Double Corn Spoon Bread with chiles and cheese

taken from The Texas Border Cookbook by W Park Kerr and Norma Kerr

"Serve it as a meal's bread or in place of potatoes or other starch with chili, brisket, fried chicken, etc., or try it at brunch teamed with eggs and bacon. When hot and freshly baked, the bread is soft and spoonable; it firms as it cools and then cuts neatly into squares..."

(true confession: I have never taken the time to roast the green chiles. I'm sure it would be a fabulous addition to this recipe. But, I have substituted a can of diced green chiles.)



6 long green chiles
8 eggs, beaten
two 16-oz cans cream-style corn
8 oz. medium sharp cheddar or monterey jack cheese (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
two 4-oz jars of roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup cultured buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
5 pickled jalapeno chiles, stemmed and minced, about 1/3 cup
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In the open flame of a gas burner or under a preheated broiler, roast the long green chiles, turning them, until they are lightly but evenly charred. Steam the chiles in a paper bag, or in a bowl, covered with a plate, until cool. Rub away the burned peel. Stem and seed the chiles and coarsely chop them. there should be about 1 cup.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375. Butter a 10-12 cup shallow casserole dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream-style corn, and cheese. Stir in the cornmeal, green chiles, red peppers, and buttermilk. Add the sugar, jalapenos, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and mix well. Transfer the batter to the baking dish.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until puffed and just barely set in the center. Serve hot or warm.

Skier's French Toast

2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 loaf french bread, sliced into 2 inch slices
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Combine syrup, butter, and brown sugar in a pan and simmer until thick (syrup-like) approximately 5 minutes. Put in a 9x13 pan. Add bread slices. Pour egg mixture over bread. Refrigerate, covered with saran wrap, for at least an hour. Can be refrigerated overnight. Bake for 45 minutes. Invert to serve.  

A loaf of french bread - cut into 2/3 inch slices works really well - makes about 12 "slices" usually...and they will expand when baked to fill the pan.

If you use a different kind of bread, you can overlap them as needed...cut off crusts if you use a different kind of bread. . . .I found another recipe that called for a one pound loaf of unsliced white bread, with crust trimmed.

Breakfast Casserole

When it's done, it looks kind of like this picture from ClosetCooking.com  (I have never taken a picture of mine, sorry, I'll try to next time.)

1 cup bisquick
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp)
2 tsp chopped onion (or more, to taste)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp salt
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1-2 cups diced ham

1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix all ingredients except butter in order given. Pour into a 9x13 glass pan. Pour 1/2 cup of melted butter over mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Corn Cakes

This was one of the winners of the University of Minnesota's Golden Gopher Pancake Cook-off in 1998 or 1999. The recipe came from Jeff Tjosvold, Maple Grove, MN.

1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp cooking oil
honey (opt)

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.

In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and cooking oil. Add the egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened and almost smooth.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the pancake batter onto a hot lightly-greased griddle or heavy skillet.  Cook over medium heat about two minutes on each side or till the pancakes are golden brown, turning to second side when the pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry.

Serve warm, drizzled with honey, if desired. Makes 8 pancakes.

Apple Puff Pancake

Just because it's more fun putting recipes on a blog than it is finishing up the cleaning of the spare room, here's what I made for breakfast today. It was pretty good. Kind of a nice way to make pancakes for a crowd without standing over a hot stove forever.

from bbonline.com - The Lamplighter Bed and Breakfast of Ludington


6 apples, cored, thinly sliced
1/3 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar
cinnamon
freshly ground nutmeg
6 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375.
In an 8 inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter and saute the sliced apples; add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg (to taste) and cook slowly until sugar is melted and apples begin to soften. In the meantime, mix eggs, vanilla, flour, and milk; pour liquid over apples. Bake for 20-30 minutes - until puffed and done in center.

Serve with maple syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 6 servings.

Spinach Frittata

One of our favorite weekend brunch meals. I saw it made once on tv, and have just adapted it to our tastes...

2 onions, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped (seeds removed)
1 bag of spinach or baby spinach
6 eggs
1/2 cup mik
2 oz feta cheese
olive oil
parsley, chives, black pepper, to taste
Over medium-high heat and in a large saute pan, caramelize onions in olive oil, covered. (Saute onions in olive oil until brown, and almost burnt. Stir every few minutes, cover with a lid when not stirring)  Add spinach to onions. Cover pan and cook 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, add tomatoes, cotinue cooking, until spinach has cooked down. (Add more olive oil as necessary.)
Lightly beat the eggs. Add the milk to the eggs. Pour over the spinach mixture. Add parsley, chives, pepper  to taste. Stir  eggs into vegetables. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover and put the eggs in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes - or until eggs are completely set.