Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread Dressing

What's up world? Ya'll doing good? You good? You good? I'm good! You good? Okay, good! Now, I know the Holidays are pretty much over, but this recipe was originally supposed to be up BEFORE Thanksgiving, but due to other obligations, I never got around to it. I think learning to manage my time better will be a New Year's Resolution for me. 

It's not a complete loss, I mean, cornbread dressing isn't specifically made to be served during the Holiday's, it's just mainly served during the Holiday's.

Cornbread dressing is without a doubt one of my favorite side dishes. When I was younger, I always thought that Thanksgiving/Christmas was the only time you could have cornbread dressing. Again, cause that's is mainly when it is served. This recipe is a very basic dressing recipe that require little ingredients. 

First off, the cornbread. For this recipe, you can use your own cornbread recipe or you can buy any packaged cornbread from the store. I strongly recommend that you don't buy any of the sweet cornbread kind, but it is completely up to you.

Cornbread Recipe:
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- Pinch of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
-1 tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for skillet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the corn meal, flour, and sugar. Add the egg, vegetable oil, and buttermilk and mix until all combined. Pour enough oil into the bottom of your cast iron skillet to cover the bottom. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

NOTES:
-You can also use cream of celery or cream of mushroom instead of cream of chicken. Make it your own.

-The amount of chicken broth you need is going to depend on the texture of your cornbread. When adding the chicken broth, make sure you add enough so that the ending result before you bake it is like a thick, but runny consistency.

For the Dressing:
-1 batch prepared cornbread
-2 eggs
-1 can cream of chicken
- *3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- ground sage (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute the onions and celery in the melted butter on a medium low heat for about five or six minutes. After five or six minutes remove the onions and celery from the skillet. With your clean hands, crumble the cooked cornbread into a bowl. Pour in enough chicken broth to moisten the cornbread liberally. Once you've added the chicken broth, add the can of cream of chicken and mix until everything is combined. Add in the onions and celery and season to taste with salt, pepper, and sage.Taste the dressing to see if it's seasoned enough and then mix in the eggs. Once everything is combined, pour the dressing batter into a greased casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

I really hope you give this recipe a try. If you do, please let me know how you enjoyed it. Like always, the video for this recipe is below. Make sure to go over to YouTube and subscribe to my channel for video recipes (Devin Cooks). Thank you. See you next time.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Makes about 3 cups of sauce

There's nothing like homemade cranberry sauce. I use to think that making cranberry was a difficult task, but it wasn't until a couple years ago when I tried making it myself and realized how easy it was. The first time I made cranberry sauce, I underestimated how tart cranberries can be, so I only added about 1/4 cup of sugar (I know that sounds ridiculous). I had a major surprise when I tasted. I had already cooked the cranberry sauce before I tasted it instead of tasting it before it was done. Major lesson learned. Anyway, I was able to add more sugar and fix the disaster.

Every since then I have had no trouble making cranberry sauce. My recipe is quick and simple, and is sure to please at your dinner table. It's really just a matter of putting everything in a pot and boiling it.

This cranberry sauce is just the way I like it. Not overly sweet and not too tart to where it tastes sour. You can adjust the ingredients in this recipe to fit your personal taste. If you prefer a more tart cranberry sauce, use a little less sugar than what's listed in the recipe. If you find my amount to be too little sugar, add more. Make this your own.

Notes:

 I've seen people use Pomegranate juice,apple juice, and even pineapple juice, so if that's what you prefer, use it. 

I had a few stubborn cranberries that just didn't want to pop, so if you encounter the same thing, just use a potato masher, or the back of your spoon to help crush them.

Cranberries have pectin in them that will thicken the sauce as it sits and cools down. There is no need to add any flour or cornstarch to thicken it.

If you don't like the cranberries in your sauce, while the sauce is still hot from the oven, run it through a strainer so that you are only left with the sauce and not the berries.

Ingredients:

- 1 (12 oz) package of fresh cranberries

- 2/3 cup cranberry juice

- Juice of a whole orange

- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

In a medium saucepan of medium heat place all four ingredients in, give them a stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until all the cranberries have popped, stirring to dissolve the sugar. After all the cranberries have popped, remove the sauce from the heat, and place in a heat-safe container to cool.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce. 

Recipe By: Devin Judkins

Store in refrigerator until ready to use. I really hope you enjoy this recipe and please remember to go over to YouTube and subscribe for video recipes. The video for this is recipe is below.

Sweet Potato Pie

Whats up all my fellow foodies? In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I had to make a classic, Sweet Potato Pie. This was my first time making this, and I think I did a pretty good job. Real maple syrup and a combination of all spice, nutmeg, and cinnamon is really what sets this pie off. You can adjust the spices to fit your own personal taste, but what's below is what works for me.

If you have your own pied crust recipe, you can use that, but it's the holiday's, so I decided to save myself a little time. 

This Sweet Potato pie is delicious and will make a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu. I really hope you enjoy this simple Thanksgiving dessert.

Tip: Will baking, if you find your pie crust is getting too dark, lay a piece of aluminum foil over each pie to prevent them from over-browning.

