Sweet Corn Bread

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sour cream
1 14 oz can creamed corn
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Combine the egg, sour cream, creamed corn, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Melt 3-4 Tablespoons of butter into cast iron skillet. Pour ingredients into skillet.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Original recipe here. Modifications from one of the comments.

Asian Spinach and Shrimp Salad With Sesame Dressing

Stumbled across this recipe here and can't wait to try it out.

1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest (grated)
2 tsp fresh ginger (minced)
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp sesame oil (black toasted)
salt and black pepper

1/2 cup spinach (baby, lightly packed)
1 lb shrimp (medium cooked and peeled)
2 oranges (peeled and segmented)
1/2 cup scallion (chopped)

Bring orange juice to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about 1 Tbsp., about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, place spinach in large bowl, and set aside.

Whisk reduced orange juice, zest, ginger, vinegar, and honey together in small bowl. Whisk in vegetable and sesame oils and season with salt and pepper.

Toss shrimp, orange segments, and scallions,with 2 tablespoons dressing in bowl and season with salt and pepper. . Toss spinach with remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper. Divide spinach among 4 individual plates and top with shrimp and oranges.

Picnic Salads

Steam or boil a bunch of asparagus; slice on the bias. Toss with orange segments, zest and juice, some olive oil, salt and pepper. Garnish with sesame seeds. I added cut up cooked, shrimp.

Combine cooked brown rice with small, barely cooked broccoli florets and chopped pecans or walnuts and parsley. Dress with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon. This turned out a little bland and dry. I added soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. I think cut up scallions would be a good addition.

Both original recipes from Mark Bittman's column in the NY Times: "101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics".

Roasted Garlic

No time to post. Go here for great instructions on roasting garlic to spread or use. Also instructions on making roasted garlic infused olive oil.

http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2010/02/01/roasted-garlic-three-ways/

Horseradish Dressing / Steak Sauce

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons milk (I used whole)
2 Tablespoons horseradish, prepared
1 Tablespoon Sour Cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk together mayo, milk, horseradish, salt and pepper.

Crumbled, well-cooked bacon makes a great addition.

Add a little of the bacon grease, too. Maybe a teaspoon to taste to give it some more bacon flavor.

This is great on salad, steak or steak salad.