Baguettes

"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts." (James Beard) Not less than two weeks ago one of my friends suggested I make lobster roll buns for the blog. Catching me in one of those 'bread is not easy to make' moments of self-doubt, my reaction was less than enthusiastic. Since moving back from the east coast, life now means not having a lobster roll at least once a week (once you get spoiled with east coast lobster rolls, not having easy access to them is a genuine hardship). Actually it means hardly ever having a lobster roll (they are just not the same here). In spite of my bread making reticence and lobster roll remorse, the 'bread seed' was planted. And as fate would have it, I came across a recipe for baguettes several days later (one taking less than two hours from start to finish). Much to my surprise the baguettes looked relatively simple to make. Suddenly I went from being a bread making nay-sayer to eagerly jumping on the bread making bandwagon.

"The smell of good bread baking like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight." (M.F.K. Fischer) If the scent of bread baking in the oven isn't enough to help you overcome any of your founded or unfounded bread making fears, one taste of homemade warm bread should be enough to give you the confidence to take on the challenge. Scented candles or vases filled with lilacs are not anywhere near as intoxicating as the aroma of baking bread. Not to mention they aren't even edible.

The quality of ingredients always, always make a difference to a sweet or savory dish. Based on years of baking experience I have come to the self-appointed 'not all all-purpose flours are created equal' spokesperson. My current all-purpose flour favorite is made by King Arthur. The old adage 'you get what you pay for' is true more often than not. When making these baguettes, give this flour a try. If you aren't already using it, I promise you will not be disappointed.

The first key to successfully making bread is having yeast that actually activates when combined with warm (115 degrees F) water. If the mixture becomes bubbly and frothy your yeast is good. If not, the water wasn't warm enough or too warm or the yeast wasn't good. Should your yeast 'starter' not get off to a good start, you will need to start all over. For these baguettes, the yeast/water mixture also includes two tablespoons of honey. After waiting at least 5 minutes or up to 10 minutes, the all-purpose flour, olive oil, salt and additional water is added. Stirring or whipping the mixture together allows the gluten to develop. Once the mixed together, lightly knead the dough until smooth.

The second key step in the process is allowing the dough to rest and rise (the fermentation stage). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (placing a towel or cloth on top is optional) and put in a warm, draft free place. The dough should double in size in less than hour (about 40-45 minutes).

After the dough has risen, turn it out on a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 or 5 pieces. For longer baguettes cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll into your desired length. Remember, your baking sheet or bread pan will determine the length of your baguette. The rolled out, shaped baguettes need to rest (the proofing phase) for 25 minutes before baking. Note: Make several diagonal cuts on top of each baguette before allowing to proof.

At the time I made these baguettes, I did not have a baguette pan. Of course I felt compelled to buy one. My obsession for a baguette pan does not need to your obsession. As long as you have a heavy baking sheet, your baguettes should bake up beautifully. However, if making 5 smaller baguettes, divide the rolled baguettes between two baking sheets.

Before placing the baguettes in preheated 450 degree (F) oven, lightly spritz with water. In 18-20 minutes your baguettes should be golden brown and completely baked. Cool the baked bread on a wire rack (that is, if you can resist the urge to cut into one of the warm baguettes as soon as they come out of the oven).

Most bread recipes list preheating the oven as one of the steps in their directions. Have you ever wondered why no one has ever thought to add 'bring some really great butter to room temperature' to the directions? Think the time has come for someone to take care of that glaring omission? Okay, I will volunteer. 

In addition to butter, these baguettes are great for dipping into olive oil, for serving with cheese, for making crostini and topping with a creamy liver pate, for topping with cheese on a bowl of french onion soup, for making crostini, for making roasted red pepper and goat cheese sandwiches, for mopping up the sauce in a bowl of steamed mussels. In other words, baguettes have unlimited possibilities. As long as you have an oven, a bowl, some measuring cups and baking sheet, you can make them anywhere, anytime (and if you pack the ingredients in your suitcase, you can make them whether you are staying in a cabin in the woods or a house at the beach). These homemade baguettes will have you thinking twice about spending four or five dollars for single loaf. And the priceless satisfaction that comes with making your own bread will give you an adrenal rush as addictive as the aroma of homemade bread baking in the oven. 

