Sweet Cornbread

Cornbread, Hoppin' John and greens are a mandatory meal in my house New Year's Day.  My Hoppin John recipe is spicy, so I like a sweet cornbread with the meal.  This is my standby recipe for sweet cornbread.

Sweet Cornbread

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2/3 cup white sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Melt the butter in an 9 inch square pan, or a 10 inch cast iron skillet, in the oven as it preheats.

Beat the eggs, then stir in sugar and buttermilk. Mix the cornmeal, flour, soda, and salt until well blended in a separate bowl.

Combine the melted butter with the liquids and stir, then pour them into the dry ingredients.  Stir until just combined.  Do not over mix.   Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Caribbean Style Yuca

Yuca with a mouthwatering bite of garlic and lime.

Ingredients

• 18 oz Yuca, frozen
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Instructions

1. Bring enough water to cover the yuca to a boil and add salt. Add the frozen yuca to the boiling water and cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, or until the yuca is tender.
2. While the yuca is cooking, cook the olive oil, onion, garlic, and lime juice over medium heat 5 minutes in another small skillet.
3. Drain the yuca and remove the hard core from the center of the yuca pieces. Place in serving bowl. Pour the seasoned oil over the yuca and serve.

Yield: 3-4 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.

Total time: 35 mins.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I sometimes receive food gifts that feel like a basket from the television show Chopped.  This Thanksgiving was one of those mystery baskets.  The chefs on Chopped frequently resort to bread pudding to make deserts, so that is how I used my ingredients.  It gave me a huge shock on first taste.  It is absolutely yummy! I topped it with a little maple whipped cream for a real Thanksgiving treat.

Ingredients

1 (10.75 ounce) loaf day-old bread, cut into small pieces

4 cups Orange Scream milk, made by Tru Moo

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 eggs, beaten

15 ounce can of pumpkin

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin spice chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.


In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, butter, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla and chips.  Add bread and allow the bread to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes.  Pour into prepared pan.


Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, until nearly set. Serve warm or cold.