Cornmeal

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heirloom cornmeal and grits

late fall, after the corn harvest dries

Tuck your cornmeal into the freezer for best results.

(2022) Cornmeal Popovers

From Southern Living: “These light and fluffy cornmeal popovers are so good that we are wondering why we didn’t think to add cornmeal to our classic popover recipes sooner. Classic airy bread bites get a comforting and unique Southern makeover with the addition of readily available fine white cornmeal. Perfectly textured with a rich, flavorful consistency from the cornmeal, these dinner-roll alternatives will make you rethink those plain dinner rolls you’ve been serving for years and years.

“Test Kitchen Tip: The secret to perfect popovers lies in the temperature: You’ll need to spoon the batter into a hot muffin pan and immediately pop them into a hot oven. By preheating the oven with the muffin pan inside, you’ll achieve the perfect popover temperature. The rest is simple—with basic ingredients you already have in your pantry, like flour, milk, eggs, and butter, you can make these golden brown appetizer bites in less than thirty minutes.”

(2019) Butternut Enchilada Casserole

Last week I turned all those turnip greens and the big head of bok choy into Creamed Greens. It was so simple and that large slow cooker full of greens cooked down with no attention from me, taking about two hours to go from shredded greens to luscious. It was a hit during the dinner party I gave Friday and then leftovers topped baked potatoes the following day for an easy dinner. It put me in the mood for other slow cooker dishes – and I’m sharing this enchilada casserole recipe. It’s got canned enchilada sauce and, yes, boxed corn muffin mix. Don’t judge. But feel free to substitute your own favorite recipe for corn bread as the topping. It’s been a big hit every time I’ve served it.

(2018) Cornmeal Featherbed Eggs

Here’s one more way to use your cornmeal, another great breakfast/brunch option. And great because you can make it ahead. It came from Cook’s Country magazine five years ago. Serve it with hot sauce. Yum.

(2017) Susan Rebecca White’s Poached Egg with Greens and Cornbread Croutons

Just in case you needed an inspiration for your eggs and greens. You’ll have to have some cornbread made from Riverview Farms to do this up right.

It was originally published by Susan Puckett in Atlanta magazine. Here’s what Puckett had to say:

“Hints of Susan Rebecca White’s Georgia upbringing appear on her table as regularly as they do in her books—but rarely in the form of a Southern-fried cliche. Take her riff on a childhood favorite. “When I was little, my mom would make fried toast with a hole cut out in the middle and an egg cooked inside it,” says the Atlanta native. “We called them ‘cowboy hats’; some name it ‘toad in the hole.’”

“Later, living alone in New York, she began preparing a healthy variation of the dish she discovered in Judith Jones’s cookbook The Pleasures of Cooking for One. She’d saute spinach, form the greens into a nest, and slide an egg into the center to poach. Now living back in her home state, White fuses the two versions with a Southern inflection. She uses whatever local greens look freshest at the farmers market. And for croutons, she cuts leftover cornbread into rounds and fries them in butter and olive oil. This recipe makes one serving, though it is easily doubled.”

(2017) Skillet Lemonade Cornmeal Cake

Please don’t ask me why I have this in my files (because I have no idea), but it’s a recipe from Chick-fil-A. Guess they were encouraging us to cook with their lemonade? I love skillet cornmeal cakes – something about that crisp crust and the texture of the cornmeal ….

You could make this with apple juice, orange juice or whatever you have on hand. Although the lemon is pretty tasty.

Cornmeal Scones

No idea where this recipe came from originally, but it’s delicious.

Brown Butter Cornbread

Everybody needs a good cornbread recipe and maybe you have one. But if not, try this one from seriouseats.com.

Curry Spaghetti Squash Cakes

Hilary White of The Hil at Serenbe demonstrated this recipe at the Morningside Farmers Market last year. To cook your spaghetti squash, she recommends preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Split the squash in half and place it on a rimmed baking sheet with a little bit of water. Bake it until it’s tender, remove from the oven and cool. Then she takes out the seeds, and scrapes the squash with a fork to release the “spaghetti.” And then she squeezes the spaghetti in a dish towel to remove excess moisture.

Cathy Conway’s Collards with Smoked Tomatoes and Cornmeal Dumplings

Chef Cathy Conway is the founder/executive chef of Avalon Catering – completely dedicated to local food. I do not remember how I got this recipe from her, but it’s delicious. I’m just loving dumplings these days.

Do you have some Riverview cornmeal leftover from last year’s boxes? Then you’re all set.

Baked Corn Pudding

You may also be looking for ways to eat more corn. Atlanta chef Virginia Willis created this recipe. The amount of corn can expand or contract as much or as little as you like.