Recipe

Baguette (recipe shared in the Spring (2015) issue of the Sweet Paul magazine)

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tablespoons dry active yeast

2 Tablespoons honey

1 1/2 cups warm water, divided

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (recommend King Arthur flour)

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Directions

1. Mix yeast, honey and 1/2 warm (115 degrees) water in a large bow. Let sit for 5 minutes or until mixture becomes frothy. If there is no frothiness, the yeast is inactive and you need to begin again.

2. Add remaining 1 cup warm water, flour, oil and salt. Mix until combined. Lightly knead until the dough is smooth.

3. Place dough back in bowl, cover with plastic and towel, put bowl in a warm place and allow to double in size (approximately 40 minutes).

4.Remove dough from bowl and place on a floured surface. Divide dough into 4 or 5 equal parts. Roll each part out into a long baguette.

5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). Bring some good butter to room temperature.

6. Place rolled dough on either a lightly oiled baking pan or in a bread pan. Using a sharp knife, make several slits along the top of each baguette.

7. Let baguettes rest for 25 minutes.

8. Lightly spray each baguette with water before placing in the oven. Bake until golden, approximately 18-20 minutes. Note: Original recipe had a baking time of 15-18 minutes, however, mine were not fully baked until the 20 minute mark.

9. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

A sheep farm in northern Wisconsin.

Cheddar Cheese Jalapeño Beer Bread

A souvenir is supposed to be a something small, relatively inexpensive article. These mementos, remembrances, or keepsakes are intended to serve as a reminder of an occasion, event, or place visited. Somewhere along the way the concepts of small and relatively inexpensive got lost on me (as in like the sterling silver purchased on a recent trip to New Orleans). However, on my recent trip to Wisconsin I seemed to have found my way back to what a souvenir was intended to be (this probably had more to do with the fact that most stores and galleries were closed for the winter or had limited weekend hours versus me showing souvenir restraint). But to go on a trip and bring back nothing, how crazy is that? For me that would border on being seriously delusional. So in the spirit of maintaining my own sanity, I managed to pick up a few things. Only this time my souvenirs turned out to not be the keeping kind, but instead the perishable kind.

In addition to the warm, freshly made cheese curds (I didn't know how good these are), I came back with some aged cheddar cheese, cherries, and beer. Why, of all things, beer? Well it seems there are some beers you can only buy in Wisconsin (what's up with that?). Since I sort of have a thing for bringing back regional items not found anywhere and everywhere, I couldn't resist buying a couple of six packs. Either I sensed the end of the world was coming (too many post-apoliptic books and television shows) or I had been invaded by a body snatcher as showing moderation and buying relatively inexpensive souvenirs would not be how most of my friends would describe me. Am now hoping whatever alien has found its' way into my pysche hangs around for awhile. Hopefully much longer than the life of the cheese, cherries and beer.

As someone who is a big fan of Rebecca Rather, a chef and cookbook author, born and raised in Texas, I found myself leaning toward making an ever so slight variation to her beer bread recipe. Beer bread may have an ancient history, but there are parts of the country claiming to have significantly contributed to its' sweet and savory evolution. Texas happens to be one of those places. The idea of adding both aged cheddar cheese and jalapeño pepper to a basic beer bread recipe sounded like a pretty good one. And now having consumed more than my fair share of it, I will go on record and say it was a great idea. Wish I had thought of it!

If you like savory breads, this Cheddar Cheese Jalapeño Beer Bread is for you. Of the many words I would use to describe this bread, addictive would be one of them. And not because there is beer in it, but it is really, really hard to have only one slice.

This is a no yeast needed, no kneading involved, and no long sit and let rise waiting time kind of bread. And it all comes together with a wooden spoon and a large mixing bowl. Quick and easy.