- 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes 

- 3/4 cup sugar

-1/4 cup real maple syrup

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup heavy cream

-8 tbsp (1 stick) butter

- 1/8 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp allspice

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 3 tbsp flour

- 2 traditional-sized pie crust 

- 2 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract (optional)

Boil your sweet potatoes until they are fork tender. Once your potatoes are done, remove them from the water and place them on top of a cooling rack that's over a baking sheet to let them cool and drain off any water for about 15 minutes. 

Once your potatoes have cooled, start to remove the skin from them and place the potatoes in a mixing bowl. Once all your potatoes in a the bowl, beat them with you mixer until they're fluffy. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prick holes all over the bottom and sides of your pie crust with a fork (this will prevent them pie crust from puffing up while baking). Bake your pie crust in the oven for five minutes, keeping an eye on them to prevent over baking.

While those are baking, go back to your potatoes and add in your sugars and maple syrup and mix until combined, and then add in the softened butter. In a separate bowl, beat your eggs together and mix those into the sweet potato mixture. Add in your cream, and finish off with your flour and spices. Give your bowl one final stir with s spatula or spoon and pour the batter into the two pre-baked pie crust. Smooth out the matter in the pie crust, reduce your oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for pies for 45 minutes. 

After your pies have baked, let them cool for about an hour and dig in. You can leave the pies settings out at room temperature, but I prefer to put the in the refrigerator. 

I really hop you enjoy this recipe. If you make it, please let me know how you liked it in the comments. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.

My Homemade Pound Cake

Pound Cake Goodness

Hello all you foodies out there....Y'all doing good? You good? I'm good, you good? Okay, good. What you are about to witness is going to change your life forever...okay, maybe it's not life changing, but this pound cake recipe is sure to please any and everybody you serve it to. I have gotten praised several times about this recipe, and some people are actually shocked that I made it. I guess everybody isn't aware that I am the self-proclaimed culinary genius. Instead of using regular milk or buttermilk like you may see in other recipes, I use heavy cream just to give it that extract gourmet feel. I have made all types of pound cakes before, and after creating this pound cake recipe, this has become my go-to recipe. This is your standard, and may I say "Old Fashioned" pound cake recipe that includes a pound of each ingredient. With that said, this cake contains A LOT of butter and A LOT of sugar, so this may not be for all you health nuts out there, but remember: "Everything is good in moderation."

This Nielson Massey Vanilla Bean Paste is SOOOO GOOD. I use this when I want to add a little gourmet to all my sweet dishes. I purchased this on Amazon for $8 on sale for a 4 ounce jar. If you've never tried it before, you must try it. Is it obvious that I like to use the term gourmet yet?

Pound cakes are considered a very dense cake, but one thing I noticed in many pound cakes is that they're overly dry. When I developed this recipe, I wanted to stray away from making it too dry. I figured a little trick with egg whites that will help make this cake a little bit lighter in texture than what you are used to in a pound cake. 

Notes:
-Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before you make the cake.
-Separate the egg yolks while the eggs are still fresh out of the refrigerator.
-You can also use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.
-The cream of tartar isn't necessarily a needed ingredient, but I use it just to help out the egg whites.
-If you find that the batter is too thick while adding the flour, you can add some of the cream...I would hate for you to break your mixer, lol.
Recipe:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
• 3 cups  sifted All-Purpose Flour
• 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tsp. baking power
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. vanilla paste or extract
• 1 tsp. butter flavoring
• 1 tsp. lemon flavoring
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350°

Cream together the softened butter and the 2 cups of sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Slowly add you egg yolks in one at a time, beating only until the egg yolk is completely mixed into the batter. Next, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. With your mixer on low, slower add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure all the flour is mixed in. Mix all of your flavorings and extracts in with the heavy cream and then add the cream into the batter. 

In a separate clean bowl, beat your egg whites and cream of tarter with you mixer until they start to look foamy, about one or two minutes, then add in the 1/4 cup of sugar, and continue to beat until the form stiff peaks. 

(they will resemble whipped cream and are able to stand once you remove the beaters from the egg whites)

Once your egg whites have come to stiff peaks, you want to carefully fold the egg whites a little at a time into the batter with a rubber spatula until they are fully combined. Grease and flour your Bundt pan and pour in your cake batter. Once all you cake batter is in, tap the pan on the counter a couple time to release any air bubbles that may be throughout the batter. Bake for about 1 hour or and 1 hour and 15 minutes, but keep a check on it  at the 1 hour mark because stoves are different. Once a toothpick or skewer comes out clean, its ready.

Well, that's it, you've got yourself a homemade pound cake. I'm sure this pound cake will be a hit with you and everyone you share it with. If you make it, please let me know in the comments. Below is the video I recorded for my YouTube channel. I was a littler nervous, so some of the things in this blog post are not mentioned in the video, which is one of the reasons I created this blog. Feel free to watch the video and also *cough, cough* go on over to YouTube and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more video updates. I have a lot more coming. Again, please let me know if you make this.

WELCOME

Hey, how you doing? You doing good? Okay,great. Welcome everyone to my cooking blog. I'm just that guy that likes to cook and share his ideas with the world. This platform is where I will post all of my recipes as well as my food wins from restaurants. Right now there isn't much to see, but there is plenty coming in the future. LET'S GET COOKIN'