Cast Iron Cornbread � Frugal Fabulous

What to bring to a cookout is always a tough call. Ribs or brisket would be great, but they�re not cheap, and take hours to prepare. On the other end of the spectrum, you could just bring a bag of chips, but that�s kind of weak sauce.

In fact, that�s probably worse that literally bringing a weak sauce, which is why this easy-to-make cast iron cornbread is such a great option. This stuff is very inexpensive to make, but that�ll be the last thing anyone will be thinking about as they eat, and if everything goes according to plan, you�ll be asked to bring it to the next gathering. Sure, every once in a while it would be nice to show up with a pulled pork shoulder, but hey, you�re the cornbread guy or gal, and that�s just your thing.

Above and beyond how much extra beer money this recipe will afford you, it�s also very adaptable. You can add things like hot peppers, cheese, and fresh corn, as well as adjust the texture to your particular tastes. I use a lot of buttermilk, since I don�t care for a super-dry, crumbly cornbread, but if you do, simply reduce the amount to one cup. You can also use plain milk for this, but I really do like the tang of the buttermilk.

As far as the butter amount goes, I�d usually use four tablespoon for the batter, and maybe only one or two for the pan, but this time I decided to melt the whole stick. It was borderline too much, so maybe keep that in mind if you don�t want it too rich, but as with all these recipes, I�ll let you experiment and figure things out. Either way, I hope you give this easy, and affordable cornbread a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8-10 Portions:

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, divided (half for batter, half for pan)

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of cayenne

3 tablespoons honey, or to taste

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or less for a drier texture)

1 cup self-rising flour*

- Bake at 400 F. for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*To make your own you self-rising flour, sift together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, with 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt.

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Summer Tomato Tart � Better Than a Nude Beach

One of these days Michele and I will travel to the south of France, where we�ll make it a point to eat this amazing tomato tart at least once a day. It�s going to be hot, since we�ll have to go in the middle of summer, so we can enjoy the best possible tomatoes, but that�s fine, as long as they don�t run out of chilled ros�.

While beautiful in its own way, this tart doesn�t necessarily look like it�s going to be one of the most delicious things ever, but then you bite into the crispy, buttery crust, which is the perfect delivery system for the tangy Dijon, and sweet, caramelized tomatoes, and you�re like, yeah, that guy was right.

By the way, if you want to learn some really good French swear words, call this a �French pizza� in front of a French chef. They don�t quite agree with the analogy. However, there is one common denominator. Both can be ruined with too much topping. Just like we don�t want to overload a thin-crust pizza with a ton of sauce and cheese, we need to be restrained with this as well.

One layer of tomato is plenty, since more than that will make for a too wet tart, which means your pastry will not stay crispy. Besides that, there�s not much that can go wrong, unless you use subpar tomatoes. But, since we�re right in the middle of peak season that shouldn�t be a problem, so I really do hope you give this tomato tart a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

enough puff pastry to make your shell

enough extra-strong Dijon mustard to sauce the inside

enough sliced tomatoes to fill the tart with a single layer

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

several big pinches of Herbes de Provence (or an Italian herb blend if you can�t find)

extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, as needed

fresh chopped herbs to garnish

- Pre-bake tart shell for about 10 minutes at 400 F.

- Let cool about 10-15 minutes, then fill and bake at 400 F. for about 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is well-browned and crisp.

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Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) � Sweet, Steamy Memories

In younger, leaner times, I�d often rely on the delicious, inexpensive calorie bomb that is the steamed barbecue pork bun. They were twice the size, and for a few bucks you could get very full�for about 30 minutes, and then you were starving again. Nothing a Mission-style burrito couldn�t fix.

Anyway, the filling was chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork mixed with some kind of mysterious, gelatinous red sauce, which was significantly sweeter than what I�m doing here. 

That�s probably why they don�t seem to come out quite the same as I remember. I probably need a lot more sugar, as well as copious amounts of MSG. Having said that, I was pretty pleased with my insides, but as usual I encourage you to freestyle. 

Here�s a link to a fairly classic pork bun filling recipe, in case you want something slightly more authentic, and since it looks just like the stuff I mentioned above, I might give it a try next time. But, regardless what you fill yours with, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao):

For the dough:

3/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

2 cups *self-rising flour

For the filling (this made more than I needed):

2 cups chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork, or other barbecued pork product

1/4 cup finely sliced green onions

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 cup hoisin sauce, or as needed

salt (soy sauce) and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons white sugar, optional

*If you don't have self-rising flour, you can use 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon fine table salt.

