Golden & Delicious

Good evening everyone! It's day three of Thanksgiving week here at Out Of The Culinary! So far, we've covered turkey (two forms) pumpkin pie and mashed sweet potatoes. By now, if you just followed our recipes, you'd have a nice little Thanksgiving table going. Tonight we're sharing another two recipes (one we cooked - one just to share) that will help balance that table out even more.

It was Maggie's night to take to the kitchen, and she was originally planning to tackle some form of stuffing recipe. However, as we researched stuffing we found that most major chefs panned cooking the stuffing with the turkey (as it ends up drying out the bird while the stuffing cooked.) In addition, a lot of our food resources panned the dish altogether - siting its boring flavors and predictable nature on the Thanksgiving table. In its place, some other forms of flavorful bread were offered up. We settled on one particular form of bread this evening that is sure to delight any turkey day dinner guest.

The Recipe: Golden Corn Bread
Original Recipe Found In: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2nd Edition: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show With Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes

What You'll Need:

4 Tablespoons (1/2 Stick) Unsalted Butter (Melted)
4 Large Eggs
1 1/3 Cups Buttermilk
1 1/3 Cups Milk
2 Cups Yellow Cornmeal
2 Cups (10 Ounces) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt

Hi everyone!  Naturally, I wouldn't think corn bread would be part of a Thanksgiving dinner table, or maybe I was raised in a corn bread-less Thanksgiving world.  But since Tyler and I have started our own family, perhaps we can make corn bread a holiday tradition...or maybe I'm really hungry and just want to eat it now (it has to cool for an hour... which it's doing while I type this)...  Anyhow, to the recipe!


First, grease a 9x13 pan with butter and preheat an oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together, then whisk in the buttermilk and the milk.

In a separate, bigger, bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.  After mixing the dry ingredients, push the combination up the sides of the bowl and make a well in the center and pour the wet ingredients into the well.  Whisk all the ingredients together until just combined.  Stir in the melted butter.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.  Bake until the top is golden brown and the edges have pulled away from the sides, 30-40 minutes.  Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and cool to room temperature before eating, about one hour.  Serve with butter and honey and enjoy!

The End Result:

 This cornbread is built for the Thanksgiving table. It's very spongy and absorbent - which means it sucks in butter and honey quite nicely (making it a nice standalone dish.) The nice part of this absorbent nature is that the bread is also great for mopping up gravy and dunking into soup (if you're the type that has soup on turkey day). It's a great standalone dish with the potential to be a great turkey day sidekick - I.E. the perfect Thanksgiving companion!


That's not all we have for you tonight - our recipe to share is a Thanksgiving staple (that I find to be putrid...but to each his/her own.)

The Recipe: Quick Green Bean Casserole
Original Recipe Found In: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2nd Edition: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show With Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes

What You'll Need:

3 Large Shallots (Sliced thin)
3 Tablespoons Unbleached All-Purpose
5 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
10 Ounces Cremini Mushrooms (Sliced 1/4 inch thick)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Medium Onion (Minced)
2 Medium Garlic Cloves (Minced)
1 1/2 Pounds Green Beans (Trimmed)
3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
3/4 Cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

Begin by tossing the shallots with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and 2 tablespoons of flour in a medium bowl. Meanwhile, heat (on medium) 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet or dutch oven until shimmering - just shy of smoking. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and crisp - this takes roughly 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the shallots and the oil to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Wipe out the skillet / dutch oven and return to heat. On medium high heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil along with the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stirring occasionally - cook until the mushrooms are well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet / dutch oven. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges begin to brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour. Toss in the green beans, thyme and bay leaves. Next, add the cream and chicken broth. Increase the heat to medium high and cover the skillet. Cook until the beans are tender, but still crisp at the center, about 4 to 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook, uncovered, until the green beans are tender - an additional 4 to 7 minutes. Off of the heat, discard the bay leaves and thyme. Sprinkle with the shallots and serve!


There you have it. Delicious cornbread and green bean casserole (That's as close as you're going to get to having green beans in any recipe on this blog, dear readers, I cannot stand green beans and will not cook with nor eat the little buggers). Tomorrow we have two more recipes to share, to round out Thanksgiving week - although we will not be cooking either of them. So, in a sense, that's all we have for you this week - cooking wise. We're still sharing recipes up until tomorrow night, so be sure to browse by tomorrow evening to see the final two turkey day dishes. Until then,

~Cheers