Mieliepap (cornmeal) with eggs, turkey bacon, and cheese

Mieliepap is a South African breakfast dish of cooked cornmeal.  If I had a category for comfort food, this would definitely be in it.  It's warm and soft, a little sweet and a little savory.  And there's cheese and salty, smoked meat.  I served it drizzled with maple syrup.  Reading through the recipe, I thought it was going to be a rich, heavy, meal-in-a-bowl, and probably too greasy; it was nothing of the kind.  I hadn't anticipated the cornmeal would expand so much, turning the bacon and cheese into mild flavorings rather than substantial meal components.  In fact, I initially left the cheese out, but when I saw what a small proportion of cheese there was relative to cornmeal, I added it in.

The Joe Pastry web site has two entries for this recipe:  one with just the recipe (and some photos), and another that walks you through the steps, including photos along the way.  I followed just the recipe, since it seemed so simple, and was baffled why I didn't get the same results.  Then I found the step-by-step and could see the difference.  (I also think there might have been a little cheating with quantities to make the dish appear richer than it is-- more bacon, more cheese.)

I don't do pork, so I substituted smoked turkey leg.  I accidentally left out the baking soda.  I've modified the directions slightly to be more helpful and to simplify.  If you want this for breakfast, I recommend making the cornmeal mixture the night before, as it takes quite a while to cool if using a full cup.  Here's what I used:

1 cup cornmeal*
3/4 cup milk
2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 1 cup chopped slab bacon smoked turkey leg

2 eggs lightly beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

maple syrup, for drizzling (optional) 

In a saucepan, combine the cornmeal, milk, buttermilk, butter, (sugar-- see below), honey, and salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened (like hot cereal); allow to cool enough so it won't cook the eggs. Meanwhile, slice the turkey meat thinly, then fry in some oil until lightly crisp; reserve half and fry the remainder to your liking.

 

Using the measuring cup used for the dairy, lightly beat the eggs, then add them to the cornmeal mixture along with the soda, the fully-crisped turkey, and half the cheese; stir to combine. Lightly butter an 8" cast iron skillet or an 8″ x 8″ pan. Spoon in the batter and bake at 375 for 20 minutes; remove from the oven and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and reserved turkey bits. Bake another 10-15 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Scoop into bowls and drizzle with maple syrup.

Lots of issues with this recipe.  The first is that sugar is called for in the directions, but there is none listed in the ingredients.  It's probably 1-2 tablespoons, depending on your taste.  It's very mildly sweet with just the honey and no added sugar, and since I added syrup when serving, I was happy with the results.

*Pan size and baking times are cautionary: I feel confident there is an error in the amount of cornmeal-- it should probably be more like 1/2 cup. It's not fatal, but it has an impact. I thought I was making a meal, and what I got was really a tasty but very starchy, high glycemic, low nutrient side dish. Where to start? Well, the first clue was that he has you heat your oven at the start, but the cornmeal took at least 30 minutes to cool (maybe more like 45) and there's no need to be running an empty oven that long. Less cornmeal would have cooled faster. The next clue was that my cornmeal cooked up to be very thick, and continued to thicken into a solid mass as it cooled. His photos show a hot slurry and a cooled porridge. (He even states that this dish is like a cooked porridge or custard-- mine certainly was not.) My mixture was so thick, I don't think baking soda was going to add any lift to it, so it's just as well I left it out. His photos show a substantially higher percentage of mix-ins; mine were fairly sparse.  But the biggest affect was on baking time. Had I used an 8" skillet, it would have been filled to the very top, but his photos show the mixture coming up only about half way. I used an 8" x 3" casserole dish and filled it to about an inch from the top (whereas my skillet is only 1.75" deep.) This affected heating and evaporation and lengthened the cooking time. Even after an extra 30 minutes in the oven, I still wasn't getting a clean knife, but the cheese and crust had become very brown. I really only needed the egg to be cooked and it was certainly hot enough for that, so I took it out. The result was soft and scoopable while hot, but became very firm once cool. What I essentially ended up with was scrapple, which is fine, just not what I was expecting.