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Whole Chicken Pie � Finally, a Great Pie with Bones

There�s a restaurant up the street that serves a whole chicken wrapped in brioche, and ever since I saw it, I�ve wanted to do that video. I�ve never actually had it, since it�s $100, and you have to order it a day in advance. I love chicken, but I think I�ll save my hundred dollar bills for more sensible things, like lighting Cuban cigars.

Anyway, I was planning on doing a bread-wrapped bird, when I saw a photo for what looked like a pie crust wrapped chicken. Suddenly, I remembered doing something similar in culinary school, except they made us call the pie dough, �pate brisee,� for some reason, but same idea. That�s when plans changed, and the brioche went bye bye.

When bread�s used, you usually have to peel the soft, flabby skin off before enjoying the meat, but that�s not as big an issue here. Pie crust doesn�t insulate nearly as well, and so the skin gets cooked more thoroughly. This was very noticeable on the breasts, where the skin and crust fused together into some sort of marvelous hybrid. The thicker skin around the thighs didn�t render out quite as well, but even if you do pull off the skin, the meat is moist, tender, and very flavorful.

If you use a 3 1/2 pound chicken for this, then the roasting/resting time should work out, but if your bird is larger, you�ll have to add more time, and should probably use a thermometer to check your work. By the way, this is a technique video, and everything from the stuffing, to the pan sauce ingredients should be adapted to your tastes, but no matter what you use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

*This was inspired by the chicken photo from this article about Chef Barbara Lynch.
Ingredients for One Whole Chicken Pie:

1 whole chicken, between 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 pounds

kosher salt as needed

1 recipe buttercrust pastry dough (this was just barely enough)

1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoon of water

For the veggie stuffing:

1/2 yellow onion, small dice

1 small carrot, small dice

1/2 rib celery, small dice

1 to 2 tablespoons minced rosemary or other fresh herb

kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

For the sauce (this is for 4 portions, I only made 2):

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup veggies from inside chicken (pull out while chicken rests, but replace the crust)

salt to taste

2/3 cup white or rose wine

1/3 cup pan drippings and/or splash of stock

4 tablespoons cold butter cut in cubes

Note: This is a rich butter sauce, but a gravy, so you only get a few tablespoons

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Grain-Free Butter Bread � Going Full Keto

I've always wanted to try making one of these grain-free loaves, and since I've received tons of food wishes for it, I decided to finally give it a go. I very slightly adapted this recipe from one I found at Keto Connect, where they call it the �Best Keto Bread.� Since I basically stole their recipe, I decided not to take their name too, and went with the hopefully appetizing sounding, grain-free butter bread.

Here is the link to the original recipe, and I welcome you to check it out, since they give a lot of tips, as well as other variations, but I did change the technique somewhat. They used a food processor to mix in all the egg whites, whereas I finished by folding. Not sure how big a difference it makes, but I do like to occasionally use a few things I learned in culinary school.

While I really did enjoy this, and it was much more bread-like than I had anticipated, please be sure to manage your expectations appropriately. Without wheat flour and yeast, it�s impossible to get a true bread taste and texture, but if you�re off carbs, and have been dreaming about a nice slice of buttered toast with your eggs, this is well worth a try.

It has a subtle egginess, and faint almond flavor, but overall it�s relatively neutral, and the texture is reminiscent of an extra moist, and spongy white bread. If you wanted to run with my strawberry shortcake idea, you could add a spoon of sugar to the batter, and you�d just be some whipped cream away from a pretty decent, low-carb treat. Either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one loaf:

1 1/2 cup fine ground almond flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 cup melted butter

6 large egg yolks

6 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

- Bake at 375 F. for about 30 minutes

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Fried Cheese Egg Toast � The Breakfast of Champions (In a Rut)

I�m not sure what your usual breakfast routine entails, but chances are you occasionally get bored with it, and crave something completely different, and when that happens, it doesn�t get much more different than this fast, and easy fried cheese egg toast. Be careful though, since afterwards it�s not easy going back to that bowl of oatmeal.

While pan-frying cheese may not sound particularly healthy, as it caramelizes, it gives up a fair amount of butter fat, which stays behind in the pan. So, you could actually spin this technique as a new, fat-reducing hack � unless you use that to butter the toast, which isn�t a dumb idea.

By the way, I hope you like your yolks runny, since if you don�t, this is not going to be nearly as great. Which reminds me, why do people not like runny yolks? What�s not to like? I hope they don�t think they�re dangerous, because they�re not. Anyway, if you are a fan of the flow, this fried cheese egg toast is the way to go, so I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one Fried Cheese Egg Toast:

1 ounce grated cheddar cheese

pinch red pepper flakes

1 large egg

1 piece of toast

sliced green onions to garnish

pinch of salt

*Note: For best results, rub your non-stick pan with a few drops of olive oil

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