Tag Archives: Butter

Recipes - Desserts

Nutty Cornmeal Pie

One reason I love old country recipes is because the ingredients I need are already on the pantry shelves and in the refrigerator. It’s a comforting thing knowing you don’t have to run out to the store for that one ingredient which places this pie, and comfort food in general, so high on my list. There’s was hardly a minute’s thought between the “I want pie” idea and the doing of it on Saturday.  When you want something quick, but special, this is a great pie and you’ll find preparing it on the same happy continuum as the act of easing into your most comfortable clothes.  Prepping comfort food is as close as it gets to putting your feet up the entire time you’re in the kitchen and there is nothing easier.

The recipe is as listed in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook.  I found it in a favorite recipe collection of mine called “Heartland Cooking” by Marcia Adams. Just reading the recipe you know its origin is from slower days when cooks turned again and again to preparing food from what was “on hand”; perhaps that is why there are so many variations to this pie, all of them sweet and filling.

Do this pie justice and roll out a flaky and tender pastry shell for this one. You’ll be glad you did.  The filling will remind you of a pecan pie as well of buttermilk and chess pies.  The flaked coconut topping suggests a french coconut pie so obviously this is a pie with many first cousins in its family tree!  The cornmeal adds just enough texture to justify the pie’s name and supplies the slight graininess in the filling.  Every one of the pies mentioned above are comforting and satisfying.  And every one of them the perfect accompaniment to a good cup of coffee and a long conversation with a friend.  This pie longs for company so do give it a chance to show its stuff.

Prep time is minimal once you roll out the pastry (I am repeating myself, I know, but I am also assuming you committed to making your pie crust when I mentioned it above). That accomplished, simply stir the dry ingredients, and, in a separate bowl, with your hand mixer, blend the liquid ingredients and combine all. Scrape the filling into that great crust and add your choice of chopped nuts; I used pecans today but my favorite with this pie is the tang of hickory nuts.  Just a light sprinkling of flaked coconut and your pie is in the oven and you are doing your its-all-done-happy-dance in your most comfortable clothes in no time!

Nutty Cornmeal Pie

Ingredients

1-9” unbaked pastry shell
1 cup brown sugar minus 2. T.
1 cup granulated sugar minus 2 T.
2 T. flour
1 T. yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup hickory nuts, walnuts, or pecans, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, flour, cornmeal, and salt; sift with fork and set aside; in a second large bowl, combine the eggs, butter, milk, and vanilla and beat with electric mixer on low-speed until just blended; don’t let too many air bubbles form. Combine this with the dry ingredients and stir to blend until smooth. Pour into your pastry shell and sprinkle the top of the pie with the chopped nuts and shredded coconut. Bake 35 minutes or until lightly puffed and golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack before serving. A dollop of whipped cream on each piece adds a nice touch.

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Recipes - Desserts

French Coconut Pie

French Coconut Pie blog
This is a pie for sweet tooth folks only so feel free to reduce the amount of sugar as you wish.  I’m one of those nothing-is-too-sweet-for-me people and I think the pie is perfect “as is” but do your own thing, as always!

This basic 2-step recipe (make a crust then make your filling and bake the pie) is always a winner!  The vinegar in the filling contrasts nicely with the sweetness and in that this pie will remind you of a Chess or Cornmeal Pie as the recipes for each of these produce a pie with a sweetened thick, sometimes grainy, texture.

Serve this at room temperature after baking or chilled if there are leftovers.  Dollop with a whipped cream rosette and you’re ready to sit down, relax, and enjoy mightily! The recipe, from my sister’s deli cookbook, is also found in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook.  If you’re a coconut fan this is a good pie for you!

French Coconut Pie

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 stick butter, softened
2-1/4 cups sugar
1 T. flour
1-1/2 cups shredded coconut (1/3 cup reserved)
1-1/2 T. vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-9” unbaked pastry shell

Directions Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, butter, sugar, flour, coconut, vinegar and vanilla until well-blended and creamy. Pour into the unbaked pastry shell and bake 40 minutes or until set. Add the reserved coconut to top of the pie and bake another 15 minutes until the coconut flakes brown and are well-toasted.

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Recipes - Desserts

Buttermilk Pie

This old southern favorite pie will brighten any day and fill your tummy happily as well.  It’s one of buttermilk’s best uses in my book. The recipe is from my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook and was one of our desserts today at the Mayfield Cafe and it was certainly enjoyed all around.

There is minimal prep once you have rolled out your pie crust. The slightly sweet thickened filling, tempered by the sour milk, provides great contrast to each bite.  Don’t over bake; it will be soft in the middle still when ready to remove from the oven.

It’s a one-bowl pie to mix then just pour into your pie crust and sprinkle with nutmeg. Simple AND satisfying!  It’s SO simple in fact that I can say nothing more about this special pie than if the folks around your table enjoy it as much as folks I know then it’s time to grab your buttermilk and get going! The only decision you have to make about this pie is whether to serve it room temperature or cold. I find it equally good either way. Enjoy with gusto!

