Cheesy Mexicali Bake

I love making casseroles.  This recipe is an homage to the fabulous classic casseroles of the 50's and 60's where dinner and culinary genius was just half a dozen cans and a bag of potato chips away.  This recipe is essentially a savory bread pudding with a Mexican theme.  I tried to give it a Betty Crocker inspired period name.  It's rich, festive and an awesome choice for brunch or dinner.


One recipe corn bread 

I bought mine at the store already made and it weighed one pound.  It should be thoroughly stale.  This recipe is pretty wet and it'll be too much so if the cornbread isn't very dry.  If it's not, stick it in the oven at 200 until it's dried and crumbly. Cut into pieces that are bite sized or maybe a little larger.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9" Pyrex pan.

Drain:

One can chopped tomatoes
One can chili beans

Brown in a frying pan using medium low heat:

One pound mild Italian bulk sausage (not in the casing)


When brown remove from pan and set aside.   If you don't see a lot of grease in the pan then add a little oil and add:

4-6 medium onions, chopped

Cook until they start to get translucent.  When they are about halfway done add:

2-6 cloves garlic, minced

When they're cooked through but not brown turn off the heat add:

1/2 cup white wine

Stir and reduce until the wine looks syrupy.  Turn off the heat and let it cool just a bit and then add the reserved sausage mixture and then:

One can sliced olives, drained
Two cans chopped green chili
Cilantro -  Use as much as you'd like.  I used about 2/3 of a bunch.

Add the reserved corn bread and gently blend together.  You don't want the corn bread to get too broken up. When combined, gently place it into the Pyrex pan.  Distribute around the pan but don't press it down into the pan too much.  You want pieces of cornbread to be sticking up so that they don't get soaked in custard and end up being golden and chewy.

In a mixing bowl blend together:

8 eggs
2 cups heavy cream - You could substitute just about any dairy for this
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp black pepper or to taste

I had a little trouble with the chili powder clumping so be prepared to whisk that for a while if you have to.  When thoroughly smooth, slowly pour this over the cornbread in the Pyrex pan.  Cover with:

8 ounces shredded mexican cheese

And put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the custard has set, the cheese has melted and it and exposed cornbread are beginning to brown.  Remove it from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes or longer and then cut and serve.

Bon appetit!

Wartime Edition Chocolate Chip Cookies

 This recipe first appeared in the Joy of Cooking in 1943.  It made a ration friendly batch that only needed one stick of butter.  Click here to read more about food rationing in the US during World War 2.  I've doubled the recipe so that it makes a larger quantity because if you're going to the trouble to bake cookies you might as well bake a bunch.  This can also be made in a 13x9 inch pan and then cut into bars.  It's very similar to the tollhouse cookie recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag except that it has one cup instead of 3/4 cup of both white and brown sugar and three instead of two teaspoons of vanilla.   I've changed the recipe by upping the nuts from 1 1/2 cups to 2 because the bags of nuts that we get come in 2 cup portions and that way I don't end with 1/2 cup of nuts left over.  You could certainly use fewer on none as you like without the world coming to an end.  The original recipe calls for a bake time of 8-10 minutes but I find that isn't enough and prefer 11-13.  It might be my oven or maybe the dual layer cookie sheets I use so keep an eye on the first batch to see if your timing is different.  This recipe makes around six dozen cookies.  These are the cookies that helped our boys send the Axis packing.

Preheat oven to 375

Add to a bowl and whisk until combined:

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda

Set aside.
 
Cream together:

2 sticks butter room temperaturified
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar

When well blended add:

1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet and then fold in:

2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups walnuts or pecans

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets and bake about eleven minutes.  Let cool 5-10 minutes and then move to a rack, tea towel, or paper towels.

Bon appetit!

Welcome to my cooking blog!

I've been putting food that I've made on my regular blog for a long time now, but I've decided to keep a dedicated cooking blog to help me keep tabs on the things that I've made and that people have liked.  I find recipes in cookbooks, online and from friends and I've been having a hard time remembering what I've made and where I found it and I concluded that an online cookbook is really what I needed.  I'm a vegan vegetarian and have been for many years but I cook with animal products all the time because I want to make dishes that my husband and guests enjoy.  I rely on taste testers to help me with seasoning and I find that works out pretty well since it's technique that interests me the most.  Every once in a while I'll include something fancy and vegan but I don't think that I do enough creative vegan cooking to warrant a second blog for that.  Bon appetit!