This cornbread is light and fluffy with a sweet taste. It’s great served with black-eyed peas and cabbage. There is something about baking cornbread in a black iron skillet. It gives it that crisp crust that everyone looks for. Kent and I purchased some stone-ground cornmeal from a man grinding corn in his booth at a festival in Vinton, La. We took turns turning the wheel as our corn became cornmeal. When baked, the cornbread was coarse, but flavorful.
by Pat Savoie
Ingredients
1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-styled corn
6 Tablespoon butter, softened
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon shortening
Method
Beat butter and egg yolks until smooth.
Add whipping cream and the can of corn that has been processed in a blender until smooth
Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt
Mix dry ingredients with the wet ingredients
Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into batter
Add shortening to a black iron skillet and heat in 375 oven for 5 minutes
Remove skillet from oven and pour batter into hot skillet
This Easter the Savoie family celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord by making these empty tomb cinnamon crescent rolls.
Each roll is stuffed with a marshmallow that disappears when the roll is baked leaving an empty space. This reminds us of the empty tomb of Christ on Easter Sunday. The recipe is easy enough for kids to follow. As you put the rolls together, talk about the symbolism of the ingredients:
Large Marshmallow – body of Jesus
Melted Butter – oils of embalming
Cinnamon and Sugar – spices used to annoint the body.
Crescent Roll – the wrapping of Jesus’ body or the tomb.
Cavity in bun – the empty tomb
by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet
Ingredients
2 cans jumbo crescent rolls
16 Large marshmallows
1/4 cup melted butter for dipping
cinnamon and sugar mixture in a bowl for rolling marshmallows and rolls
cooking spray
*Recipe may be halved.
All hands on deck.
Method
Unroll each crescent roll from the can. Dip each marshmallow in butter and then roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat. Roll up this marshmallow with the crescent dough sealing all sides so that the marshmallow will not escape in the oven. Dip the roll in butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place in greased muffin tins or jelly roll pan. The pan should have sides to capture the sauce.
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.
This mildly flavored bread is similar to pound cake. Eat it for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack with an afternoon cup of coffee. It becomes denser on the second day and suitable for cutting into squares or shapes for children’s lunch boxes.
by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet
Bread Ingredients
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 teaspoons orange zest (finely chopped or microplaned)
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
Glaze Ingredients
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
Method
1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray loaf pan (approximately 9 x 5 x 2) with nonstick spray.
2. In a mixer, beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat for 3 minutes. Add vanilla and beat well.
3. On medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each. Add orange zest, poppy seeds, salt and baking powder. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides once or twice.
4. Add 1/2 cup of flour, mix on low speed until combined. Add half of the sour cream, mix until combined. Repeat with flour and second half of sour cream, mix until combined. Add last 1/2 cup of flour and mix. Pour batter into pan.
5. Bake 1 hour or more until cake tester comes out clean. Top will be golden.
6. For glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, orange zest, and juice.
7. Immediately remove bread from pan and place on a cooling rack positioned on a tray. Brush some of the glaze over the top and sides of the loaf. Repeat several times. You may not wish to use all of the glaze. Cool completely and slice to serve.
8. To store, wrap loaf in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. Yield 12 servings.
I recently checked out the popular book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day from the library after a month long wait in the request line. I tried the basic recipe and found it to be easy and the bread pretty good, especially toasted with butter and homemade blackberry jelly. It definitely looks great too. I decided to go ahead and buy the book. I’m anxious to try some of the sesame seed versions. I’ve included a how-to video below that was created by the authors. It’s a good prep before the bread making attempt.
From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, submitted by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet
Preparation time: 15 minutes to prepare enough dough for four loaves, to be baked over four days during a two week time period. Each daily loaf will average 5 minutes of active preparation time.
*For planning purposes, I’d like to note that the dough will have to rest for 40 minutes once you take it out of the refrigerator and then bake for 30 minutes. The recipe also suggests letting the loaf cool before serving.