When their seeds are removed, Jalapeño peppers are rather mild as well as add great flavor to pretty much everything they are added to. This Cheddar Cheese Jalapeño Beer Bread is no exception. The amount of minced Jalapeño peppers added to this bread is mostly influenced by personal preference. For this bread I used somewhere between six and seven tablespoons or about 1 1/2 Jalapeño peppers.

I had another recipe in mind when I bought the aged cheddar cheese. But it seemed a shame not to use some of it for this one. And six ounces of shredded cheddar cheese wasn't going to take too much of a dent out of my souvenir stash (okay so I bought alot of cheese).

I could not bring myself to use a bottle of the 'you can only get in Wisconsin' beer for this bread. Maybe next time I told myself, maybe. Besides I had other uses in mind for the beer I traveled hundreds of miles for. In choosing a beer for this recipe, be certain to choose one you enjoy drinking because the beer flavor will come through in the bread. This is not one of those recipes where you have to travel to ends of the earth or hundreds of miles to buy one of it's ingredients. Unless you live in remote part of the country, you can probably find most of them within minutes of your home.

Once the beer is added and slowly stirred into the dry ingredients, cheese and jalapeños mixture, the batter becomes very thick. Stir only until the flour is fully incorporated.

Before scraping the batter into the loaf pan, three tablespoons of the melted butter are poured into it. The remaining four tablespoons of the melted butter are poured over the top of the bread batter. Do not smooth out the top of the batter. You want the bumpiest finish possible. To avoid having any butter spill over into the oven and creating a smokey mess during the baking process, place the loaf pan on a baking sheet. In a preheated 350 degree (F) oven the baking time for this bread ranges from 50 to 60 minutes or until the top crust is both bumpy and a golden brown. My baking time ended up being 55 minutes. The hardest part of making this bread was waiting the 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan and slicing.

The chilled bottles of the 'souvenir' beer went perfectly with the Cheddar Cheese Jalapeño Beer Bread making me glad I had saved them for 'drinking' use. I would not go so far as to say you will feel 'drunk in love' when you taste this bread. I will only say that your level of intoxication from the aroma of the bread baking in the oven and in eating it might have something to do with your tolerance levels. Regardless of whether they are low or high, this bread will leave you feeling pretty gosh darn good.

Recipe
Cheddar Cheese Jalapeño Beer Bread (inspired by Rebecca Rather's recipe in The Pastry Queen cookbook)

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (recommend a two-year aged cheddar)
6-7 Tablespoons minced Jalapeño peppers (about 1 1/2 Jalapeños)
12 ounces good quality beer (the Founders All Day IPA or Blue Moon Belgium White)
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided

Directions 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9"x5" baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. 
3. Mix in the grated cheddar cheese and minced Jalapeño peppers.
4. Pour in beer and stir until combined with a wooden spoon. Do not beat or over mix. 
5. Pour 3 tablespoons of melted butter in bottom of prepared baking pan.
6. Spoon the batter into the pan.
7. Pour the remaining 4 tablespoons butter evenly over top of the batter.
8. Place baking pan on a baking sheet, place in oven and bake for 50-60 minutes (until top of the crust is bumpy and golden brown). Note: My baking time was 55 minutes.
9. Allow to rest in pan 10 minutes before removing.
10. Slice using a serrated knife. 
11. Serve with butter and/or honey.

Note: The Cheddar Cheese Jalapeño Beer Bread is great served all on its' own with beer, but it is also the perfect accompaniment to pulled pork, chili, and grilled steak or chicken.

