Blue Cornmeal Buttermilk Waffles

I haven't made a new dinner recipe since December (last year! hardy-har har) and we've just been having our tried-and-true favorites every night (see sidebar on right), with a grilled cheese thrown in for good measure every once in a while.  I made these waffles forever ago; I'm thinking circa the end of November.  There were so many things to blog about last month, though, that I never got around to posting these.  I've also been trying to figure out my new DSLR camera.  I've had it over a month and I'm still so intimidated!  (These waffle pics are pre-DSLR, but some of my other recent pics were taken while experimenting with the beast!)

I love blue cornmeal, and I'm always looking for new recipes to use it in.  We all liked these waffles, and they were great with this blueberry sauce.  (That blueberry sauce deserves its own post; it's so good!)  This recipe makes quite a bit, so you may want to cut it in half if you need less. 

Our other favorite ways to use blue cornmeal:  Buttermilk Blue Cornmeal Pancakes and Blue Cornmeal Cast-Iron Cornbread. 

Blue Cornmeal Buttermilk Waffles

adapted from The Food Network

1 1/2 cups blue cornmeal

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (can use part whole-wheat pastry)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (less if using salted butter)

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter, plus more for brushing

1.  Preheat your waffle iron.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  (Blue cornmeal, flour, baking powder & soda, salt, and sugar). 

2.  In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together.  Carefully fold wet ingredients into the dry, mixing just until combined.  Do not overmix. 

3.  Brush your waffle iron with butter, or use cooking spray.  Cook batter according to manufacturer's directions to make waffles.  Serve with butter and syrup, jam, or homemade blueberry sauce. 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Blue Cornmeal Cornbread in Cast-Iron

We LOVED this!!  I've made this same recipe with yellow cornmeal and it was very good, but it's so fun to eat blue-tinged food.  Baking this in cast iron gives it a nice crust underneath, and it just bakes up so nice and evenly.  Plus, I feel all rustic and cowboy-like when I bake in my cast iron!!!  We had this for dinner with some delicious beans- that recipe later.  (Love cornbread & beans together- even more cowboy-like!!!)  The kids ALL loved this so much that they were fighting over the last of it.  I had to sneak a piece of it away and set it aside so I'd have some to photograph the next day.

This is a sweet cornbread, and so delicious.  This recipe is just as good with yellow cornmeal.  Also, I,m sure this would be delish baked in another kind of pot or pan.  Just make sure it's oven-proof, and use the toothpick test.

I love using blue cornmeal (which is a totally natural product, by the way, made from blue corn.) On my blue cornmeal bag, it states that blue corn was once nearly extinct. And it has been hard to find for me lately; I finally found some Bob's Red Mill on Vitacost. I love Vitacost and Bob's Red Mill!! If you have blue cornmeal, also try these delish Blue Cornmeal Pancakes.  And for more cast-iron baking, here is a Buttermilk Cornbread recipe.

Blue Cornmeal Cornbread in Cast-Iron

adapted from Eating, Etc

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup softened butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup ww pastry flour)

1 Tbs. baking powder

1-1/4 cups blue cornmeal

1-1/3 cups milk

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 10-1/2” cast-iron skillet and place in oven while it is preheating.

2.  In a large bowl, cream together sugar, butter, salt, & vanilla.  Stir in eggs and mix well.

3.  In a separate medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, & blue cornmeal.

4.  Alternately stir flour mixture & milk into egg mixture and beat until well-blended.

5.  Bake in preheated cast-iron skillet for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm with butter & honey.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

Blue Cornmeal Pancakes

I've always loved blue cornmeal pancakes- ever since having them at a quirky little cafe for breakfast in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, over 8 years ago with my husband and then-baby girl.  My husband had challah bread french toast, starting another one of my food loves.  After that trip, I found blue cornmeal at a little hippie town near Jackson Hole (on the Idaho side) and starting experimenting with different recipes.  I tried a few recipes for blue cornmeal pancakes, and they were all good, but none were as good as the recipe I tried today- all because this one contained buttermilk.  I LOVE any pancake recipe with buttermilk- it makes such a difference in taste and texture.  These were, hands-down, the best blue cornmeal pancakes I've ever made at home.  (BTW, I order my blue cornmeal online now....right now, Vitacost offers it, but it goes in and out of stock.)

My blue cornmeal is whole-grain, and I used whole-wheat pastry flour in this recipe also, making these 100% whole-grain.  My whole family loved these and we ate them all.  Even my pickiest eater, who thought he didn't like pancakes before, LOVED these, ate two (they are filling!) and kept talking about them all day.  I added blueberries to some of them, which made them even tastier, and we ate these with some butter and real maple syrup.  (And turkey sausages, and OJ.)

Blue Cornmeal Pancakes

from Culinate.com

1¼ cups blue cornmeal

1 cup whole-wheat, ww pastry, or all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup blueberries (optional)

1.In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2.In another medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.

3.Whisk dry ingredients into egg mixture, just until combined. Whisk in melted butter.  If batter is too thick, add additional buttermilk or regular milk.

4.Prepare an electric griddle (preheat to 375 degrees) or nonstick skillet (heat over medium heat).

5.Pour a generous ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Sprinkle a generous 1 Tbsp. blueberries over each pancake, if using.

6.Cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until underside of pancakes are golden-brown and bubbles form on surface.

7.Turn and cook for 1 or 2 minutes on second side.

8.Serve hot with butter and syrup.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **