Cornmeal Crust Food

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Whisk cornmeal with 1 1/2 cups cold water.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper to a boil.
• Gradually stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring often, until very thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted.

CORNMEAL CRUST FOR PEACH POTPIE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large pieces remaining. Add yolk, and drizzle 1/4 cup water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together when pressed between 2 fingers (it should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, pulse in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Turn out dough onto work surface, and knead once or twice to combine. Divide dough in half. Shape into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425. Grease 12 inch pizza pan with shortening.
• Heat water to boiling in 2-quart saucepan.
• Stir in remaining ingredients with wire whisk until mixture is smooth and thickens.
• Spoon onto pizza pan and spread evenly, mounding edge slightly.
• Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until set and light brown.
• After you top pizza with your favorite toppings, bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and toppings are hot.

CORNMEAL PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine flour, cornmeal and salt.
• Whisk to combine well.
• Cut in shortening to resemble coarse crumbs and sprinkle 1 T.
• of water over the mixture.
• Toss with a fork, pushing to the sids of the bowl, repeating until all dry ingredients are moistened.
• Form the dough into 2 balls and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll out and use as you will.

VEGGIE POT PIE WITH CORNMEAL PIE CRUST

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water. With the processor running, drizzle in the yolk mixture. The dough should just come together. If it looks dry add more water, up to 4 tablespoons.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it comes together; it will be stiffer than a regular pie crust because of the cornmeal. Divide into four pieces, press into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the filling: Toss the potatoes, yam, parsnips, celery and mushrooms with 4 tablespoons oil.
• Season with salt and pepper and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. You don't want to cook these all the way though since they will cook more in the pot pie. (They should be al dente, but starting to get some color.)
• Combine the flour and remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until smooth and bubbly like pancake batter, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the mushroom broth. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste and remove from the heat.
• Add the roasted veggies to the mushroom broth along with the peas, thyme, rosemary and sherry vinegar. Divide the filling among four 8-ounce ramekins.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and roll each into a 5-inch disc. Wet the rim each ramekin and lay a crust over the top. Poke each 5 or 6 times with a fork and place in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

CAJUN CORNMEAL CRUSTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the flour with the cornmeal, Cajun spice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Put the remaining 1 cup flour, buttermilk, and the cornmeal mixture respectively in 3 shallow dishes. Season the buttermilk with hot sauce, to taste.
• With the flat side of a cook's knife or the smooth side of a meat-pounder, pound each breast to equal thickness. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with salt.
• Lightly coat each breast in flour and shake off any excess. Dip each breast into the buttermilk to coat and remove, shaking slightly so the excess buttermilk drains back into the bowl. Dredge the chicken in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess coating. Lay the chicken on a piece of waxed paper.
• Heat a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet over medium heat with about 1/2 inch of oil. Lay 2 chicken breasts smooth-side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Drain chicken on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Place all chicken breasts on a rack over a baking sheet and bake until firm to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt, and serve immediately with mustard mayonnaise or sliced tomatoes.

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Prepare the butter and lard, if using. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes (a bench scraper is perfect for this, but a sharp knife works well too), and cut the lard into small pieces. Return them to the fridge to cool.
• In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
• On a clean flat surface or in a large shallow bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together lightly to blend. Add the butter and lard (if using) to the dry ingredients and, using the tool of your choice, cut the fat into the flour with speed and patience, until the fat has been reduced to small pea-sized chunks. Try to use a straight up-and-down motion, as the more you press on the flour the more tough gluten will develop. Avoid using your fingers, as the heat from your hands will melt the fat and further encourage gluten development. Unlike with pasta or bread, gluten is the enemy of pie dough, so be gentle, and be quick!
• Once your fat has been cut down to size, spread your mixture out to expose as much surface area as possible. Gently drizzle about half of your milk mixture over the flour, trying to cover as wide an area as you can. Using bench scrapers or a large spoon, lightly toss the flour over the liquid, then spread everything out again, and repeat the process with the second half of the liquid.
• You should now have a dough that will just hold together when pressed against the bowl, with visible little chunks of butter. If you need to add more liquid to bind it, do so with more cold milk, adding a tablespoon at a time until you reach the right texture. It's not an exact science, as everything from the humidity in the air to the dryness of your flour will affect the consistency of your dough.
• Once you've reached your goal, cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week, well wrapped, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

BARLEY-CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Combine both flours, the cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs, with a few almond-sized pieces remaining. Sprinkle the grapefruit juice over the mixture and pulse until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened and large clumps just start to form. When you squeeze some of the fine crumbs between your fingers, they should hold together.
• Turn the dough out and divide it into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other.
• Shape the dough into two 1-inch-thick disks, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Make-ahead: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. It can be frozen in resealable plastic freezer bags for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.