Icicles on the rocks along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Pecan Praline Monkey Bread

At some point in my life I must have decided it was sacrilegious to throw magazines away, specifically magazines having anything to do with food. Although I have also been known to hang on to those what I call 'inspiration' magazines for what most would consider longer than necessary. Earlier this week I decided the time had finally come for me to 'let some of them go'. I know of at least one person who secretly hopes I am getting closer to the place of  'let most of them go'. There really are days when I wish there were more minimalist tendencies in my DNA (admittedly I am not taking full responsibility for my 'saving' tendencies). Before parting with some of these magazines, I decided to quickly go through them to see if there was anything worth saving. Flipping though the pages of an old Southern Living magazine, I came across a recipe for a Praline Pull-Apart Bread, otherwise known as a Monkey Bread. This version was frozen yeasted bread rolls dipped in melted butter, rolled in a cinnamon sugar, sprinkled generously with chopped pecans, chilled overnight, slathered in a brown sugar whipped cream mixture and baked until golden brown. There was one less page in the magazine before it was tossed in the recycling bin.

Why did it take me so long to make this Pecan Praline Monkey Bread? Maybe it had something to do with my penchant for 'homemade from scratch' recipes and a blind eye to anything Sandra Lee-esq. But for those of you who read this blog regularly, you know I haven't actually been a 'homemade only' recipe purist as there have been at least two 'semi-homemade' recipes posted in the past year (Wendy's Mashed Potatoes and Four Bean Baked Beans). There always has to be room for exceptions. 

What makes this Pecan Praline Monkey Bread 'semi-homemade' is the use of frozen dinner rolls (I used the smaller ones made by Rhodes). The use of these rolls not only makes this one of those 'almost too easy not to make' breads, they enable you to assemble almost everything the night before, saving the baking for the morning. In a little more than an hour, you can be serving your friends and family warm cinnamon and praline flavored bites of deliciousness. No one will be the wiser that you didn't make the entire Monkey Bread from scratch. And don't be so quick to divulge you didn't slave for hours making it. 

For a deeper praline flavor and even darker finished color to the baked bread, use a combination of light and dark brown sugars. I used equal proportions of the two.

If I were to change one thing the next time I make this Pecan Praline Monkey Bread it would be to use either a 10 inch tube pan or a larger, wider bundt pan. The pan I used worked, but a larger pan would have worked better. Ideally you want to keep as much of the praline 'glaze' in the pan versus having any of it spill over out of the pan. The frozen bread dough not only rises while resting overnight in the refrigerator, it rises significantly during the baking process. There is no need to thaw the frozen dinner rolls in the preparation of this bread as they 'thaw' in the refrigerator after being dipped in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

Once all of the dough balls have been placed in the pan and pecans sprinkled throughout, the pan is wrapped with plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator for 8 to 18 hours. Note: Don't wait until all of dinner rolls are placed in the baking pan before adding the pecans. Sprinkle a half cup of the chopped pecans when half of the dinner rolls are in the pan and the other half cup over the top of the finished layer of dinner rolls.

The heavy cream is whipped until very soft peaks are formed. The brown sugars and vanilla are stirred into the whipped cream and,the entire mixture is spread and pressed lightly over the dough balls. In a preheated 325 degree (F) oven, the bread is placed on a baking sheet and baked for 60 to 70 minutes or until golden brown.

The baked Monkey bread should rest for approximately 10 minutes before it's unmolded onto a rimmed platter or rimmed cake stand. Pour any of the remaining praline glaze remaining in the baking pan over the bread before serving.

While this Pecan Praline Monkey Bread is best served warm, it is still good at room temperature. You can always reheat individual servings of the bread in the microwave (on half-power) to recapture the taste of its' warm, ooey gooey goodness. 

Now that the groundhog has seen his shadow it looks like some of us will not be getting any relief from the harsh, cold, snowy winter weather any time soon. This Pecan Praline Monkey Bread would be perfect for breakfast or brunch; after a morning of snow shoveling or cross-country skiing; a morning walk or hike; or, just because you crave the flavors of cinnamon and praline. Semi-homemade never tasted so good. I wonder what else I might find in those stacks of magazines.

Recipe
Pecan Praline Monkey Bread (inspired by Southern Living's Praline Pull-Apart Bread recipe, December 2009)

Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons Saigon cinnamon, divided
2 pounds frozen bread rolls, do not thaw (recommend Rhodes White Dinner Rolls) Note: Used 24 of the small dinner rolls.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 generous cup pecan halves, chopped
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup brown sugar (recommend using equal parts of light and dark brown sugars)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Note: The Rhodes dinner rolls came in a three pound package, however, you only need two pounds of them for this recipe. I used the package containing 36 small white dinner rolls.

