Chicken and Cornmeal Dumplings

"Bob Terwilliger" ha scritto nel messaggio
.. Cook 10 minutes uncovered, then cover and cook 10 minutes >> more.

I have two spoonbread recipes. For one you BOIL the cornmeal in milk, like
making grits and then assemble the batter from that. It takes a long time
and is as light as a cloud and beyond delicious.
For the other you just mix up the ingredients and bake. It takes little
time, sometimes has a dense area at the bottom and although fluffier than
cornbread, not light as a cloud. It is still beyond delicious.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:37:17 +0100, "Giusi"
wrote:


I grew up with spoonbread that was just put together like your second
version. I loved it.. Still do. In VA it is a beloved side dish.

Oddly enough, I never saw spoonbread much outside the those middle to
upper tier of southern states. By that, I mean those states that are
not in the deep south, but say places like the Carolinas, and VA.

Much of the south loves their cornmeal. In VA where I grew up, it was
white cornmeal that was popular, and it is still is today.

On the west coast I cannot find white cornmeal except in rare
occasions...and it is much coarser than what I find back east. That
being said, it's coarseness and texture is one of the attractions of
cornmeal...as well as the flavor. I don't want it the same texture
as regular flour.... When I add it to things, that is one of the
things I am exploiting, that slight grittiness and flavor.

Christine

--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com
 
sf wrote:


Depends on the exact recipe, but in general, yes. If you make it with corn
FLOUR, then the grittiness is diminished.



I think the recipe she posted was for the dumplings she just made and
consumed. I hope she suffers no ill effects, but if she suddenly stops
posting, I guess we'll know otherwise.

Bob
 
Giusi wrote:


I've got a spoonbread recipe like that too. I think the soaking step is a
bit easier (and less prone to boiling over!) In both cases the objective is
to get the cornmeal to absorb liquid. (Your spoonbread recipe also has a
number of other objectives, e.g., getting the "cooked milk" taste into the
dish while stabilizing the milk so that it doesn't break.)



I've got spoonbread recipes like that too. If there's enough liquid in the
batter and the spoonbread is cooked long enough, then the cornmeal's texture
turns from its native grittiness into something more like cooked Cream of
Wheat, which is what I prefer.

As I've mentioned here before[1], spoonbread's lightness appears to be a
somewhat controversial matter. Some well-respected cooks prepare spoonbread
which is HEAVIER than cornbread.

Bob
[1]
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/browse_frm/thread/38476d8fd6beb12a
 
Christine wrote:


I've noticed that many Southerners have what seems to be a nostalgic liking
for that gritty cornmeal. I see it in cornmeal-coated fried catfish,
cornmeal-coated fried okra, and cornmeal-coated fried green tomatoes. I
don't see the attraction.

Bob
 
sf wrote:


True enough. I'm not sure whether Jill gets the joke or not, and if she has
me killfiled it wouldn't reach her directly in any case.

It doesn't bother me to be in anybody's killfile. Lord knows I don't mince
words, and some people are poor at handling the stress they feel when they
read some of the things I write. For those people, ignorance might not be
bliss, exactly, but it's a lot better than enlightenment.

Bob
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:22:47 -0400, Goomba
wrote:


Please forgive my ignorance of the method you use. If I understand you
correctly, you:

1. Cut the okra into 1/2" segments after washing it and removing the
tips and stems.

2. Coat the pieces of okra with flour.

3. Put the flour coated okra into a bowl and fold the beaten egg
whites into the okra until all the okra is coated with the egg white
fluff.

4. Coat the pieces with bread crumbs.

5. Deep fry until Golden Brown at 375F.

6. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.


(I wasn't sure of the egg white part)
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:24:21 -0700, sf wrote:


Thanks sf! I'll try them. So far, my favorite way to eat okra is
pickled.

I only fry in either EVOO or Canola oil. From what I've read, neither
is very bad for me. If I'm wrong about that, perhaps you or another of
the more informed people here will respond.
 
Landon wrote:


Yup. The egg whites provide the small bit of moisture needed to get the
bread crumbs to stick. It is amazingly good! One could probably use corn
meal mixed with the flour too although with recipe I've not done so.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:40:17 -0400, Landon wrote:


I use those too, Landon. I would choose Canola for the recipe because
I have it on hand. I know some posters here have an active dislike
for Canola, but I've never tasted what they taste. For me, it tasted
better than vegetable oil (plus it was healthier) and it was less
expensive than peanut oil at the time. I just looked at the oil
selection yesterday and it seems like peanut is less expensive than
Canola at the moment... but it was only sold in quart sized
containers, so if you're used to buying a half gallon at a time you'd
be out of luck.

PS: I bought some lemon EVOO yesterday. Not sure if it's a "big fat
finishing oil or if I can actually cook with it.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On 3/26/2011 1:40 PM, Landon wrote:

Fry in canola oil. EVOO doesn't have the heat ability for good deep
frying.

I love pickled okra, too.

I make a side dish with frozen, sliced okra. I saute some onion garlic
and diced green pepper in a little EVOO then add a can of no-salt added
stewed tomatoes. When the tomatoes get hot, I add frozen okra, put the
lid on the pot and let it cook for a couple of minutes until the okra
gets hot. Add a dash or two or three of hot sauce of your choice.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:01:24 -0400, Goomba
wrote:


Very cool! I use the whipped egg whites to make my Chile Relleno's,
except with that recipe, a thin batter is made by folding the egg
whites and yolks together. Then coating and dredging the peppers.

Thanks Goomba!
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:27:00 -0500, Janet Wilder
wrote:


When I stir-fry with a super hot wok, I don't use EVOO. The Canola
seems to withstand the really hot wok more than EVOO.

This page shows EVOO to be ok up to about 350F-420F, depending on who
you listen to and the quality of the oil.

http://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/heating-olive-oil

It won't handle my wok temps though. When I tried it, it smoked almost
immediately. The Canola will if I don't load the wok at just the right
moment.
 
On 3/26/2011 7:34 PM, Landon wrote:

For wok cooking I use peanut oil. It has a much higher temp tolerance.
Most Chinese restaurants also use peanut oil.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:18:06 -0500, Janet Wilder
wrote:


I like peanut oil once in awhile. The flavor is too strong for many of
the dishes I like. All I can taste is peanuts...
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:26:24 -0400, Landon wrote:


It's an Anne Burrell phrase meaning EVOO that is drizzled over
whatever food it is to finish the dish.

thanks

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
"sf" ha scritto nel messaggio
, Landon wrote:

If you ever do get to deep fry with extra virgin olive oil, you will be
amazed at the flavor. People who can't afford to use it 100% add up to 50%
of a high quality seed oil like corn or sunflower. Filtered and kept in a
cool dark place it can be reused several times, too. In our town I could
take you to two restaurants during lunch time. At the first you woiuld get
french fries that are really great, but at the second you would get french
fries done in olive oil that are beyond great.
 
On Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:30:42 +0200, "Giusi"
wrote:


Thanks Giusi. I'll have to try a few things in it. As long as the oil
doesn't smoke as a result of over-heating, I always reuse it after
filtering out the particulate.

I love the taste of quality EVOO.
 
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