Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 18 - 11:29 PM

I have a couple of Jeff Smith cookbooks here; I gave one to my son and told him that most of the recipes are a good starting point for his own cooking.

Smith vanished into the ether with a scandal to do with his behavior with young men on his crew and that was the end of his cooking and teaching career. But he was a good cook and a careful explainer of how things worked as he cooked. It was too bad for all involved.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: gillymor
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 07:52 AM

I also never added any celery or herbs to the dumplings, I put them in the soup only as per the original recipe.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: gillymor
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 11:39 PM

,,, and I would always include the celery leaves whole so you can remove them after cooking if you like

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: gillymor
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 11:33 PM

Another Jeff Smith (The Frugal Gourmet) recipe:

Chicken and Dumplings

1/2 ts Sage
    4 Stalks celery ; chopped
    1 ts Thyme
    1 Small yellow onion ; chopped
    3 ts Baking Powder
    3 Carrots ; cut up
    1 tb Dill weed
    3 c Strained stock
    1 Whole chicken
    2 1/2 c Flour
    TO MAKE STOCK
    1 Yellow onion
    2 Carrots ; chopped
    2 Bay Leaves
    3 tb Crisco
    FOR DUMPLINGS
    Pepper
    2 ribs Celery ; chopped
    1 1/4 c milk
    1 Pinch salt
    2 ts Sage
    1 ts Salt
    5 qt Water
    FOR CHICKEN SOUP BASE
    2 tb parsley, fresh ; Chopped

Servings

INSTRUCTIONS

Simmer all stock ingredients in water for about 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and cool until able to handle. Skin and bone chicken and cut or tear into small pieces. Strain stock reserving 3 cups or so. Add chicken and ingredients list for soup. Bring to a simmer while you are preparing the dumplings. Dumplings can either be made with Bisquick or you make them with the ingredients listed above. Mix dry ingredients and cut in Crisco, using a pastry blender or two knives. Add parsley or dill and stir milk in with a wooden fork. Do not overmix. Drop by large spoonfuls on top of the simmering soup. Simmer 5 minutes with the lid off, then cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

This is also from "Cooks American" and was one of my favorites back in my meat-eating days, along with his Yankee Pot Roast from the same book. I don't think I ever added dill and never used Bisquick.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 10:51 PM

Does anyone here have success making dumplings? I made chicken soup for dinner and realized it would be perfect with dumplings. My Mom had a few really good recipes that I never mastered, and that was one of them. (Not cornbread, but it is along the lines of "the bread with the meal" like cornbread is.) Another recipe I've never gotten to come out the same way is her crispy salmon croquettes.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 02:05 PM

I'm going to have to try this recipe as it sounds wonderful.

I like conventional cornbread, too -- my go-to recipe is the 1969 Betty Crocker cookbook. I've tried variations (bacon fat, bacon bits, jalapeno bits, etc.), but I'm most pleased with the straight recipe -- especially right out of the oven with butter and honey on a drizzly cold March morning. Yes, it's somewhat dry and crumbly...the butter melting into it and the honey cure that.

The Jiffy mix has more wheat flour in it and a slightly different texture (more "cake-like") than the recipe I use with cornmeal.

Linn

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 12:57 PM

Excellent suggestion - the creamed corn helps resolve the chokingly dry results you sometimes get from "standard" cornbread recipes.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: SamStone
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 12:54 PM

add a small can of creamed corn to any recipe...rises high and very moist...top it with garlic butter.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 18 - 11:18 AM

One conversion chart for baking.

A weight conversion site.

A third conversion site.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 18 Oct 18 - 09:35 PM

Sounds interesting.

On the UK/US bits, the temperature scale is pretty obvious. We'd not be going to 350C!

Difficulties are more likely to concern cups where we are more used to weight for dry measures and as they look the same on paper, liquid measures - a uk pint is 568ml and a us one is 473ml.

At least I think so, I very rarely follow recipies or get that adventurous.

--
Bread (as I know it): Pip made a mistake today with some Morrisons (UK supermarket) thing. It had jalapenos on top and I had to remove them to eat it. Even the bread itself was too hot for her although I found the rest of it very tasty.

I did once follow instuructions for some bread in a guide that came with a Kenwood mixer. Fresh herbs and olive oil on top and it tasted delicious with all the tastes running into the bread but you've got some standing time, then a knead and then more standing or something like that and I don't have the patience.