 

Because of how long it took for the pan of cornmeal to cool (yes, I could have spread it out on a sheet pan, but then that's more to wash, and there are already too many pans for this simple recipe) and then the extended baking time, this wasn't out of the oven until at least 2 hours after I'd started. That's too long to wait for breakfast! Especially when you're holding off drinking your coffee so you can have it with your meal. By the time I ate, I was so hungry I ate too much of it, and then felt guilty, and thus was forced to eat cabbage salad as the only other meal of the day, with a protein shake for dessert. "Yum", she says sarcastically.

If you want a warm dish of comfort, this is it. If you want a dish with more substance, reduce the cornmeal (or increase the mix-ins.) If you don't care what it looks like, you could probably cook the whole thing in one pan on the stove on low heat, stirring occasionally. Cooked grains are pretty forgiving-- you can mess with them to make them however you like. Use more liquid if you want it softer. Like scrapple, I've sliced my leftovers and am going to fry them up in a pan to heat and crisp.

Conclusion:  This had a surprising tartness, I guess from the buttermilk, that I didn't care for, although sourdough fans might love it.  (Perhaps the baking soda was included to temper that tartness.)  It was still good, but not something I'm likely to make again as is. I'm not diabetic, but I don't want to be either. Cornmeal has a very high glycemic index and it throws off my blood sugar, not really filling me up and leaving me hungry a short time later despite being high in calories. This would be great at brunch served on the side with a good protein and a salad.  Alternatively, if it truly were more like a baked cornmeal custard, that sounds delicious and a little more balanced.

Recipe:   Mieliepap (recipe) and Making Mieliepap (guidance) via Joe Pastry (MIA)

Vanilla Cornmeal Wreath Cookies

I made these cookies many years ago and found them less than exciting, but thought they had promise.  The original recipe has you coating corn flakes in egg white and applying them to the surface of the cookies in a leaf pattern.  I didn't find this to be a good addition for a number of reasons.  For one, corn flakes always taste like breakfast cereal, and that's not a flavor I want in cookies.  Second, when the cookies were fresh, the corn flakes were tough and unpleasant, although they crisped up after a couple days.  Lastly, it was a process that was extremely time-consuming.  The flakes were a nice touch as far as appearance, but the cookies are a bit dry and I had decided they needed a bit of frosting, which would further make the topping unnecessary.

For 17 3½-inch cookies, here's what I used:

1⅛ cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon anise extract, optional
1 large egg, room temperature

Sift together the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and anise (if using) to the butter and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add the egg (one at a time if doubling the recipe) to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stir the flour-cornmeal mixture into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula; it will be a stiff dough. To make dough easier to handle, chill until firm. Divide the dough into 17, 1-inch balls. Make a hole in the center of each ball with the tip of a wooden spoon and work each piece of dough into a doughnut shape with a 1-inch hole and about 2 inches wide. Use scissors to snip 1/2-inch long angled cuts, about 1/2-inch apart around the outside ring of each cookie. Arrange cookies on greased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. (Optional: freeze cookies on the sheet until firm, about 10 minutes.) Bake at 350F until just golden around the edges, about 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Frost and decorate.

Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until smooth and very fluffy.  Add green gel coloring and use a large star tip to decorate cookies, immediately sprinkling each with red nonpareils. Allow frosting to dry until firm.

A ridiculous number of the nonpareils fell off while I was sprinkling them on (I had frosted all the cookies and then added the sprinkles-- the frosting had already started to dry), until I finally placed each cookie in a small bowl so I could collect and salvage the deserters.

I over baked the cookies slightly, getting them a little too brown around the edges.  They were a little drier than I would have liked, but I think a minute or two less time in the oven would have fixed that.  I had to be a little stingy with the frosting and barely had enough as it was-- they could have used just a tiny bit more, both for flavor and appearance. 

