Heidi Swanson's Cornmeal Crunch

One of the things I love most about food blogging is how many fantastic food writers to which I've been introduced. Some of them are - let's just face the facts - way out of my league, but I love to see what they do with ingredients I've often never seen around here. Some of them are only a step or two above me, but they're often more experimental, and I love learning through them and even sometimes through their mistakes. And then there are others, such as Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks, who have opened my eyes to a world I've never been a part of: the world of vegetarian cooking. She makes vegetarianism so accessible, and her recipes are never boring. Ask anyone who has ever tried one of them.

I'm always looking for new side-dish options, and it's always great to see an old favorite, such as cornbread, made with a twist. (It's even better when you have all the recipe's ingredients in your pantry!) I love trying new things, and although new recipes can sometimes seem daunting I knew this one was right up my alley. It has all the things I love in it: corn, cheese, onions and olive oil. There's nothing shabby about that list, right? At the same time, however, there is nothing intimidating about it, either.

I have to admit that I'm often a recipe-tweaker, but that's not because I don't think the recipe will be great as-is, but it's because sometimes I don't have exactly what the recipe calls for on hand. Such was the case with this recipe: My cornmeal wasn't exactly what Heidi suggested (but it worked.) And I didn't have any yellow onions - I had white ones (but they worked, too.)

To say that this was a fabulous dish would be an understatement. For a dish with so few ingredients it was full of flavor. It came together quickly, and it paired with several of our meals well. We ate it with soup one day; we ate it with chicken another; and on the last day I ate the two remaining pieces with a big, green salad - and that may have been my favorite pairing. It's an accessible and flexible food, and it can be the main attraction or the sideshow. How many other recipes can you say that about?

Heidi Swanson's Cornmeal Crunch

Two years ago: Brownie Trifle

Cincinnati Chili

What a day. What a cold, gray, rainy day. There's even a chance of sleet in the forecast. On days like this I don't feel like getting out of bed, much less getting out of the house to go to work. Too bad, Mr. Reality says. Life goes on - work continues - regardless of the weather outside. There is no such thing as a snow day in the newspaper business. So I trudge on.

What's the weather like where you live? If it's still wintry there you should take my advice. Make a dish that's spicy, warm and filling. Make chili. Make your tummy happy. Spring will be here before you know it, and with it will come all things green. Right now, however, go with the flow of things. It's cold outside? Eat warm things.

Eat chili! Cincinnati chili, to be exact. It's my favorite kind. (That's not a surprise considering I'm not much of a fan of beans.) This chili has some of my favorite things in it: chocolate, cheese and pasta. How could you go wrong?

I suppose you could say I like mine three-way (four-way would be with beans or onions and five-way has beans and onions, as commenters have noted, so I'd stay away from that kind!) Any Ohioans out there? How do you like yours? And what's your favorite kind? Skyline? Gold Star? I used to babysit two kids whose parents were from Cincinnati, and they ate this chili at least once a week. Their house always smelled so good - theirs was made in the crockpot (here's looking at you, Kara!) I'm so glad they introduced me to this meal. It's one of our favorite meals around here now, too.

It's cold. Eat chili. Be happy.

Cincinnati Chili
Adapted from AllRecipes
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about six minutes. 2. Add beef, breaking up large pieces, and cook until no longer pink.
3. Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce and vinegar. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. (For better flavor, cool and refrigerate overnight.)
4. Serve over spaghetti, and top with cheese.

Valentine Cookies

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning



A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay -
Love isn’t love
'Til you give it away.
Oscar Hammerstein, Sound of Music, "You Are Sixteen"



A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.
Ingrid Bergman



Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Cookies by Martha Stewart
More sweets for your sweet: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes, Raspberry Shortbread, Cream Cheese Mints

Beef and Spinach Burritos

Sunday mornings (closer to noon) are kind of slow around here. I work the latest shifts on Saturdays and Sundays so it's hard to get up and function - you know, like go to church as I should - much to my parents' chagrin.

It never fails that the first thing Brad says in the morning is, no, not "Good morning, beautiful. I love you, you're my everything." It's "What's for lunch?" (We never make it up in time for breakfast - but weren't Sundays made for brunch, anyway?)

This weekend we weren't in a dough and syrup kind of mood - although I think Brad likes pancakes more than he likes me. We were in the mood for warm, spicy and cheesy. So I whipped out my homemade notebook cookbook and found my trusty burrito recipe. I tore it out of a magazine; it was on an advertisement for beef. It looked easy and tasty, but I admit I had reservations about using an advertisement for our dinner recipe.

I was wrong. I admit we're fairly easy to please around here, and we're certainly not food snobs. If it's homemade, filling and tasty, it's game for us. This recipe fits the bill. I mean, we've all used the cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate-chip bag, right? What's the difference?

