Dear Cornbread Diaries,

Gosh, with all the record snowfall this month, I can't refrain myself from dreaming 'bout the past summer at Deer Haven, when the birds nests were brimming with sweet little babies, the grass needed mowing every other day, and the herb garden was overflowing with delightful green pleasantries of all kinds. So glad I dried those beautiful green sage and rosemary leaves and saved them for these cold, cold days of December! In fact, I made Nannie's Herb Cornbread just the other day with the dried herbs harvested this past summer...

Here's how to make Nannie's Herb Cornbread...
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup self rising cornmeal
3/4 cup self rising flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 ts celery seed
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine eggs, buttermilk, and butter in a separate bowl. Add these to the dry ingredients and stir til just moistened. Pour into a 9 inch iron skillet that has about 2 teaspoon of hot, melted butter in it. Bake for 25 minutes in a 400 degrees F oven or until golden brown.

Until next time, and I do hope all your cornbread dreams come true!

Love, Di

Dear Cornbread Diaries...

Chicken King...a tiny hole in the wall on Conway Hwy in North Little Rock has been making chicken and fish for many years. They do have the tastiest and freshest wings around. While stopping in recently for the Poor Man's Special ($6.89) which consists of six wings of choice (love those honey mustard BBQ wings), fries, roll, and ranch dip, I decided to take a chance and order a few hushpuppies to boot. This place has their hushpuppies in order as well. Seemed like they were homemade 'cause they were delicious, hot, fresh, and loaded with spices and corn! Yummy! At 25 cents a puppy, an order of six seemed like the right thing to do. Always looking for something good when it comes to a corn meal delicacy!

Until next time, Love, Di

Dear Cornbread Diaries,

#3 and me went to have lunch the other day at Cotham's Mercantile, an ole time favorite in the Scott/North Little Rock area.  I had the famous Cotham's little hubcap burger with homemade onion rings and was certainly not disappointed. #3 had the veggie lunch and complained the whole time he was watching me eat my luscious burger. Never could understand why people order fish at a steak place place either. Anyway, as I was saying, the burger was delicious but the cornbread and veggies were simply pitiful. #3 said the cornbread muffin was so thin, you could see straight through it. Southern cornbread, certainly not their specialty! And, the veggies not so good...except for the corn which tasted fresh from the fields. Oh well, take my advice...when you're going to a famous lil' hole in the wall like Cotham's, order what they're famous for...the hubcap burgers, knucklehead! And, don't forget that delightful sweet tea to wash it all down! And, wear your comfy shoes...waitin' is a bit long sometimes at this ole time Arkansas favorite hole in the wall.

Dear Cornbread Diaries...

Overlooked again in the Martha White cornbread cookin' contest! But I still love cookin' cornbread and especially love my entry this year, Di's Cheesy Sausage Cornbread Benedict with Skillet Hollandaise Sauce...U will 2!


Di's Cheesy Sausage Cornbread Benedict w/ Skillet Hollandaise Sauce
Serves: 4  Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 lb maple flavored bulk sausage
2 ts oil
1 egg, beaten, plus 4 eggs for poaching
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (7 oz) package Martha White Sweet Yellow Cornbread & Muffin Mix
4 cups boiling water
2 T white vinegar
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 T lemon juice
1/2 ts salt
1 stick (8 T)margarine or butter
Parsley flakes

Directions:
For Cornbread Wedges:
1. Heat oven to 400° F
2. Will need two 8 inch iron skillets. Put one in freezer for later use. Yea, you heard me, put it in the freezer.
3. Brown sausage in the other skillet on medium heat until completely done. Drain, discard drippings, and set sausage aside.
4. Add the 2 ts oil to the same skillet and put in the oven to heat up.
5. Combine 1 beaten egg, milk, cheese, and cornbread mix in a 2 qt mixing bowl and stir till smooth.
6. Stir in the cooked sausage and pour mixture into the hot skillet. Cook for about 20 minutes.
For Poached Eggs:
7. In a 3 qt saucepan, bring the 4 cups of water and vinegar to a boil.
8. Reduce the boil to a whimper. Slip the 4 eggs (broken) into the water, one at a time being careful to not break yolk! Quickly use a spoon to move the egg white over and around covering the yolk for a prettier appearance.
9. Cook 3-5 minutes depending on the desired firmness. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water. This will stop the cooking and remove the vinegar taste. Eggs can now be drained and put in fridge for later use or put in a bowl of hot water to heat up again making sure to drain and place on a paper towel until assembly.
For Skillet Hollandaise:
10. Remove the other skillet from the freezer. On low heat, add the 2 beaten egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt to the skillet. Add the whole stick of margarine or butter and swirl around the skillet until sauce is thick and creamy and margarine or butter has melted, or about 8-10 minutes.
 Assemble:
11. Cut the cornbread into 4 wedges, top each wedge with a poached egg, then drizzle with the Skillet Hollandaise Sauce, and garnish with the parsley flakes. To Di For!