Conclusion:  It still needs tweaking, mostly just on the bake time, but I was pretty happy with the results.  (I discovered chopped peanuts would be a good addition, either in the cookie or sprinkled on top of the frosting.)  The frosting not only adds moisture and sweetness to what is otherwise a somewhat dull cookie, but also provides a buttery richness to the corn flavor.  While it will never be the most exciting cookie on the plate, the subtle flavor and texture is a nice contrast to the outspoken fruits, nuts, jams, and chocolates of a traditional holiday cookie assortment.

Recipe:  Cornmeal Wreaths via Food Network

Knedlíky (Czech Bread Dumplings)

I made Chef John's Bohemian Orange Chicken the other night, but it turned out way too salty for my tastes. To help cut the salt, I made the recommended bread dumplings to accompany it.  His recipe makes two loaves; I reduced that by half to make just one.  I also cut the salt way back, just for this particular preparation, since the meal didn't need any additional salt. (Although I think even under ordinary circumstances I probably wouldn't use all the salt called for in the recipe unless the main dish was particularly bland. You can always add salt to your plate.)

Here's what I used:

1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1½ teaspoon white sugar
1³/₈ 7/8 cup quick-mixing flour (such as Wondra®) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 ³/₁₆ teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 large egg, beaten

Proof the yeast in the warm milk with the sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, corn meal, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and egg to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a dough, adding more flour if needed. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and slightly elastic, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, flipping the dough to coat the top in oil. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Transfer back to your work surface; press out the excess air and form dough into a relatively uniform ball, then roll into a log about 2 to 2½ inches wide. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let proof for 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a steady simmer. Carefully pick up the risen dough and transfer to the simmering water; bring back to a simmer. Cover tightly and let simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover, flip, and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and poke all over with a toothpick or wooden skewer, which releases the steam from the center. Use a piece of string or thread to cut into 3/4- to 1-inch dumplings. Transfer to a serving plate.

Chef John's Note:  You can substitute half all-purpose flour and half semolina flour for Wondra® if you can't find it.

These dumplings were indeed very absorbent and yet stayed firm, rather than getting soggy.  I wonder whether it's the egg that makes them like that, or the boiling? Chef John's note says you can use semolina, although I think in the video he calls out corn meal; probably either would work. I didn't really notice the corn meal when they were fresh, but after moistening day-old dumplings with water and heating gently in the microwave, they reminded me of spoon bread. One unpleasantness:  the loaf was a bit soggy in the area of the expansion crack. (The cracks are considered undesirable -- now I see why -- but I don't see how to avoid them unless the dough was completely risen before being placed in the hot water.) After finishing the chicken, I used the leftover dumplings semi-successfully as a hotdog bun. It was okay.

Conclusion:  Well, it's nothing to write home about.  It's basically a plain, white bread, even plainer than ordinary bread because of being boiled.  It does the job of providing a neutral base for the main dish, though it's way more filling than noodles or rice.

Recipe:  Czech Bread Dumplings (Knedlíky) via Food Wishes at allrecipes

A Santa Fe Christmas! Orange Cornmeal Cutout Cookies

Every time  I go to Santa Fe, I come back wanting to make some sort of New Mexico-inspired cookies involving corn meal and perhaps piñon seeds.  I decided to revise this recipe for Mexican Orange-Cornmeal Sandies for this occasion.  Based on my comments on the original recipe, I reduced the sugar slightly, as well as the orange extract.  I debated about the nuts, and finally decided to throw in piñon seeds.

Here's what I used:

2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1/2 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1/4-1/2 cup piñon seeds (about 1-2 oz.) toasted and coarsely chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add orange zest and orange extract and beat until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in piñon seeds. Divide dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out dough and place cookies 1 inch apart on lightly greased baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining dough, gathering up scraps, re-rolling and cutting until all dough is used. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Conclusion:  I liked my changes except...  I forgot to add the piñon seeds!  I stuck them in the surface of one cookie, but it looked sort of weird and I was afraid they'd burn so didn't do the rest.  But they added a nice flavor.  Still, this recipe simply spreads too much to be good for cutout cookies.  Maybe I can modify a different recipe for this combination.

July ABC challenge: Mixed berry ginger crumb cake

Taking advantage of the season's abundance of fresh berries with this cake.  I cut the recipe in half and then made a few minor adjustments.

