Make sure to watch the Facebook LIVE video – we give lots of other great tips like why you should use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for these yummy corncakes!
LINK to the Facebook LIVE:https://www.facebook.com/nancy.waldeck/videos/10213867820312395/
Peaches, Peppers and Corn – all three are included in the recipes below. Plus some great organizing tricks and fun wine tips! As always, we had a blast last week in the kitchen, drinking wine and getting organized. I love these corncakes, I make them year round as tiny apps for parties, like the picture above, or larger as a super dinner inspiration. Once you get the basic idea of the corncakes – one bowl for dry and one for wet – you’ll be whipping them up in no time. And freezing? Yes, they freeze wonderfully!
Fast Fresh Recipes plus good ideas – Organizing GURU Carrie Peeples had lots to offer in the way of NEATSMART tips for the kitchen, make sure to check them out below.
(And if you are interested in knowing more about what you can freeze and what’s not a good idea make sure to tune into our Facebook LIVE on Thursday, August 3rd – 3PM EST. We’ll be talking summer tomato sauce and what goes in the freezer on DRINK WINE AND GET ORGANIZED)
I’m sharing two variations of the corncakes below, but the sky’s the limit. Pulled chicken and bbq sauce? Yes! Grilled portabellas with an sesame-peanut sauce? Yes! You get the idea – they are a flavorful alternative to the same old bread or cracker.
And of course, the wine was wonderful. Check out the quick wine notes below for a super delicious and affordable sparkler, plus two versions of Pinot Gris/Grigio.
Friday Four – Corncakes with Shrimp and Lime Jalepeno Drizzle – 072817
And a PEACHY variation:
Make the Corncakes as described in the recipe above omitting the shrimp and Jalapeño Lime Drizzle. On a well-oiled grill or grilled pan, cook 3 halved and pitted peaches, (if soft skinned not need to peel), that you have tossed with 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/4 tsp ground ginger and 2 Tsp Coconut Sugar. When the peaches have good grill marks, remove and slice the peaches. Place on corncakes, garnishing with a little goat cheese and chopped crystallized ginger. Serve to adoring fans!
Carrie’s SUPER Organizing Tips:
- Organizing Tool: Use glass jars to organize! You probably already have some from your pantry that you can wash and reuse. I like the wider mouth ones so I can put a measuring cup or spoon in but any glass jar will do.
- Beware of single use tools! It’s easy to clutter your kitchen with tools that only serve a single purpose (garlic press, differently sized juicers, etc). Seek out tools that serve multiple purposes like a microplane or just 1 well made juicer so you don’t have an many items to store. You can still keep special tools for holidays or special occasions, like pumpkin carvers, but put them on a higher shelf so they aren’t taking up valuable real estate reserved for your most used tools.
- Think of your kitchen zones to help decide where to put things. You have 4 zones for the activities that you do in a kitchen: Prep, Clean, Serve, Eat. The items that you use for each of those activities should be stored close to where you perform those activities. Again, items that you use infrequently should be on a higher shelf or less convenient spot in order to make room for what you use regularly.
Fizzy Fun:
Heard about Dom Perignon “seeing stars” when he invented the first sparkling wine in France? Ahh…not so much! More than a century before champagne, the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire in the Southern foothills of Limoux had created the Frane’s first sparkling wine.
Yes, its true, and what’s more amazing you can still buy it in stores, four centuries later. A fraction of the cost of Champagne, (about $15!), you’ll enjoy the tiny bubbles made from a blend of Made primarily from the Chardonnay,Chenin Blanc and Mauzac grapes it offers big flavor for a small price. Perfect to welcome friends to a party, or enjoy as a glass of fizzy during the week!
Taste and Compare:
Pinot Grigio versus Pinot Gris
- Maso Canali Pinot Grigio – About $14
- King Estate Pinot Gris – About $15
Did you know that both of these wines are made from the same grape? Yes! It’s a white wine that enhances the flavor of rich creamy sauces topping foods like mushrooms, poultry and shellfish. Made all over the world in both Gris and Grigio wine types, Italy’s Pinot Grigio is typically crisp and dry with a citrus aftertaste – Pinot Gris is richer, rounder and softer – but still brisk and refreshing. Both drank well with the corncakes, but hands down we felt the Grigio was a better partner with the shrimp, and the Gris matched the peaches extraordinarily well!
Can’t end this post without a shoutout to Anolon and IACP – my professional culinary organization. When I renewed my membership this year, I SCORED a free Anolon pan in a drawing. It was a dream to make the corncakes in, the super nonstick surface released them easily and it cleaned up like a charm. Just check out the beautiful corncakes below!
Thanks much to IACP and Anolon for helping me cook up the corncakes even faster and easier to make!