Honey -Glazed Corn Bread

This a a great tasting corn bread recipe. The texture is not very typical of most corn breads, it feels similar to a mixture of grits and polenta, but with alot more flavor. Its also a very dense rich cornbread, very good with a BBQ chicken salad, or for breakfast! We also love it because it already has the butter and honey on top, so that cuts on extra dishes on the table( we love honey and butter on our cornbread) Bon appetite!

Corn bread

1c. yellow cornmeal

1c. flour

1/4c. cake flour

1c. sugar

2T. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

4 eggs

30z. unsalted butter melted

1/3c. veg. oil

1c. milk

1/2c. buttermilk

For The Glaze

3 oz. unsalted butter

1/4c. honey

1/3c. water

For the Corn bread: 1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. Line a 13x9in. pan with greased aluminum foil.

2. Sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt, 2 times. Set aside.

3. In a med. bowl, whisk together the eggs. Melt the butter and immediately whisk into the eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in the dry ingredients just till combined.

4. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30min. Rotate the pan from front to back and continue to bake for 10min. or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Make the Glaze: While corn bread is baking, melt the butter in a med. saucepan. Add the honey and water and whisk until blended.

6. When the corn bread is done, remove from the oven and poke holes all over the bread, about 1/2in. apart, with a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.

Yields one 13x9in. pan

Creative veggie cutting tips

Choose the vegetables. Good choices for creative cutting include carrots, cucumber, radishes etc.
Scrub and wash the veggies until they are clean.


Using a cutting board, slice the veggies. Some suggestions include:

Cut star shapes for carrots


Cut celery into small lengths and then cut slices in the top of each piece so that it splits apart and looks like cartoon hair


Cut a radish rose;


Cut cucumber slices and cut a little triangle at each quarter of the circle, to form a flower shape overall


You can also use cookie cutters, but you will have to press quite hard, or at least steam the veggies first. This can be quite good for larger veggies, such as a potato


Try combining veggies to make a veggie sculpture.


Cook the veggies as desired. The choice is yours - steamed, broiled etc. Or, you may prefer to use them raw in a salad or added to a hot Asian-style broth.


Serve at your dinner party and watch friends and family bombard you with compliments on your creativity.

TWD ~Mixed Berry Cobbler

We're back! Tuesdays with Dorie is back into action....................for this Tuesday we made a Mixed Berry Cobbler, very yummy after changing it around a bit.

Esther and I were reading all of the negative comments on the Tuesdays with Dorie Blog, and decided to add a few things to the so called "boring" topping.

2t. of Almond extract and the zest of one orange was perfect. The topping had a wonderful texture and baked great. For the filling we mixed some strawberries, cherries, blueberries, and blackberries. The cherries added a wonderful flavor that we really enjoyed!

Looking forward to next weeks recipe of Cheddar Apple Scones...................................

Oh please everyone, excuse the styrofoam bowl. Still in that unpacking process :)

Ah nothings better then a warm scone and coffee or tea!

Spicy Orange Scones

Scone Dough:
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (72 grams) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup (50 grams) drie canberries
1/4 cup (30 grams) toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans
2T. grated orange zest

1/2-3/4 cup (80 - 120 ml) buttermilk

1 1/2c. powdered sugar and juice from the orange mixed to a right consistantcy for spreading on the scones. You may need more powdered sugar.

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients till coarse crumbs. add the cranberries, nuts, and orange zest. Make a well then add the buttermilk just till blended. Knead a few times to gather dough into a ball. Press into a 6 in. circle and cut into 6-8 scones. Round or triangular. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Cool then spread with the glaze.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Muffins

6T. unsalted butter

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate chopped

2c. flour

2/3c. sugar

1/3c. cocoa powder unsweetened

1T. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4c. buttermilk

1 egg

1t. vanilla

Butter 12 muffin tins, or line with muffin papers. Preheat oven for 375 and center you oven rack.

Melt the butter and 1/2 of the chopped chocolate, either in the microwave or on the stove. Remove.

In another bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together till well blended. Add the wet ingredients to the dry till just blended. Don't worry if there are a few lumps in the batter!

Fold in the remaining chopped chocolate.

Distribute the batter evenly into muffin tins. Bake for about 20min. Cool for 5 min. before removing from tins.

Peanut Butter Torte

Peanut Butter Torte
1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)

24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender

½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Small pinch of salt2

½ c. heavy cream1

¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy)

2 tablespoons whole milk

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Spring form pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.

When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Spring form pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

~Yummy dessert, though I would suggest cutting these into smaller pieces then what the recipe says. ...........................probably 12-16 instead of 6-8