Lunches! Gussied up black-eyed peas (with smoked rib meat), plus cheddar cornbread. a day late, but still got it done
Lunches! Gussied up black-eyed peas (with smoked rib meat), plus cheddar cornbread. a day late, but still got it done
by HarveysBackupAccount
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HarveysBackupAccount
Based on the “Cal-Italian Black Eyed Peas” and the “Fresno Chili and White Cheddar Cornbread,” both from the Don’t Panic Pantry cookbook
**Cornbread**
Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a small pot, then turn off heat, let it cool while you do the dry stuff. Preheat oven to 375F (350F convection) and grease an 8 inch round cake pan. Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl:
* 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour * 3/4 c. cornmeal * 1 Tbsp each baking soda and baking powder * 1 tsp table salt * 1/4 c. brown sugar
Whisk 1 c. buttermilk into the melted (now slightly cooled) butter. Then whisk in 1 egg and 2 Tbsp honey
Grate 8 oz (220g) white cheddar. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until dry ingred’s are just moistened, then fold in half the cheddar cheese. It’s a thick batter. Scrape the batter into the cake pan and spread the rest of the cheese on top. It will bake into a nice crust, but it shouldn’t burn.
Bake for 20-25 min until a toothpick comes out clean. You might have to wiggle it around to make a bigger hole in the cheese crust, otherwise that will just scrape off any batter that sticks to it. Let it cool 20-30 min (you should be able to handle it without hot pads, or nearly so) then turn it out upside down onto a cutting board. It cuts easiest when it’s upside down, since the cheese crust is supported directly by the board instead of pushing down on the bread.
**Beans**
Season with salt and pepper and saute in 2 Tbsp each olive oil and butter:
* 1 large onion, diced * 1 bell pepper, diced * 1 hot chili e.g. fresno or jalapeno, thinly sliced * 1/4 lb (100g) mushrooms cut into bit-size pieces
When the veggies are softened, stir in 3 minced cloves garlic and cook for another minute or so, until the garlic is good and fragrant.
Stir into the pot:
* 2 15oz cans black eyed peas, one of them drained but the other not (~ 3c. cooked peas with 1 c. of cooking liquid, if you start with dry) * 1 15oz can diced tomatoes * 1 Tbsp each soy sauce and balsamic vinegar
Bring it to a boil and cook until the sauce is thickened a little. Taste then add salt, pepper, or vinegar as needed. This is nice with a good tart bite to it. You can also use lemon juice or another acid like apple cider vinegar instead of/in addition to the balsamic.
I happened to have a few smoked pork ribs leftover from the weekend, so I shredded the meat from them and stirred it in right at the end. If you want that bonus flavor but don’t have a smoker, get a smoked ham hock at the grocery store and cook dry black eyed peas with the hock (instead of using canned), then shred any meat/fat off the hock into the beans. Also a great way to cook dry black beans for Cuban/Dominican style rice’n’beans.
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Based on the “Cal-Italian Black Eyed Peas” and the “Fresno Chili and White Cheddar Cornbread,” both from the Don’t Panic Pantry cookbook
**Cornbread**
Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a small pot, then turn off heat, let it cool while you do the dry stuff. Preheat oven to 375F (350F convection) and grease an 8 inch round cake pan. Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl:
* 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
* 3/4 c. cornmeal
* 1 Tbsp each baking soda and baking powder
* 1 tsp table salt
* 1/4 c. brown sugar
Whisk 1 c. buttermilk into the melted (now slightly cooled) butter. Then whisk in 1 egg and 2 Tbsp honey
Grate 8 oz (220g) white cheddar. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until dry ingred’s are just moistened, then fold in half the cheddar cheese. It’s a thick batter. Scrape the batter into the cake pan and spread the rest of the cheese on top. It will bake into a nice crust, but it shouldn’t burn.
Bake for 20-25 min until a toothpick comes out clean. You might have to wiggle it around to make a bigger hole in the cheese crust, otherwise that will just scrape off any batter that sticks to it. Let it cool 20-30 min (you should be able to handle it without hot pads, or nearly so) then turn it out upside down onto a cutting board. It cuts easiest when it’s upside down, since the cheese crust is supported directly by the board instead of pushing down on the bread.
**Beans**
Season with salt and pepper and saute in 2 Tbsp each olive oil and butter:
* 1 large onion, diced
* 1 bell pepper, diced
* 1 hot chili e.g. fresno or jalapeno, thinly sliced
* 1/4 lb (100g) mushrooms cut into bit-size pieces
When the veggies are softened, stir in 3 minced cloves garlic and cook for another minute or so, until the garlic is good and fragrant.
Stir into the pot:
* 2 15oz cans black eyed peas, one of them drained but the other not (~ 3c. cooked peas with 1 c. of cooking liquid, if you start with dry)
* 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
* 1 Tbsp each soy sauce and balsamic vinegar
Bring it to a boil and cook until the sauce is thickened a little. Taste then add salt, pepper, or vinegar as needed. This is nice with a good tart bite to it. You can also use lemon juice or another acid like apple cider vinegar instead of/in addition to the balsamic.
I happened to have a few smoked pork ribs leftover from the weekend, so I shredded the meat from them and stirred it in right at the end. If you want that bonus flavor but don’t have a smoker, get a smoked ham hock at the grocery store and cook dry black eyed peas with the hock (instead of using canned), then shred any meat/fat off the hock into the beans. Also a great way to cook dry black beans for Cuban/Dominican style rice’n’beans.