Makes four 1-pound loaves
Ingredients
3 cups lukewarm water (about 100º F)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packs)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)
Cornmeal for the pizza peel
Method
1. In a 5-quart bowl, mix the yeast, water and salt. Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist. You can also use a dough hook in the KitchenAid mixer for this. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are uniformly moist. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.
2.Cover with a lid (not airtight). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.
3. After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or covered (non completely airtight) and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.
4. On baking day, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven. Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are best). Store the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.
5. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick. Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. While shaping, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. Shaping the loaf this way should take no more than 1 minute.
6.Place the dough on the pizza peel. Allow the loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread may not rise much during this time.
7. Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan or cake pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F.
8. When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.
9.Slide the loaf off the peel and onto the baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray/cake pan and close the oven door.
10.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.
These quick cinnamon rolls are perfect for a weekend morning. I like to make buttermilk biscuits on one day and cinnamon rolls on the next since they both call for buttermilk. My Phi Mu sister Jennifer had great success fashioning these rolls into a king cake for Mardi Gras. Yum!
by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
2 3⁄4 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the counter
2 tbsp sugar
1 1⁄4 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
3⁄4 tsp. salt
1 1⁄4 cup buttermilk
6 tbsp melted butter
For the filling:
2 tbsp. melted butter (Do not mix with cinnamon and sugar. See step 7.)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
For the glaze: 2 tbsp. milk
3/4 to 1 c. powdered sugar
dash of vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 425°
In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the dough (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
Stir in the butter and buttermilk.
At this point, the dough will be sticky, so just spoon it on top of a heavily floured surface, and add a bit more flour to the top.
With floured hands, gently knead the flour into the dough (adding more flour if necessary) until the dough is manageable and is fairly smooth.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle/square of approximately 1⁄2 inch thick.
Combine cinnamon and sugar. Spread the surface of the dough with 2 tbsp melted butter, then sprinkle on the cinnamon and sugar.
Roll the dough from the longer side, and cut the dough to about 2 inches thick.
Place the rolls in a lightly greased cake pan, and bake for about 20mins, or until the edges have turned golden brown.
Drizzle glaze over hot rolls.
Don’t worry if the rolls look uneven when you place them in the pan. As they cook, they will become more uniform.
When Kent was going to Loyola Law School in New Orleans in 1978, funds were short, but he managed to give me a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas. The first thing I made was a loaf of bread. We have continued to enjoy bread making through the years. The kneading feature on the mixer
We were so proud of our bread in 1978!
makes it easy. I still love to knead the dough by hand for the last few minutes before putting it to rise. This Christmas 2010, I received a new Kitchen Aid mixer from Kent. My daughter, Rebecca, and I made this beautiful white bread. The loaf pan was inherited by my mother, Dolores, from her best friend, Melba Wittler’s, mother. Kent was the first in line with his electric knife and stick of butter when it came out of the oven.
by Pat Savoie
Ingredients:
2 envelopes active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted
Method:
Combine yeast, water, and 2 tsp sugar in bowl of electric mixer and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in eggs, vegetable oil, salt, lemon juice, remaining sugar, and 3 cups of flour. Mix until smooth, then gradually add remaining flour until a soft dough forms.
Change paddle to a bread hook and knead 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from bowl onto floured surface and knead a few times before placing in a greased bowl, then turning to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double.
Punch dough down, turn out onto floured surface. Divide dough in half if making 2 loaves. Roll each half into an 18 x 9 inch rectangle. Starting at short end, roll jelly-roll fashion pressing edges to seal as you roll. Tuck ends under and place in 2 greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Brush tops with oil. Let rise until double in bulk.
Preheat oven to 375 and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Loaves should sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. Brush tops with melted butter.
And what would Kent do without his electric knife?
My childhood friend, Laura, and I have always enjoyed good food. Both of our parents like to cook, and we’ve spent many a meal at each other’s homes over the years. She’s someone I can count on to read lots of cookbooks and not be intimidated to try a new recipe. During her last visit, we made these scones for the first time and were both delighted with the results.
Contributed by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet from the cookbook The New Best Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably Gold Medal or Pillsbury brand
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream
Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place oven rack in the middle position.
1. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the large bowl of a food processor with a metal blade. Process with six 1-second pulses.
2. Remove cover and distribute the butter evenly over the dry ingredients. Cover and process with 12 1-second pulses.
3. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the heavy cream with a rubber spatula until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
4. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead by hand until it forms a ball, around 10 seconds.
5. Press dough into an 8 inch floured cake pan. Turn out and slice the round into 8 wedges. If desired, glaze them by brushing cream over the tops and sprinkling them with a little sugar.
6. Place wedges on an ungreased baking sheet. (The baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated up to 2 hours.)
7. Bake until the tops are slightly browned 12-15 minutes. (I baked mine for 15 minutes.) Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
These bite-sized biscuits are hard to resist. Eat them with honey or jelly for breakfast or brunch. They are the perfect size for a potluck brunch when everyone wants a small taste of everything. For dinner, they make a nice accompaniment to soups or curries without being too filling. When we were little, Dad would pick up Popeye’s Biscuits for a breakfast treat. These little poppers taste like those special mornings.
by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet based on a Southern Living recipe
Ingredients
8 oz sour cream 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 1/4 cup Bisquick
Method
Whisk together sour cream and butter. Stir into Bisquick. With floured hands, roll into 1 ½ inch balls. (You can also drop by spoonfuls, but the tops will remain textured when baked.) Place in lightly greased mini muffin tin.
Bake 350 for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.
My friend Julie brought this delicious pumpkin bread to bible study last fall, and I just had to make it this year. Canned pumpkin can be hard to find during months other than October and November, so don’t miss your chance to bake a loaf and fill the house with the smell of spice. I like to serve it with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.
by Julie, Elizabeth’ friend from church
*This recipe makes a large loaf, muffins, several mini loafs or one bunt cake. The recipe may easily be halved.
Ingredients
3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
15 oz can pumpkin
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2/3 cup water
Method
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and then add in to mixed liquid ingredients.
Bake at 350 in a big loaf pan or bundt for 50-60 minutes until a tester comes out clean. For muffins or small loaf pans bake a shorter amount of time.
To whip cream, chill metal mixing bowl by swirling around some ice cubes in the bowl and then tossing them out. Add liquid whipping cream and beat on high until soft peaks form. Add a little powdered sugar to taste. Spoon over bread.
Freeze or give away extras. Use a halloween cookie cutter to cut slices into shapes for school lunches.
For muffins, add 2 cups mini chocolate chips. 12-14 minutes for mini-muffins. 20-22 for regular muffins. Freeze and put in lunch boxes.
When we lived in Connecticut, Dave and I loved the eating at Match, a restaurant in nearby SoNo. We loved their three bruschetta appetizer. When we moved, I searched for a recipe that reminded me of those date nights before children.
So fresh tasting, Dave says this bruschetta is just as good if not better than most restaurant’s. It’s smooth and not too tangy.
by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet
Ingredients
7 Roma tomatoes, skins removed, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil
sliced French bread
Method
Remove skins of the tomatoes by first preparing a bowl of ice water and a pot of boiling water. Wash the tomatoes and with a knife gently carve an X from the bottom of the tomato to the top. Boil the tomatoes for one minute or so until the skin begins to peel away where the X has been carved. Do not overcook. With tongs, remove the tomatoes and plunge them into the ice water bath to stop the cooking process. The skins should easily peel off at this point. Remove the core and seeds then finely dice.
Place tomatoes into a bowl and add garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt and pepper.
Brush the bread slices with olive oil on one side and toast. You may toast them on a griddle or on a cookie sheet in the oven at 450. Place on the top rack for 5 minutes, oil side down.
This cornbread is light and fluffy with a sweet taste. It’s great served with black-eyed peas and cabbage. There is something about baking cornbread in a black iron skillet. It gives it that crisp crust that everyone looks for. Kent and I purchased some stone-ground cornmeal from a man grinding corn in his booth at a festival in Vinton, La. We took turns turning the wheel as our corn became cornmeal. When baked, the cornbread was coarse, but flavorful.
Savoie Secrets: It's a Family Recipe 