 °F

    Mix all ingrediants together except the cheese, corn and roasted jalapenos. Once mixed, fold in the cheese and pepper.

    Bake in an 8 x 8" baking dish, prepared with spray release or butter, for 25 minutes. Serve warm. Some accompaniments could be honey and butter. yum!

  • Crispy Fried Calamari

    Crispy Fried Calamari
    Crispy Fried Calamari
    (Serves 2-4)

    1 lb squid (about 15), uncleaned
    1 cup flour
    1 cup cornmeal
    ½ tsp salt
    ½ tsp pepper
    ¼ tsp garlic powder
    ¼ tsp onion powder
    1/8th tsp cayenne pepper
    @4 cups vegetable oil, enough to fill a medium size sauce pot about 3 inches
    lemon wedge, for garnish

    NOTES: Be inventive, toss quickly after deep frying with chopped herbs, perhaps a simple syrup infused with spices! Add to a salad!

    Clean the squid.

    The tentacles can be left as is once separated from the beak and innards. The body, once removed of the cartilage, will be sliced into ¼ inch ringlets.

    In a large bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal and spices together very well. This is our coating.

    Get the temperature of the hot oil to about 365° F and once the temperature is stable. Set the stop watch at 42 seconds.

    Grab the cleaned squid tentacles and ringlets and dunk into the bowl of coating.

    Use a medium mesh colander to shake off the excess coating and drop the squid into the hot oil and start the timer!

    You can also use a metal mesh basket to drop the coated squid into before dunking basket and squid into the hot oil.

    It is also good practice to toss a couple pieces in at first and test the 42 second time. Different vessels of oil will produce different results, maybe your perfect calamari are done at 36 seconds or perhaps 50 seconds! I find 42 was perfect at a restaurant I worked at so it will vary.

    Remove that calamari quickly drain and shake off the extra oil, maybe even a roll with some tough paper towels then serve within 25 seconds (aka immediately!) with a side of aoili, Italian red sauce or cocktail sauce, don't forget to garnish with a lemon wedge and or some fresh chopped herbs!