cornbread ead

AMAZING Cornbread, Winter Chili & Apple Pie

AMAZING Cornbread, Winter Chili & Apple Pie … plus spinach goat cheese dip

This weekend, try this make-ahead menu so you have time to spend with friends… Check it out!
The chili has a great depth of flavor due to the addition of a little (not too much) semisweet chocolate, the cornbread is moist and not dry like most, the dip has the creamy tang of goat cheese and the apple pie is just a “wow”.

How to make AMAZING Cornbread, Winter Chili & Apple Pie

  1. Ingredients – Dip

4 large onions
1.5 lbs goat cheese
3 lbs of sour cream
1 lb fresh spinach
1 TB olive oil
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 clove of garlic, minced finely
2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp Exotic Peppercorn Blend, or to taste
1 large bread round
other bread or crackers
2. Method – Dip
Take out goat cheese and let soften at room temperature.
Slice onions using food processor slicing attachment, or slice thinly by hand. Place in a two quart saucepan over medium low heat and cover for about an hour. Remove cover and allow liquid to evaporate. Turn to low until onions are golden and sweet. Saute spinach leaves in olive oil in a medium hot skillet for about a minute. Add nutmeg and garlic, saute for another 30 seconds and remove. Allow onions and spinach to cool. Using a tea towel, squeeze the liquid out of both of them. Place in a large bowl with salt, sour cream, goat cheese and pepper blend. Mix to combine. Chill until cold. Slice bread round across the top and take out the bread inside. Cut bread into chunks for dipping. Fill cavity with dip (you will have some left for refilling). Serve with other bread and/or crackers as well.

chili ead

3. Ingredients – Chili
2 TB olive oil
2 1/2 lb chuck roast, trimmed and 1/4 inch diced
1 large onion, diced
3 TB Frontier organic chili powder
1 heaping TB of organic tomato paste
2 tsp garlic hot sauce
2 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp Frontier Pepper Fusion, Chipotle
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp oregano
1 TB paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pickled jalapeno, minced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
1 carton chicken stock
1 15 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 15 1/2 oz can pinto beans
1 15 1/2 oz can white beans
1 15 1/2 oz can kidney beans
1 large, ripe tomato for garnish
sour cream for garnish
8 oz cheddar cheese for garnish, grated
green onions for garnish, thinly sliced
4. Method – chili
In a large pot on high, add olive oil. When it is hot, add the meat and the salt. Saute for a couple of minutes and add all the ingredients up to the chipotle pepper. Let the moisture in the pot evaporate and reduce to almost nothing. Add chicken stock and diced tomato. Add chocolate. Let reduce again by about a third. Add all beans. Continue simmering uncovered until the meat is tender and you have reached a chili consistency. Serve and offer the garnishes.

cornbread ead

5. Ingredients – cornbread
2 TB bacon fat or vegetable oil
1 cup organic cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 TB baking powder
2 large eggs
1 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated
6. Method – cornbread
Preheat oven to 425 F. Add bacon fat to a 9 inch cast iron pan and place the pan in the oven when you turn it on. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry, then fold in the cheese. Pour into the hot pan (be careful) and bake until the top is golden and a knife stuck in the center comes out clean.

apple pie ead

7. Ingredients – apple pie
3 cups flour
2 1/2 sticks cold butter for pastry
1/2 tsp salt for pastry
12 Granny Smith or Braeburn apples
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp clove
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
pinch of salt for filling
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp (pats of butter) for filling
milk for a wash
sugar to sprinkle on top
1/2 cup sugar for caramel
pat of butter for caramel
1 tsp cream for caramel
8. Method – apple pie
Preheat oven to 385 degrees F.
In a food processor, add the 3 cups of flour and 1/2 tsp of salt. Dice the 2 1/2 sticks of cold butter and add to the bowl. Pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add 1/2 cup very cold water and pulse. If the dough does not come together, keep adding a TB of cold water until it forms a ball while turned on. Wrap dough in plastic and place in fridge.
Peel and core apples. Cut in half. Cut each half into seven slices. Put all the slices in a large bowl. Add the spices, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup flour with a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
Roll out 1/3 of pastry dough on a floured board for the size of a 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Place pie dough over plate, gently tucking it in the bottom. Roll out the other 2/3 of dough to about 1/8″ thickness.
Pour apple mixture into pie dish. Put dough on top. Tuck the edges of the dough under, if possible, if it’s too big, trim with a knife. Crimp the top of the dough to the bottom all the way around. Brush the outside with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for an 1 – 1/2 hours, until pie is nicely golden.
Let cool for an hour before serving.
While pie is cooling, place 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Heat until rapidly simmering. Don’t walk away from it and don’t stir it. Let it cook until golden brown, then add a pat of butter and a tsp of cream. Let cool for 5 minutes and drizzle over top of pie. If you wait too long, it won’t drizzle.

About elizabethd

Elizabeth Dougherty has been cooking and writing about food intensively for more than ten years. She is the fourth generation of chefs and gourmet grocers in her family with her mother, Francesca Esposito and grandmother, Carmella being major influences in her early cooking years. As a teenager, her family sent her to Europe where she became focused on French and Italian cuisine. She survived a year and half of culinary tutelage under a maniacal Swiss-German chef and is a graduate of NYIT, Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations. Food Nation Radio has won two news awards for content. Broadcasting LIVE each week, nationwide, on FoodNationRadio.com and stations around the country.

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