Here's what I used:

2.5 ounces raspberries  
2.5 ounces blackberries
2.5 ounces blueberries  
1/4 cup 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brandy (can substitute vanilla extract or perhaps orange blossom water)
 
For the Crumb Topping:
5 tablespoons light brown sugar 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
2 tablespoons finely diced candied ginger 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature, cut into small cubes)

For the Cake: 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour  
1/4 cup cornmeal 
1/4 cup 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon baking powder  
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (at cool room temperature, cut into small cubes) 
1/3 cup whole milk 
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 4.5-inch loaf pan, a 7" round cake pan, or 1¼-quart baking dish.  In a bowl, toss the berries with the sugar and brandy; set aside.  In another bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and flour, then stir in the crystallized ginger. Blend the butter into the mixture with your fingertips or a fork until crumbs form. Place the bowl in the freezer while you prepare the cake. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, ground ginger and salt. Add the butter pieces and, using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work into the flour mixture until it is completely incorporated and there are no pieces larger than a pea remaining.  In a measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg, then add to the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the batter together until no pockets of dry ingredients remain. Spread the batter in an even layer in the prepared pan. Using a slotted spoon, remove the berries from the bowl and scatter over the cake batter. Break up the crumb topping into large pieces and scatter over the berries.  Bake until the berries are bubbling and the cake is firm, 40 to 45 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. The cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature, for up to 2 days.

I used the 7" cake pan, and it was completely filled once the cake baked.  It was hard to tell when it was done, as no cake rose through the berry and crumb topping and it all seemed so wet.  I ended up baking it for 45 minutes, but it seemed okay, although for a small cake that seems like it should have been too long.  The cake was dense, but I think it was supposed to be that way in order to hold up to all that topping.  The crumb topping was quite sweet even with reduced sugar, so I didn't use all of it, although as it turns out I could have.  In the end the cake was only lightly sweet.  It would be great for brunch or a light dessert, but maybe not for breakfast. I think it would also be good with a thin egg custard.  I don't know what role the brandy plays.  I don't think there's any flavor left after all that baking--- certainly not any alcohol--- and it just created more liquid that doesn't get used. 

Conclusion:  Very tasty.  It had an unusual flavor that I couldn't quite pin down, but have to assume it was from the ginger (unless it was the brandy, but I doubt it.)  It seemed to only perfume the cake rather than actually flavor it, it was so subtle.  (Which gives me the idea of using a little orange blossom water in with the berries.)  The cornmeal gave the cake a little more bite, which I liked.  But with three types of berries and three separate concoctions, I'm not sure it's something I'd make again.  It's not "special" enough to go through that trouble. 

Recipe:  Mixed Berry Ginger Crumb Cake via Brown-Eyed Baker

March ABC Challenge: Tiny Lemon Thyme Loaf

I'm not a huge fan of lemon cake, but that keeps me searching for an excellent recipe.  I want the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness, with just the right texture.  This one isn't it.  But it is good.  Many people in the challenge didn't like the cornmeal, and I suspected I'd find the coarse texture cornmeal creates in harsh contrast to the light lemon taste.  So I substituted rice flour, which is finer and bakes up a little softer, while still providing texture.  The cake was slightly spongy, but light (although it became slightly tougher the following day.)

I found this cake to be a little too heavy on the lemon oil flavor and too light on the lemon juice.  The strong lemon oil could have been my fault; I never know how tightly to fill the measuring spoon with lemon zest, which affects the quantity used.  Since I quartered this recipe to make a single, small loaf, exact measurements become very important.  It's possible I packed the zest into the spoon too tightly, and while it would have been only a slight increase in the 3/4 teaspoon measurement I used, multiplied by 4 for a full recipe could have been a significant increase.  (Does that make sense?)  

The other change I made to the original recipe was to throw in some thyme, using a quantity similar to what I found in another recipe.  I'm not sure I could taste it.  It was very subtle.

