Corn bread recipe from YouTube Extravaganza

Robin and I were asked to share the recipe for the cornbread we brought to Monday's YouTube Extravaganza.  Here it is!

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Skillet Piñon Corn Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c butter, melted
• 2 tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil
• 1/4 c warm water
• 1/2 c buttermilk (we used yogurt)
• 2 eggs
• Dry ingredients
• 1 and 1/4 c cornmeal
• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c piñon nuts, toasted (pine nuts)
• 1/2 c fresh corn kernels, roasted
• 15 fresh sage leaves, chopped (we used some dried, as we had no fresh)
• 1 small onion, diced

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Whisk together the butter, oil, water, buttermilk, and eggs in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.
3. Combine the dry ingredients and sift into a separate mixing bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely incorporated.
5. Stir in the pine nuts, corn kernels, sage, and onion until incorporated.  (We also put in some Mexican cheese at this point.)
6. Coat a 10-inch ovenproof cast iron skillet with softened butter (about 2 tbsp) and heat in the oven for 5 minutes.
7. Remove the hot skillet and pour the batter into it. (We put in 1/2 the batter, then put in some chopped roasted poblano peppers, then put the other half of the batter in.)
8. Bake for 18-20 mins (ours was much longer but Alice's oven is a little cool) or until a paring knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
9. Remove skillet from the oven and let cool slightly.
10. Serve out of the skillet.

Yield: 12-14 servings.

From Flavored Breads: Recipes from Mark Miller's Coyote Café.  By Mark Miller, Andrew MacLauchlan and John Harrison.  Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA (1996).  Recipe on p. 15.

Snack schedule

Thanks to folks who are willing to bring snack for class!  If you're able and willing to accomodate them, we have some vegetarian people and some people who don't do well with some salads in our class.

Sept 2: open
Sept 9: Angela
Sept 16: Xingyu
Sept 23: open
Sept 30: open

Oct 7: Dan
Oct 14: Ruthie
Oct 21: open
Oct 28: open

Nov 4: open
Nov 11: open
Nov 18: Tatiana
Nov 25: Thanksgiving - no class

Dec 2: Mariana
Dec 9: open
YouTube extravaganza: Robin and Alice

If you're willing to help out with one of these open dates, feel free to edit this post or add your date (and name ;-) ) to the comments of this post.  Thanks!

Recipes from class: Zucchini spice cake

Several of you asked for the recipe for the zucchini spice cake we had at break today.  I'm happy to share it here -- and feel free to share recipes for things you contribute for snack here in the future so we can all learn some new cooking tools!

Zucchini Spice Cake
from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts, p. 136
Published by Clarkson N. Potter, Inc, New York, 1997

Serves 16
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Baking time: 40-45 minutes
Cooling time: 10 minutes
Equipment: 10-inch bundt pan, electric mixer

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c unbleached white pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c grated zucchini
1 c toasted chopped nuts (such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts, or a mixture)
1/2 currants or rasins
sprinkling of confectioners' sugar

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  
2. Generously butter or oil a bundt pan (I use a loaf pan).
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light.  Beat in the eggs and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. 
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.  Fold in the vanilla, zucchini, nuts, and raisins.
6. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then invert the cake onto a plate -- tap the bottom of the pan to release the cake, if needed.
7. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired, and serve warm or at room temperature.