Ingredients

½ cup buttermilk
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 T. flour
Pinch of salt
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 unbaked 9” pastry shell.

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°. Set pastry shell aside. In large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the nutmeg and the pastry shell and stir well with a wooden spoon to blend then use a wire whisk to incorporate the liquid ingredients more thoroughly. Pour batter in the unbaked pie shell; sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg. Bake 15 minutes; reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 45 minutes until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Cool well, allowing the filling to set. Serve room temperature or chilled.

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Recipes - Entrees

Shrimp & Grits

This is one of my new favorites!  I tried this dish while on a “teacher trip” this summer; determined to re-create the dish, the first time I prepared it was at the Sharpes’ house in Florida in July.  Folks, if you are a shrimp lover, this dish rocks!

I will admit that this is a bit labor intensive so prepare it when you have plenty of time OR when you have someone to help you do the prep work.  Susie, prep help supreme, cut all the veggies for this and peeled the shrimp (YAY!).  When the prep work finishes, the cooking time is less than 30 minutes.

DO find and use the Andouille sausage when preparing the shrimp mixture as this spicy sausage from Louisiana’s Cajun cooking style provides the perfect punch to the dish. If you cannot find Andouille, use a highly seasoned bratwurst instead. Do also use the red pepper flakes for even more “hot”.  Not to worry, the creamy grits are a just-right complement for the spice of the shrimp and sausage mixture. All you possibly need to complete the meal is a leafy green salad or even a loaf of crusty French bread.

Get your shrimp and grits groove on today! You will not regret one minute of the kitchen time. This recipe easily serves 10-12 people. Four of us enjoyed two servings each in Florida with the bowl pictured above for the next day. Make a new pot of grits if having leftovers!  This is oh, so wonderful!

Shrimp & Grits

For the Grits

4 cups water
* 2 T. butter
* 6 small cloves garlic, minced (added from the shrimp pan)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 t. salt
1 cup uncooked grits (instant is fine)
2 cups Cheddar, shredded from the block

Directions: Keep the water warm on the stove in a pot with a heavy bottom so you can cook the grits quickly when the shrimp finishes cooking. When ready to serve, bring to a boil and add the cream. Stir in grits a little at a time; add the butter and sautéed garlic. Cook, 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Add the cheese. Turn off the heat and allow to thicken. Add cream if too thick.

For the Shrimp

1 T. Wesson oil
1 cup Andouille sausage, sliced thin
2 #’s medium fresh shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and tails snipped
2 more T. Wesson oil
1 T. butter
1 T. flour
1/2 cup white onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1/4 cup celery, sliced thin
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped and seeded (or stewed tomatoes, 1 #10 can)
3 t. Cajun seasoning
1-1/2 cup chicken broth
1 T. butter
Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper to taste
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
Green onion, sliced, for garnish

Directions: Sauté 2 T. butter & 6 garlic cloves. Set aside for grits. Add oil to skillet and sauté sausage. Remove and set aside. Add 1/2 the shrimp and cook until pink. Remove to paper-towels and add the rest of the shrimp and cook til pink. Wipe skillet and add 1 T. oil and 1 T. butter. Stir in the 1 T. flour and cook 3-4 minutes until you have a dark roux. Cook 3-4 minutes on low. Add onion, green pepper, and celery and cook 3 minutes on med-high heat. Add the tomatoes and the Cajun season and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and simmer all in skillet 10 minutes.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Peach Cobbler

After finding the sweetest, largest, and juiciest of peaches from Eckert’s Nursery last week at Schnuck’s Market, it was a no-brainer that a peach cobbler soon appear in my kitchen as quickly as possible. Mine and mama’s favorite cobbler (with blackberry cobbler being an equal favorite if that’s possible), peaches are never better than when baked up cobbler style and topped with the sweet crunchy crust in this recipe.

There’s nothing hard at all about making cobbler. Peel the fruit, slice it, and toss with a minimum of sugar (ripe fruit doesn’t need a huge amount of sugar) and flour to thicken the juices then stir up your topping, add it over your fruit, and IN the oven it goes! I sometimes use cinnamon for spice, sometimes nutmeg, but use either sparingly; you want just the barest whiff to enhance the fruit.

Vanilla ice cream is, of course, the perfect accompaniment to a fruit cobbler. You absolutely cannot go wrong combining the two. It is only right. And right on! Use the recipe below from my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook to create the very best of summer deliciousness!

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

For the fruit
1 cup sugar
2 T. flour, heaping
1/4 tsp. nutmeg or cinnamon
4 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

For the topping
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1. tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cold butter or margarine, diced
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Place fruit in large mixing bowl and combine sugar and flour and pour over fruit; stir to coat. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon and pour into a lightly-greased 11x7x2 (2 qt.) baking dish. Prepare topping by stirring the dry ingredients together in mixing bowl then cutting in the cold butter until the dough is crumbly. Add the beaten egg, stir to combine, and drop by spoonfuls on top of the fruit or just sprinkle it evenly over fruit. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes until brown and bubbly. Cool before serving; top with vanilla ice cream.

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