Directions
1. Spray a 10 inch tube or 10 inch bundt pan with oil. Set aside.
2. Combine granulated sugar and three teaspoons cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.
3. Dip each bread roll in melted sugar, dredge in sugar mixture, and place in prepared pan. (Note: When half of the rolls have been placed in the pan, sprinkle in half of the chopped pecans. Finish dredging remaining bread rolls and sprinkle remaining pecans over the top. Pour any remaining cinnamon sugar into the pan.)
4. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 8 to 18 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
6. Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Stir in brown sugar, remaining one teaspoon cinnamon and vanilla. Pour/spread mixture over the dough.
7. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake for approximately 60 to 70 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Cool on wire rack for ten minutes. Invert on cake stand or platter. Drizzle with remaining glaze from the pan.

In the Sydney and Walda Bestoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), December 2014

Cranberry Nut Bread

I have come to realize that basements and attics are not my friends. Instead they conspire to keep me from throwing things away or at least make it easier for me to procrastinate on making the throw away/sell/give away decisions. Over the years I have, with much reluctance and some remorse, thrown away many cooking magazines, however, I cannot seem to be able to part with my back issues of Fine Cooking, Cook's Illustrated and Saveur. For me these are the magazines that have taught me the most about cooking, significantly added to my knowledge about food, and have been sources of inspiration. Even in this day and age of the searchability and accessibility of recipes on the internet, nothing replaces the experience of leafing through a back issue of a food magazine (and not every recipe printed in every magazine has an accessible electronic version).

As I was trying to reduce the clutter and chaos I have created in the basement, my stream of thoughts went something like this, 'when is the last time you went through those boxes containing old issues of food magazines?', 'how many of the recipes in those magazines are you really ever going to make?', 'how many of those recipes do you really want to make?',  and 'even if you made one recipe a week from all of those magazines how many decades or rather centuries would that take?' As I was on the cusp of a moment of rationality and on the verge of making decluttering progress, I came across a recipe for a Cranberry Nut Bread in a back issue of Cook's Illustrated. Not just any Cranberry Nut Bread recipe, but 'the best Cranberry Nut Bread' recipe. Finding a recipe with the words 'cranberry' and 'best' in them was enough to convince me to hold on to those back issues. Not to mention that I suddenly I found a reason to justify the purchase of some small loaf pans I picked up at an estate sale. So much for having a moment of rationality.

In addition to using cranberries to make the (best ever) Spiced Cranberry and Dried Cherry Chutney and (insanely delicious) Nantucket Cranberry Pie, I had found another recipe to put my love of cranberries to good use.

Whenever cranberries come into season I cannot walk through the produce aisle without either putting a bag in my cart or just admiring their deep red color (my affinity for the color red is due in large part to the colors of a school district I had once worked in, one having an Indian as a mascot). In a sea of mostly greens, yellows and a little bit of orange, red cranberries reign as one of the most beautiful, versatile, deliciously tart autumnal fruits.

To coarsely chop the cranberries for the bread I used a small food processor. After measuring one and one half cups of cranberries, I processed them them batches to ensure they were not liquified or finely minced. You can easily chop them with a knife, but the food processor worked well.

Like in many cranberry recipes, the orange plays a critical supporting role. In the list of ingredients in this 'best' recipe, only one orange was listed. But for whatever reason, I needed two Valencia oranges to get 1/3 cup of orange juice (sometimes it is a good thing when I buy more than what I need). In addition to the juice from the oranges, the bread contains one tablespoon of orange zest. The combination of the tart cranberries and sweetness of the oranges makes for a bread with great flavor.