Here's what I used.  Changes from an exact quarter of the original are shown in strikeout and italics:

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
1/16 tsp baking soda
4 teaspoons yellow cornmeal rice flour
½ large egg, at room temperature
¼ large egg yolk, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/16 1/8 tsp salt
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons pure canola oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350°F; grease a 4x2-inch rectangular loaf pan.  (Six 4x2 pans would normally be used in place of a 9x5 loaf pan, but since I was making 1/4 the recipe, I would have needed 1.5 pans. I risked all by using only one pan.) 

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add cornmeal and whisk together to blend evenly.  Using a whisk attachment, beat together the whole egg, yolk, zest, salt, and thyme on medium-high speed until foamy, about 40 seconds. Gradually add sugar while beating. Increase speed to high and beat until mixture is very pale and almost white in colour, about 5 minutes. The mixture will nearly triple in volume.

In a small bowl, combine oil and lemon juice. Whisk it with a fork to blend. Gently fold the flour mixture into the eggs in three additions, alternating with the oil mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

This cake rose in a strange manner -- straight up, with sharp edges.  No crowning or cracking.

Everyone else's loaves -- including the original -- were also fairly stout (which is why I was encouraged to overfill the pan.  I wanted a thicker loaf anyway.)  It might have been better with another few minutes in the oven, but it wasn't noticeably under baked. (I'm never quite sure how to adjust for different sized pans.)

Conclusion:  This was good, with a nice texture.  The sweetness level was good, but it would have benefited from a light, tangy glaze for a pleasant contrast.

Original recipe:   Lemoniest Little Lemon Loaf via Scientifically Sweet

Mexican Orange-Cornmeal Sandies

I had a few egg yolks to use up, left over from last month's ABC angel food cake challenge, and with the magic of the interwebs, it wasn't hard to find a suitable recipe.  Most of the posts for this cookie called for chopped walnuts.  One called for ground walnuts (and I wonder how that might turn out -- probably adds a little more texture), but I opted for the chopped pecans since, pecans being a product of New Mexico, it stayed with the theme better.  (I have no idea what supposedly makes these "Mexican".)

Many cookie recipes these days call for unsalted butter.  I find that using unsalted butter with salt added separately results in the salt being more noticeable in the final product, like tiny bursts on the tongue.  Sometimes this is a desired effect, such as with these digestive biscuits.  But generally, I prefer the more homogeneous taste that salted butter gives.  If the recipe calls for unsalted butter, I simply eliminate a proportionate amount of added salt to compensate, such as I did here.  (There's about 1/2 teaspoon of salt per stick.)  These cookies spread quite a bit, so choose your cutter appropriately.  A 2" cutter spread to 2.5", and a 2.25" cutter spread to 3".

Here's what I used:

2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1/2 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/4 cup (about 1 oz.) toasted, finely chopped pecans
4-6 ounces (up to 1 cup) semisweet bittersweet chocolate (see Note)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add orange zest and orange extract and beat until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in pecans. Divide dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out dough and place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining dough, gathering up scraps, re-rolling and cutting until all dough is used. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a double boiler over gently simmering water, melt chocolate. Partially dip cooled cookies into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into saucepan. Of course, you can decide how chocolaty you want these to be and dip deeply or just trim the edge.  Allow chocolate to set, about 1 hour.  (Chill if necessary.)

Note:  Chocolate chips are not recommended for this.  They are intended to hold their shape when melted, and therefore do not become as liquid as baking chocolate.  You can use them, but expect a thicker chocolate coating that you will have to spread like frosting, which might look a little rough.

Conclusion:  These are very sweet, and intensely orange, but a nice combination of flavors.  The cornmeal gives them that "sandy" texture.  The nuts are not noticeable.  They taste like Christmas, especially I think if they had more nuts and less chocolate.  (See my Christmas version here.)  But I also wonder how they would taste with a little cayenne!  <Grins evilly>

Recipe:  The original recipe seems to be from Family Circle magazine's Holiday Cookie Cookbook insert, December 1986, but the earliest on-line version can be found at India Divine or, with the pecans, at the Star Tribune.