Another quick, tasty and spicy meal - though the amount of spice you use is certainly personal. I see no reason not to use ground turkey instead of beef. And you can make your own salsa. And I'm sure you can get creative with the cheese. We, however, use everything as called for - and I always use the spiciest salsa I can find (in a jar, of course. Well, this time, anyway.)

These are also great warmed up the next day - one leftover that I approve of!

Beef and Salsa Burritos
Adapted from magazine ad: Beef! It's What's for Dinner
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Ingredients
1 1/4 pound ground beef
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 10-ounce package of frozen, chopped spinach; thawed and drained
1 1/4 cups chunky, spicy salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. salt, if desired
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 medium whole-wheat tortillas

Directions
1. Brown beef over medium heat about 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Pour off drippings.
2. Add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in spinach and salsa; heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
3. Spoon about half-cup of beef mixture into center of each tortilla, which have been warmed in the microwave. Fold bottom edge up, fold over sides - overlapping edges, and serve.

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes

Hello. My name is Abby. And I'm a recipe-aholic.

Okay, so maybe I'm making light of a serious subject, but still - I'm addicted to recipes. (And I know I'm not the only one out there - stand up and be counted!) I have more cookbooks than I really need (and use.) I have email folders (in two accounts) dedicated to Recipes and Dessert Recipes. I have folders on my desktop filled with recipes I've culled from the Internet and cut and pasted into Word documents. I have a 3-ring binder of recipes I've had for at least 10 years (which holds many that I do in fact still use, thank you very much.) And I have a ridiculous number of manilla folders in my cabinet that are labeled and organized.

In other words - there is absolutely no way I'll ever - ever - get through all these recipes. I'd have to make 4 new dishes a day! Sometimes you don't want a new dish - you want something you've made before that you know will hit the spot. Kind of like these Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes from The Kitchn.

Whatever you do - clip this recipe and use it - you'll put it in permanent rotation, too. I promise.

Two years ago: Old-Fashioned Cornbread, Creamy Tomato Soup

Southern Fried Apple Pies

Just as every culture has its own version of the dumpling they also have their version of the hand pie. In the South they're almost always fried apple pies, and they pop up everywhere. You can buy them at school athletics events in concession stands; they're always available at bake sales; several companies have their own version that are sold in vending machines (but yes, they're texturally different than the homemade kind); there is usually an apple stand at festivals and fairs selling all things apple - including fried apple pies; and if you're like me you can remember your own grandmother making them. They're neat, tasty and filling. They're easy to make and wrap and give as gifts. I don't know many people who dislike them. And they're terribly versatile. So of course every culture has its own version. But to get back to the South, let's talk apple ones.



This is a very basic fried apple pie recipe, and it doesn't include a recommended variety of apple for the filling. As with most apple pies I tend to use green apples because I think their tart taste is a perfect backdrop to added sugar, and they're less-juicy, fairly hard texture makes them great for foods where you want a bite of apple between your teeth and not just a bit of apple mush. Granny Smiths are the perfect choice because they're available year-round, and you can find them everywhere. Mine came from Washington so shhhh .... don't tell my local farmers! (I live in North Carolina, which is a top-10 apple-producing state.)



Let's just be upfront about this next part: Yes, they're fried. And yes, you can bake them, but they won't taste the same. Nobody is saying you have to eat the whole batch. Nobody is saying you can't go that baking route - I'm sure they'd be terribly tasty made that way. But if you want authenticity - even at the cost of your slim hips - try frying them one time. Try it if you dare, of course, because you may never go back to baking them again. Consider yourself warned.



This recipe calls for a powdered-sugar garnish at the end, but I prefer mine hot and plain with no frills - kind of like how I prefer my men. For those of you who like men who require a bit more maintenance you might try sprinkling yours with cinnamon and sugar or serving them along side a dollop of ice cream. But if you want my advice? Stick with the original. A fresh, fried apple pie wrapped in a paper towel is a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert. Trust me and all the other Southern grandmas who have learned the same thing.



Southern Fried Apple Pies
Adapted from AllRecipes
Printer-friendly version

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
2 apples, peeled and diced
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup vegetable oil

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, add apples, sugar and cinnamon. Cook on low heat until apples are soft, then remove from heat and mash with a fork to create a thick applesauce. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, sift flour and salt. Cut in shortening. Add water and mix until dough sticks together and you can form a ball. Dump dough onto a well-floured surface and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut out 4-inch circles with a large cookie or biscuit cutter.
3. On each round drop 1 large tablespoon of apple mixture. Using your finger, moisten edges of dough. Fold in half then press edges closed with a fork.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry pies two to three minutes on each side, until golden. Drain on paper towels and, while still hot, sprinkle with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.