Breadmaker is fantastic for me. Lazy maybe but I can throw all that's needed into our Panasonic in under 10 minutes and get decent results. the machine would do a lot more but I just stick with 3 "rapid" (which is at a minimum 2 hrs) ones. Plain white, a 50/50 wholemeal and a granary.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: gillymor
Date: 17 Oct 18 - 09:58 AM

Here's the recipe I got out of the Frugal Gourmet Cooks American long ago, and it's still my favorite, though I do add chopped jalapenos (medium spicy ones) now and then:

3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. cornmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. salad oil

Place all dry ingredients in mixing bowl and combine. Add liquids and mix until smooth. Place in a greased 8x12 inch pan and bake in hot 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

I prefer it when cooked in my 9" Wagner cast iron skillet. If you don't overcook it it will come out fairly moist. I mostly make it to compliment various bean recipes.
I'm going to give that broccoli and cottage cheese variation a try, it sounds good.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 08:25 PM

Joe, this recipe with the butter, onions, and cheese is more cake-like, it's heavy and moist and relatively sweet. It's rich, not dry like "standard" cornbread.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 06:44 PM

Best cornbread ever-- Mim's. Drop tablespoon-sized blobs of cream cheese into the batter in the pan, a few inches apart... and then bake as usual. Then apply the same technique to pumpkin bread for easy, not-rolled 'pumpkin roll.'

~S~

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 03:50 PM

Most cornbread recipes are coarse, dry, and crumbly. I suppose they're much healthier than Jiffy cornbread, but I just love the Jiffy stuff - especially with honey butter.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Helen
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 02:38 PM

I make something similar - with variants.

Instead of cornmeal, I mash up a can of butter beans or white beans or chickpeas and sometimes add a small amount of flour.

The two main variations I have made are:

"Mexican" with corn kernels, red capsicum and chilli through it and grated cheese mixed in and on top.

Zucchini with grated zucchini - and other available veg - with grated cheese in and on it.

A good standby for a quick meal and very good as leftovers.

The mashed beans/chickpeas makes it high in fibre but in fact the mash looks and acts like mashed potato. A sneaky way to add fibre without ruining a dish. I use them for making fish cakes instead of mashed potato, too. Yum!

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Jos
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 02:15 PM

I googled cornmeal and polenta and found this site:

https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-cornmeal-and-polenta-word-of-mouth-211404

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 12:46 PM

Each stick is a half-cup or 4 ounces. I have a large bag of frozen broccoli, I took out enough that looked like a good amount for the dish (eyeball it.)

I'm sure there are good temperature conversion charts out there, this would be considered a medium oven temperature. Typical for most baked goods such as cakes, muffins, breads.

You could simply use a regular cornbread recipe if you don't find Jiffy (there are a gazillion of them online) and add the other ingredients to it. Ground cornmeal will work for the cornbread, it is usually mixed with some wheat flour.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Jos
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 12:41 PM

And can I assume your 350 degrees is in Fahrenheit rather than Centigrade?
350 Fahrenheit is about 175-180 Centigrade, or Gas 4.

Subject: RE: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Will Fly
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 12:19 PM

Questions from an ignoramus (UK):

1. What might be an equivalent of cornbread mix in the UK - polenta perhaps?

2. How much is "2 sticks" of butter?

3. How heavy is a small bag of chopped broccoli? I usually buy broccoli heads from my local greengrocer.

Subject: Broccoli Cornbread (and variants)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 11:40 AM

It turned cold here overnight on Sunday, so it was time to start cooking. I've eaten this recipe at a friend's "First Friday" early evening gatherings several times now (his friends insist he make it every month since it's first appearance last year.)

I shared a photo and recipe on Instagram and Facebook that got an immediate response, so in view of all of the great food threads Rick Fielding started, I'm offering up this recipe:

Broccoli Cornbread

      2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
      1 medium onion.........chopped
      2 sticks butter
      1 small carton (16 oz.) small curd cottage cheese
      4 eggs
      1 small box or bag of chopped broccoli.....thawed

Spray 9 x 13 pan with pam or veg. spray.
Saute the chopped onion just until tender in the melted butter. Don't worry about having to much melted butter because you will need it for moisture in the batter. Just don't burn it.
Combine everything together and stir until mixed well.
Put in pan and bake in 350* oven for 35 to 40 minutes until brown.

*I'll note that I made a half recipe, and since I didn't have cottage cheese I used the milk the recipe normally calls for, but I shredded a mix of Colby and Parmesan that I had handy to punch it up. And I used ghee instead of cooking spray to grease the pan. I used a gluten free mix that turned out just fine. And one of the remarks noted that instead of using my Pyrex pan, if I'd put it in a skillet it would be even crispier on the outer edges. Test with a toothpick in the middle.

**It's up to you, dear reader, to offer the variants.