Cornmeal Muffins

This is one of my first recipes that I made up and the experience then snowballed into me making up a lot of recipes. This one took a few months to get just the way we wanted it  Buttery, moist, and they don't fall apart when you take off the muffin liner. They are pretty darn tasty, especially on the side of baked beans and pulled BBQ pork!

Cornmeal Muffins

-1 C butter (room temp)
-1 1/4 C sugar
-3/4 tsp salt
-2 eggs (room temp)
-1 1/2 C corn meal
-1 1/4 C buttermilk
-1 tsp baking powder
-2 C flour

-Cream butter, sugar and salt until light in color and fluffy in texture
-add eggs, fully incorporating one at a time
-add cornmeal and mix thoroughly
-sift together baking powder and flour together in a separate bowl
-starting with the flour mixture add it alternatively with the buttermilk to the batter, mixing only until just combined between each addition. (ie add a little flour, mix until just combined, a little buttermilk mix until just combined, a little more flour, mix, a little more buttermilk, etc until everything is mixed together)
-drop into lined muffin tins

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until done

Bran Muffins

These muffins are the only muffin I would say it's actually okay to use whole wheat flour instead of white flour, as the texture is already masked by the bran. They are very moist, and are best fresh out of the oven or heated in the microwave with a little butter melting on top.

Bran Muffins

-1 C butter (room temperature)
-1 C sugar
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 eggs (room temperature)
-2 C wheat bran (NOT the cereal)
-1 C boiling water
-1 C boiled raisins
-1 1/2 C buttermilk
-2 C whole wheat flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda

-mix the buttermilk with the bran and let set
-boil raisins with 1 1/2 to 2 C of water (I like to use 1 C of the boiled raisin water in the recipe instead of just plain boiled water to add some flavor)
-mix in the C of boiling water to the buttermilk/bran mixture and continue to let set
-in a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until the mixture is light in color and fluffy in texture
-add eggs, thoroughly mixing in one at a time.
-sift together the flour with the baking powder and baking soda
-add the flour and bran mixture to the batter alternatively. Start with flour, mix just until combined, add bran/buttermilk, mix until just combined, flour, mix, bran, mix etc until everything is combined.
-fold in raisins
-drop batter into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15- 20 minutes

Poutine

For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to have heard of the delight of poutine, let me enlighten you; it's a delicious dish, originating from Canada, consisting of french fries, cheese curds, and topped with gravy. Since I live in America, where you can't just stop by your local fast food restaurant and grab a poutine, I have to make my own.

How to make Poutine

-French fries
-Cheese ("real" poutine is topped with cheese curds, but I like my cheese to melt, so I shred my cheese instead of using cheese curds. Since, in my opinion, the best poutine is made with gouda cheese, we use that. But really, you can use any cheese you prefer.)
-Brown gravy 

Okay, so this recipe is pretty simple, grab some french fries, top it with cheese and then pour on some gravy and pig out.
Below I am going to include how I made the best darn poutine ever.

Poutine

French Fries
-4 or 5 medium potatoes
-1/2 C panko crumbs
-1/2 C flour
-1 tsp seasoned salt
-1/4 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-1/4 tsp pepper
-enough oil to fill a frying pan/pot with oil for frying the french fries. (you'll need a deep enough pan to fully submerge your potatoes)

Cheese
-1 to 2 C shredded Gouda cheese

Gravy
-1 C beef broth
-1/2 C water (or 1/4 C water and 1/4 C milk for creamier gravy)
-3 Tbsp flour
-salt and pepper to taste

French Fries
-peel and slice the potatoes into strips resembling french fries. Slice them as thin or thick as you'd like, depending on personal preference. Place in a large bowl
-In a separate bowl, mix the panko, flour and seasonings
-Coat the potatoes evenly in the seasoned mix (this makes the fries more crispy so they don't get soggy under the gravy as fast as just regular fries)
-fry the potatoes until golden brown in heated oil over medium to medium-high heat
-remove finished fries and place on a paper towel lined plate or in a strainer to drain off excess oil

Gravy
-heat the beef broth until boiling
-meanwhile, whisk the water with the flour until there are no lumps
-whisk in the flour mixture into the beef broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps
-cook until thickened, stirring occasionally until the flour has cooked thoroughly 

Place fries in a bowl, add as little or as much cheese as you'd like. Top with desired amount of gravy. ENJOY!