Wednesday 30 November 2011

CORNBREAD TURKEYS FOR THANKSGIVING!!!


Cute.  That's the word for it.  Really cute.  Such a jolly thing to have at the Thanksgiving table!  It's cornbread baked inside a turkey-shaped mould. One corny turkey! I found this recipe in a Thanksgiving issue of Martha Stewart's magazine, and since I am too, too corny myself, I had to make it. First off I needed to buy a mould. I had no idea which store to visit that would still be selling one, considering we were really close to Thanksgiving. I thought of checking Amazon.com, and there it was! Amazon had the exact mould I needed! I ordered it and it arrived in three days, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  

Here is a link to the pan I ordered: Nordic Ware 3D Turkey Cake Pan




It's a sturdy, heavy pan, no problem to deal with, and the cornbread did not stick to it at all. When the turkeys were made, I was able to easily stand both halves on their own, and they stayed that way, decorating the buffet table until the time came to eat them. 

Cute, very decorative, and very easy to make. Martha Stewart's recipe is wonderful! This is the best cornbread, with actual corns kernels in it, with chopped sweet peppers, buttermilk and cheddar cheese and thankfully, with very little sugar; I love the sweetness of corn muffins but dislike sweet cornbread. Here's a prerfect cornbread:

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups corn kernels
2 shallots minced
1 red sweet Italian pepper, minced 
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal 
1 teaspoon salt 
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
2 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Coat the pans with cooking spray.  Melt one stick of butter and let cool.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet.  Cook the corn, shallots and peppers, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, black pepper, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.  Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the eggs. Whisk the eggs into the flour mixture.  

Whisk together the melted butter and buttermilk and then stir it into the flour mixture, along with the corn mixture and the cheddar cheese.  Mix until well combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Smooth the tops and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating halfway through.  Insert a cake tester into the centre and make sure it comes out clean before taking the cornbread turkeys out of the oven.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  

I'll say it again: Cute! And one more thing: Delicious!