Late Dinners

Last week, I was in a deeply autumnal mood. This meant hearty things, autumn-colored food, and at least one use of the slow cooker and/or dutch oven. This slow cooker thing is new to me - I haven't owned a full size one previously, but EPF came with one - so I'm making the most of it. As I was flailing about for ideas I remembered that on Facebook recently my friend Johnny had shared his split pea soup recipe, and as it fit all the criteria, I gave it a whirl. EPF was pretty fond of it - I was too, although I wasn't sure going in. I haven't had split pea in a very, very long time so couldn't even remember what it was actually supposed to taste like, making this a experiment on many levels. It worked out deliciously, though. I may play with the variety of meat in my next batch - the andouille gave it a great kick, so I'd leave most of it, but we've been getting this amazing smoky bacon from the awesome new butcher in our neighborhood - maybe a few slices of that in place of one of the andouille links, to see what that flavor does.

Johnny's Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

1lb dry split peas
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks (I had five smallish potatoes so used them - this doesn't seem to be one of those strict recipes)
2 cloves garlic (the recipe didn't specify, so I left them whole - and there was a deliciously garlic flavor so I guess it worked)
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 lb andouille sausage, cooked, cut in small chunks
1 tsp oregano flakes

Put it all in the slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours. Take out the bay leaves. Kill it with the immersion blender. Eat. Simple.

I also had a cornbread recipe I've been meaning to try, and this seemed like a perfect opportinity. I'm not going to be humble - it was fanTAStic cornbread. And I feel like I can take some credit, because I definitely changed up the recipe - which probably would have been great, but it didn't have any actual kernels in it, which is something I like in my cornbread, so I added them and then adjusted a few other things. The recipe indicated it would make 12 squares - if that's true, they are serving some whoppers of squares, because I've got about twice that. This is a very easy recipe, and doesn't take long at all.

The Best Cornbread

(recipe based on Blue Ribbon Corn Bread from PureWow, which was adapted from Blue Ribbon Beer Garden in NYC) 

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups whole milk
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup honey
4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 9-oz can corn kernels, drained

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (or use Crisco if you're me and that's just what you have), then set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal with the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk with the melted butter, honey and eggs until combined (note: mix the honey and the butter first - the chill of the eggs will make the honey very hard to stir otherwise). Add the milk mixture and the corn kernels to the cornmeal mixture and, using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir until just combined.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let the corn bread cool slightly before slicing and serving.