Like most 'quick' breads, this bread also comes together in a bowl (no need to bring out the mixer). The wet ingredients are combined with the dry ingredients just until the entire mixture is moistened and no streaks of flour can be seen. The coarsely chopped cranberries and toasted pecans are then gently mixed in. Over mixing a 'quick' bread results in a somewhat tough and without a tender crumb bread due to too much gluten in the flour. Note: While the Cook's Illustrated called for using toasted pecans, toasted walnuts and even pistachios would pair well with the cranberries.

After spraying the small loaf pans with vegetable spray and lining them with parchment paper, the batter was divided equally among them. Whenever I am dividing a batter between two or more pans I always weigh them to ensure uniformity in baking.

The breads are first baked for 20 minutes in a 375 degree preheated oven. The oven temperature is then reduced to 350 degrees and they continue to bake until lightly golden or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. For the smaller loaf pans, the breads baked for an additional 20 minutes. However, if using a 9"x5" pan, the cranberry nut bread will continue to bake upwards of 40-45 minutes.

This is a dense, moist bread. I added some sparkling sugar on top of the breads before placing them in the oven (for some added crunch and a little bit of sparkle), however, they would be equally delicious without it (although maybe just a little less pretty). This is one of those breads so flavorful and scrumptious (the kind where you want more than one slice) all on its own, a schmear of butter or cream cheese would actually ruin it.

In a season where everyone is making pumpkin or banana bread, the Cranberry Nut Bread is a refreshing change. Whether you are making it to enjoy at home or packaging it up to gift friends and neighbors, it should definitely be one of the breads you make while cranberries are still in season. It might end up being declared the 'best' cranberry nut bread by more than just me and Cook's Illustrated. And hopefully you will be as happy as I am that I hung on to my 1999 issue while still managing to  reduce the clutter and chaos in the basement and throwing away quite a few 'they shall remain nameless' magazines.

Recipe
Cranberry Nut Bread (adapted from the Cook's Illustrated Cranberry Nut-Bread recipe, 1999)

Ingredients
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (used 2 Valencia medium sized oranges)
1 Tablespoon grated orange zest
2/3 cup buttermilk
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, measured first then coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, toasted then coarsely chopped (toasted walnuts or pistachios would work as well)
Optional: White Sanding Sugar for finishing

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line three 3.5"x6" pans or one 9"x5" pan with parchment paper, spraying sides and bottom of pan with vegetable spray. Set aside.
2. Coarsely chop cranberries (if using a food processor, chop in batches). Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together buttermilk, orange juice, orange zest, melted butter and egg until combined. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula stir until just moistened. Stir in cranberries and pecans (be careful to not over mix).
6. Divide equally into the three pans or pour all batter into a single pan. Liberally sprinkle sparkling sugar, if using. 
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out clean. Important note: If baking in a 9"x5" loaf pan, baking time will be an additional 40 to 45 minutes.
8. Cool bread in pan(s) for at least 10 minutes, then transfer bread to wire rack to cool at least one hour before cutting.

Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, Maine (photo taken in September 2014).

Gay Head Lighthouse in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard (photo taken in September 2014)

Portland Headlight Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine (photo taken in the fall, 2013)

Sweet New England Cornbread

Every time I open up the basket of bread brought to a table in a restaurant I secretly hope it will contain some freshly baked cornbread. There is something so comforting about eating some warm homemade cornbread slathered in a bit of butter or honey that I find myself craving it more often than I would like to admit. It is probably the choices of restaurants I frequent, but this hope of mine is usually a tad unrealistic (I have yet to come across an Italian or French restaurant serving a basket of cornbread).

The author of The Cornbread Gospels discovered after six years of research there are more than 200 versions of cornbread recipes. It should not be surprising that the cornbread preferences and recipes differ nationally and globally. Nationally the differences between cornbread preferences in the north and south are significant. Southern-style cornbread is made with very little sugar, while the northern-style cornbread is discernibly sweeter (as much as I am partial to certain regions of the south, I definitely skew to cornbread on the sweeter side).

Until I came across a recipe for Sweet New England Cornbread in Yankee Magazine I really didn't have a corn bread recipe I was crazy for. I can now go on record and say I finally have a deliriously delicious cornbread recipe. I no longer have to secretly wish for a basket of warm homemade cornbread brought to a table in a restaurant, because I can now satisfy that need at home.

