LISA'S DAY and UKRAINIAN CORN BREAD

A Domestic Goddess from a youngster  . . .

Lisa is one of our family’s GREAT COOKS!  Her philosophy:

I consider myself a “foodie”. I love ingredients, I love prepping and cooking, and I love to please my friends and family with tasty, beautifully presented meals (accompanied by the appropriate wines, of course!) Cooking is the one thing that never gets old or stale for me. I have friends who say, “Oh—no, I don’t cook anymore—my family is grown—I’m done.” But for me—there’s always the joy of anticipating how something will taste, looking forward to trying a new technique or improving on an old favourite—I can’t help looking forward to the next meal. Someone once said to me, “Good grief! Does every meal have to be a celebration?!” Well—why not? 

Lisa and Josef in New York

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Lisa, I chose this Ukrainian recipe for your day because it looks so fancy.

HUTSUL CORN BREAD (Malai)

        From Annette Ogrodnik Corona’s The New Ukrainian Cookbook

½ cup sour cream

2 large eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp softened butter

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 to 1 ½ cups feta cheese

½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper

·        Grease a 9 inch square cake pan.

·        Melt the butter and set aside.

·        In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

·        Stir in sour cream, melted butter, and buttermilk.

·        Stir in cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

·        Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  (Annette suggests 350 but that wasn’t hot enough for my oven.  Fannie Farmer suggests 425 degrees.)

·        Turn batter into greased cake pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

·        Crumble the feta.  Sprinkle it on top of the hot bread.  Then top with chopped red pepper.

·        Bake for 5 more minutes.

This bread reheats well in the oven.  Serve hot.  J