Today was day 6 of cooking from "THE BEST OF COOKING LIGHT". I made a Buttercrust Corn Pie with Fresh Tomato Salsa, and Jalapeno Corn Bread. I didn't think these would be a hit, especially with my hubby because I knew he didn't like some of the ingredients, but I wanted to keep the recipe true to how it was written. Here's what we thought, and what I might do to tweak on it a little...
BUTTERCRUST CORN PIE WITH FRESH TOMATO SALSA, pie was ok, salsa was good...
I didn't think this would go over well with my hubby as he doesn't usually like corn cooked in things, and really hates olives. There's not very much olives in the pie, only 2 tablespoons, so I didn't tell him, but of course you can see them in the pie. His first word after his first bite was "olives", so I knew he didn't care for it. But that's a personal taste preference, I personally like olives and couldn't really taste them in the pie at all. I tasted corn more than anything. The crust, however, was dry and crumbly and didn't hold up at all. It needed more butter in the crust mixture. It calls for 3 Tbsp, but should have probably been 4 Tbsp. instead. When you ate the pie with the salsa, however, it was very good. Hubby probably won't have any more of the pie, so I'll end up eating the rest of it. The salsa, however, he really liked. It was made with lemon juice, but I think lime juice would be a better substitute. We've been to Mexico a few times and they don't use lemons or lemon juice, they use lime. I think I'll use lime juice next time. I may also add a little cilantro to the salsa as well next time. It was a good fresh tomato salsa, however.
JALAPENO CORN BREAD, this was good...
When I first made the batter for this bread and poured it in the pan I thought it was too dry and stiff, and though I still think it was a little dry, it wasn't nearly as dry as I thought it would be, it actually turned out pretty good, just slightly on the dry side. I didn't think my hubby would like this bread either because he doesn't like whole corn in his corn bread. However, he liked it and said it was a good savory corn bread that I could make again. I was pleasantly surprised that he liked it. It was a savory corn bread, not a sweet bread. I liked the flavors of the jalapenos and red peppers in the corn bread, and you could taste the cumin in it as well, which was a nice touch. Instead of using canned whole corn, I may use creamed corn instead to add a little extra moisture to the cornbread next time. Though there are almost 1/2 cup of jalapenos in the corn bread, it was mild and it wasn't spicy. Will probably make this recipe again as a side the next time I make a Mexican dish, it was good.
One thing I have noticed about most of the recipes I've cooked out of this cookbook... it's a LOT of work and VERY time consuming. These are not easy recipes and have a lot of prep work involved. For these recipes, however, I bought fresh jalapenos and roasted, peeled, and seeded them, which took about 45 minutes. It takes me about 2 hours or so to prepare dinner every day, which is not really something I have extra time for owning and operating a Bed and Breakfast Inn. But, we're eating good, healthy dinners. If you're looking for quick and easy meals to prepare, this cookbook is not for you. If you're looking for a lighter version of good food, there's some good recipes in here. Will keep at it.
14 recipes down, 533 more to go.
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