Reader Chana asks: A question: any historical or known connection between spoon bread and polenta? Oh my yes. Well, the dishes aren’t strictly related, but the main ingredient is the same: corn meal. Polenta, an ancient Italian dish, is usually made with a slightly coarser form of corn meal, that’s the only thing that distinguishes […]
READ ONI do love a good yeast-raised doughnut, and in fact in most ways, they’re easier to make than their cake-style counterparts. True, they require some advance planning, but they’re aren’t as fussy in the oil, or as sensitive to ambient temperatures. The best part is, they’re amazingly light, much more so than a store-bought version. […]
READ ONWe interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this urgent bulletin: there are some seriously stressed-out would-be doughnut makers out there. Maybe it’s because fall is upon us and expectations are high, but I’m getting some anxious emails, especially about yeast doughnuts. I have yet to put up an actual tutorial on yeast doughnuts, […]
READ ON…and let’s face it, how could you not be? The blog has been renamed and moved. It is now called Baked by Anna, and even though the name has changed, it still has the same delicious recipes and tasty prose. Good luck in your new home, Anna!
READ ONOh, lovely, lovely spoon bread. I like it plain, the wife and daughters prefer theirs with honey…I don’t think you can go wrong either way. And is it ever easy to make. Start by bringing your milk to the boil. Turn off the heat and begin to pour the cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking […]
READ ONI had a number of emails on this subject last week. Here’s one idea: the Solomon Islands. Regular reader Warren, who lives on Guadalcanal, writes: Your posts about bananas got me out with the camera at my local market last week. I haven’t seen a Cavendish since I left New Zealand. I’ve seen at least […]
READ ONGot that question over the weekend and it’s a good one. As it happens, white corn meal isn’t necessary, but it’s more traditionally Southern. White corn is to the South what sweet yellow corn is to the North. Both are varieties that are distinct from feed corn in that they’re considered to have a better, […]
READ ONI’m so glad you asked that. I happen to have a few pictures right here! I confess to you that I was pleased indeed to have spoon bread pop up on the request list this week, since it was only a couple of weeks ago that I happened to visit a pristinely maintained — and […]
READ ONThat’s another question that came in last night, and as it happens, it plays right into what I wanted to write about today. Spoon bread is a hill country and/or Southern thing because corn has always been the dominant grain in those areas. Why? Partly because wheat doesn’t do well in hotter climates, but mostly […]
READ ONA few folks wrote in last night asking for specifics on the Native American contributions to spoon bread. As far as I know there was no definitive Indian antecedent to spoon bread, since they did so many darn things with corn. They pounded it into meal and made porridges of various kinds out of it. […]
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