Joes, Cornbread and an Old Friend

When I went to the store over the weekend to buy a small container of buttermilk for the crème fraîche I was making, I discovered that all they had on hand were the large containers (Hmm… what does that work out to volume-wise? A quart?). So typical.

Anyway, I obviously ended up with way more buttermilk than I needed, but I figured I’d find a way to make use of it. And since I was also trying to clean the fridge out in preparation for another Dinner o’ the Month with Carley, I came up with a jalapeno and cheese cornbread. My search also yielded a bag of hash browns, which I fried with some onions and fresh spinach. And although chili sounded really good, I decided to go for a quicker sloppy Joes kind of a thing.

And while I can’t remember having a similar menu combo growing up, the meal did bring back memories of childhood, growing up on the farm (no one that knows me now would ever believe I lived on an actual farm). And as fate is often such a tricky thing, lo and behold, sometime after eating this meal and reminiscing over my time in Arkansas, I was contacted by my college roommate, who I had kind of lost track of.

So, while I feel like I should have polished the silverware and made a better showing, meal-wise, here’s to you, Mary.

Mary, by the way, was the one that got me interested in theater, mostly by yanking me by the feet kicking and screaming into the auditorium of the theater at our little college. Got hooked from there and have been ever since.

Thus the name of the blog.

Someone pointed out to me that they haven’t really found the ‘Shakespeare’ in ‘Measuring Spoons and Shakespeare’, and I guess my response is that ‘Measuring Spoons and Various Playwrights from Different Eras Being Represented by Different Theaters During Various Seasons’ just sounded, well… STUPID.

My plan for the blog was to combine two of my loves... cooking and theater.  Unfortunately, life has a way of intervening, and I haven't been able to do a whole lot, theater-wise, for a while.  Hopefully that will change.

I had also thought to post all of the local theater happenings, but until there are more than 5 people who regularly read this, it seems like an awful lot of extra effort for naught.

Anyway, back to the Joes…

Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef
1 - 2 Tbs olive oil
½ onion (preferably sweet), diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs ketchup
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbs Hickory Smoked BBQ sauce
1 heaping Tbs mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced peppers and onion and sauté until onions begin to color, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two. Crumble the ground beef over the cooked onion mixture and allow to brown, breaking up any large pieces.

Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low and allow to cook for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

1 stick butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 375º and grease an 8” square baking pan. Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Add the cornmeal, flour baking soda and salt and mix together until the dry ingredients are just combined. Stir in jalapeno and cheese.

Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake in the center of the oven until the cornbread is brown on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 - 35 minutes.

Thanksgiving Downsized

I tend to be an impulsive cook.  I might be sitting at my desk at work and all of a sudden inspiration will strike for that night’s dinner.  Or it could happen at the grocery store (usually as I’m cruising through the aisles of Mecca - or Market of Choice as THEY prefer to call it).  Sometimes it’s on the 25 minute drive home from work.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t tend to plan ahead all that much in regards to meals.  Which, if you’re a bargain shopper like me, can sometimes be counterproductive, especially in terms of frozen meat.  See where I’m going here?

The upside to being a hoarder having a well-stocked pantry is that I generally have almost everything on hand already when these little moments of inspiration hit.  A quick trip to the store to pick up produce to round things out might be in order, but most of the time I’m doing ok when it comes to having ingredients already on hand.  The trouble I run into time and time again is not having thawed MEAT at the ready.

So I determined to get better at planning ahead and thawing accordingly.  I’ve been toying with the idea of a Thanksgiving type of burger ever since I picked up a package of ground turkey.  Plus, I also had some of this still hanging around… also in the freezer.

To round out the whole ‘theme’ I baked some sweet potatoes to go along with these little sliders.  Even steamed a few green beans.

It was like Thanksgiving in mini form.

Thanksgiving Turkey Sliders

1 lb ground turkey

¼ cup onion, finely minced

1 tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ Tbs olive oil

½ tsp dried sage

Slider Buns

Cranberry sauce

Lemon Garlic Aioli (recipe follows)

Crispy onions (thought they’d pair well with the green beans, which, alas, I got no photo of)

Break up ground turkey into a medium mixing bowl.  Add onion, salt, pepper, sage and olive oil.  Mix thoroughly with hands until just combined.  Form into small ‘slider’ sized patties.

Heat about 1 Tbs olive oil in a cast iron or non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  When the pan comes to temperature, place the sliders in, making sure not to crowd them.  Cook until golden on one side, about 4 minutes, flip over, and cook until done, about another 4 minutes.

Lemon Garlic Aioli

½ cup good quality mayonnaise (or make your own)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 - 4 drops Tabasco

Juice from ½ of a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Stir until mixed thoroughly.