Cornmeal-and-Brown Sugar-Crusted Bacon

This is the year my husband gets what he’s always wanted for Christmas – gussied up bacon. This is a recipe from Southern Living. They suggest for easy cleanup, line jelly-roll pans with aluminum foil.

Apple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a 10-inch oven-going skillet melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add apples; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from skillet. In same skillet combine remaining butter and brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter melts. Bring to boiling. Remove Read More…

Boone Tavern’s Spoonbread

This starter, one of the most popular offerings at Boone Tavern, which has featured the specialty for more than 60 years, is a creamy-centered cornbread pudding that rises like a soufflé.

Sweet Potato Apple Dog Treats

Finally a treat for your favorite pup. This makes a great hostess gift over the holidays if you’re visiting someone who loves their dog/s. If you don’t have pastry flour, regular whole wheat will do.

Collard Green Breakfast Bake

We ran this recipe in the AJC as part of a story on healthy eating. Love this dish – this is my idea of breakfast comfort food. Except that I wouldn’t eat it at breakfast. Makes a great brunch or dinner.

Apple Polenta Pecan Cobbler

Another great way to use cornmeal. I love desserts with a little cornmeal in them. Sorry – no idea where I got this recipe originally.

Local Republic’s Shrimp and “Grits”

Let me share the simplest, best way to fix cornmeal polenta, courtesy of Scott Simon chef at Local Republic in Lawrenceville. He uses cooked cornmeal as a substitute for grits in what is otherwise a pretty traditional shrimp and grits recipe. I’ve used this idea now a half dozen times as a bed for fresh fish (while at the beach), sautéed vegetables, you name it. Love it.

After you try this, if you like the texture of the cooked cornmeal, remember the proportion of 4 cups liquid to 1 1/4 cups cornmeal. And of course, if you want yours thicker or thinner, just adjust the amount of liquid. Now you can make this any time you need a quick carb. Really – a side dish in 3 minutes? What’s not to love?

Buttermilk Cornbread

Most of you probably don’t need a recipe for cornbread – but here’s one anyway from the October 2011 issue of Southern Living. Make it right before serving so you enjoy it hot out of the oven.

Sweet Cornbread for Thanksgiving

This makes excellent cornbread to cube up for dressing. Just bake it tonight, or early tomorrow, let it cool and then cut into cubes. You can toast the cubes in the oven to dry them out a little so they’re maintain their integrity in your dressing. Or if you prefer the cornbread to break down and meld with the other ingredients, then just use it right out of the oven. It’s really, really sweet though. That works great if you’re making a sausage dressing with lots of savory ingredients, but feel free to cut down on the sugar if you like.

Of course, you could just serve it as cornbread. What an idea!

Kaye’s Okra Fry Bread

Never thought I’d be sharing a recipe from Paula Deen, but this one is really good and will convert even those “I don’t eat okra” types. The recipe gives directions for cooking these little cakes in a skillet, but if you have a griddle, that’ll be even faster.

Tomato, Goat Cheese and Basil Cornbread

And finally, how about baking up some of those tomatoes? This recipe comes from the “Green Market Baking Book” by Laura Martin. Once you’ve enjoyed it fresh from the oven, you could vary the experience by toasting slices until golden brown.

Polenta

I was delighted to see the return of cornmeal in this week’s box. I’ve been dying to make polenta. When we received a bag or two of cornmeal earlier in the season, I spent lots of time making cornbread and corn muffins, and saved cornmeal to use for pan frying all that yummy okra. But I still had cornmeal left over.

One day, thank goodness, the word “polenta” popped into my head, and I did some research. While corn ground specifically for polenta is probably a little coarser than what we’re getting in our little brown bags, I discovered that our cornmeal made delicious polenta, and the polenta was a fabulous base for a number of recipes.

You can serve it freshly cooked as you would use mashed potatoes – a nice base for other savory flavors. If you have leftover polenta, let it cool and it will firm up. Cool the polenta on a rimmed baking sheet, spreading it out to make a thin layer. Once firm, you can cut it into any shape – dredge it in flour and Parmesan and pan sauté it to make little crispy bases for other savory flavors (again).

Our favorite use was to create “lasagna” made with polenta instead of noodles. I layered the pieces of polenta (just cooled, no sautéing) with ricotta, mozzarella, sautéed vegetables and marinara sauce, and then baked it like lasagna. Delicious. And it would work in lots of Mexican-style dishes since it’s similar in flavor to cooked masa harina.

Pepper Jelly Cornmeal Cups

I made these cookies for a holiday cookie swap this week. If you’ve been reading these notes over the season you probably realize that I love the combination of hot and sweet. And then to find those in a holiday cookie – plus the crunch of cornmeal? Pure genius! Did you make pepper jelly this year? Now you’ve got one more way to use it up.