Recent Eats: Spoonbread and Prizewinning Green Beans

Spoonbread is so yummy. I first tried it as an accompaniment to some dish at Buddakan, one of Philadelphia's best restaurants. (Trust me, everything on the menu is great, especially the edamame ravioli and the crispy calamari salad...) I saw it in this month's Real Simple magazine and decided to make it at home. It came out great-- browned so nicely on the top and moist inside. It was even really good as a leftover too, I think putting it back in the oven to warm was key. Here's the recipe:

Unsalted Butter (for the pan)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 10-oz pk frozen corn
1 bunch scallions
salt and pepper
2 eaggs, beaten

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Butter an 8-inch baking dish
3. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat
4. Whisk in the cornmeal until thickened, about 2 min
5. Stir in the corn, scallions, salt and pepper
6. Remove from heat, stir in the beaten eggs.
7. Pour in the baking dish and bake until set and golden around the edges, about 40 minutes.

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Prizewinning Green Beans with Tomatoes and Herbs

Got a new cookbook, From Asparagus to Zucchini published by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. I like how it's organized-- by vegetable. It has tips on storage as well which is pretty useful... This was my first dish from the cookbook. It was pretty good. Ron said at first it was just ok but then grew on him to be prizewinning, as the name says.

2 tbl evoo
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 c sliced onions
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lb trimmed green beans, cut in half
1 sprig rosemary, leaves torn from stem
2 med tomatoes, chopped
salt or two tbl salted butter

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and pepper flakes; saute until fragrant.
3. Add inions, saute until translucent 3-5 min
4. Add 1/4 c water, dried spices and green beans. Cook/steam until beans are nearly done, 10-15 min
5. Stir in rosemary and tomatoes until toms are warm and beans are done.
6. Season with salt or salted butter.

This recipe won a prize at the 2002 Food for Thought Recipe Contest in Madison.