Blue Cornmeal Sticks With Black Olive Butter Food

SOUTHWEST BLUE CORN STICKS

Steps:

• Use 2 T of the cornmeal to coat greased cornstick pans, or 1 1/2-inch muffin pans; set pans aside.
• Heat oil in a medium-size nonstick frying pan over medium heat.
• Add onion and chile; cook, stirring often, until onion is lightly browned (6-8 minutes); set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and remaining 1 cup cornmeal until well blended; set aside.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine milk and egg; beat with a whisk until well blended.
• Add milk mixture, cheese and onion mixture to cornmeal mixture.
• Stir just until dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
• Spoon batter into pans, filling almost to rims; bake in a 375° oven until cornsticks are lightly browned and feel firm when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes.
• Let cool in pans on a rack for about 10 minutes, then loosen carefully and remove from pans.
• Serve warm.

BLUE CORNMEAL STICKS WITH BLACK OLIVE BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.
• In a small bowl mix together first five ingredients (cornmeal - salt).
• In a large bowl whisk together half-and-half, butter and egg. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined.
• Brush cornstick pans with vegetable oil. Heat pans in the oven for 10 minutes. Pour off excess oil.
• Spoon batter into molds, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve with black olive butter or honey.
• To make black olive butter blend butter and black olives together in a food processor using on/off turns until almost smooth.

SAGE CORNMEAL STICKS

Steps:

• Refrigerate ungreased baking sheets until chilled.
• In large bowl, beat butter with honey until fluffy; beat in eggs and milk.
• in separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sage, baking powder, and salt.
• Stir into butter mixture until smooth.
• Using piping bag fitted with large star tip, pipe mixture into 3 inch long logs, about 1/2 inch apart, on prepared pans.
• Bake in 350F oven until slightly darker on bottoms, about 15 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to 300F; bake until crisp, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer to racks; let cool.

BLUE CORNMEAL PANCAKES WITH BLUEBERRY BUTTER

Steps:

• Blueberry butter:
• Add the butter, blueberries, preserves, coriander, and salt to a food processor. Blend until smooth. (Store in the fridge, wrapped in paper or plastic, or in a butter keeper, for up to 5 days; or freeze for up to 3 months.)
• Tip: A stick of butter coming out of the fridge can take a surprisingly long time to come to room temperature. To speed it up, cut the butter into ½-inch pieces and leave on the counter; it should be at room temp in 10 to 12 minutes.
• Pancakes:
• In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and oil until smooth.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold together until just combined. Do not overmix. Allow the batter to rest for about 5 minutes.
• Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and grease lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using 2 heaping tablespoons of batter for each pancake. With the back of the spoon, gently spread the batter into a 3- to 4-inch circle. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown and the center of the pancake feels slightly firm to the touch, another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining batter.
• Serve the pancakes hot with the blueberry butter and maple syrup.
• Note: *Judy Kuhn is a brilliant Broadway actor who also just happens to be the singing voice of Pocahontas. It should also be noted that Vanessa Williams did a great job with the pop version of the song, which played over the closing credits.