Is it just me or do others go to grocery stores to seek out need local ingredients to bring back home when vacationing or visiting new places? On my list of the things I absolutely had to bring back from the east coast was some local stone ground yellow and white corn meal for pie and crostata crusts I was planning on making in the weeks and months ahead. It wasn't as if I needed another reason to buy some cornmeal, but coming across the recipe for New England cornbread using stone ground yellow corn meal only served to further reaffirm why I just had to bring back some with me. Food as a kind of souvenirs, who else imagines such things?

With the exception of stone ground cornmeal all of the ingredients for this cornbread are probably in your refrigerator or cupboards. This could not be a more simple recipe and one that comes together in less than 40 minutes (from beginning to end).

The flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt are whisked together in a medium sized bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, the eggs are lightly whisked before the milk and melted butter are mixed in.

The wet ingredients are poured over the dry ingredients and folded in until just combined. There will be lumps, do not worry. If you over mix this, then you can worry.

In a nine inch square pan lined with parchment paper that has been buttered or sprayed with vegetable spray, the batter is poured in. 

The cornbread is baked in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. My baking time was 20 minutes.

This cornbread is over the top delicious served warm out of the oven, however, it retains its' deliciousness even when served warm temperature. If you are looking to make your family and friends have a faint of heart cornbread eating experience, serve it to them warm with a side of butter or honey.

 Recipe
Sweet New England Cornbread (adaptation of Yankee Magazine's Sweet New England Cornbread recipe)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (recommend King Arthur)
1 cup stone-ground (medium grind) cornmeal (recommend Kenyon's Stone Ground Yellow Cornmeal) 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk (or 2 %)

Note: The type of cornmeal used will alter the texture of the cornbread. A medium grind corn meal will yield a cornbread with a pleasant crunch while a finely ground cornmeal will yield a lighter in texture cornbread).

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch square baking pan (line with parchment paper and spray or butter).
2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Whisk in milk and melted butter.
4. Pour dry ingredients over wet ingredients and fold just until combined (do not over mix).
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature with butter and/or honey.

I was able to get a small dose of the east coast last weekend as I traveled to Rhode Island to visit some friends. During some of my discretionary alone time I sought to capture as many of my favorite images as possible, keeping my fingers crossed that the backdrop for all of my photos would be a beautiful blue New England sky (not that gray isn't a good color, there is just something special about the color blue). Whether or not my finger crossing had anything to do with influencing the color of the sky, the shades of blue were absolutely beautiful, the kind of energizing beautiful that makes you want to pinch yourself.

Of the many things I love about New England are its' diverse landscapes, each one of them having their own mesmerizing beauty. In a very small square mile radius you can view the ocean, historic homes, farms, vineyards, and wildlife (the kind of beauty that would make you never want to leave, except of course to live near the mountains).

The wind coming off the ocean on the day I tried to capture some images of the water was so wicked I had to keep going back into the car to warm my fingers (taking photos with gloves wasn't working too well). But enduring the icy cold ocean wind was a small, insignificant price to pay for being able to take in and capture the water, the waves, and the rocks that were illuminated by the sun. On the day I was out taking photos in the town I had lived for the past couple of years, the weather was crisp, sunny and still with the skies remaining blue. They were both 'be still my heart' photographing moments.

If you looked at my camera you would find many similar images to the ones I had taken this past weekend. And even though it may seem to some there is little diversity in the landscape photos I take (although anyone thinking this would not have a very good eye), the color of the sky, weather and the seasons makes each of them unique. So whether I stood in the same place everyday for a year taking a photo of the same landscape no two would be the same. I have always wondered why I am so drawn to taking photos of landscapes (versus photos of people). Whatever the reason I hope I never tire of my passion for trying to capture some of nature's beauty. Because if one gives up trying on anything or anyone they are passionate about/for, one never knows what they might miss out on.