Moscow-Pullman Daily News Blogs

If there’s one baked-good staple I come back to time and again, it’s cornbread. An old family friend handed down her recipe for buttermilk cornbread some years ago, and until I ran into the “just add milk” cornbread mixes in Moscow, I had no idea there was another way to make it.

The only problem with making a big batch of cornbread once every month or two is the five-pound box of cornmeal that sits in the cupboard, waiting for me to think of another use for it.

This post on Wise Bread gave me no end of ideas. And one of the commentors linked to a recipe that shot to the top of my list - Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Cakes. For a cheap staple, who knew cornmeal had so many uses? I’m definitely going to try a quiche-type pie with a polenta-style crust this weekend - I’m thinking goat cheese and spinach.

Polenta biscotti? With a pretty mug or some good-quality coffee, that sounds like a gift idea for mother’s day. Grilled polenta as the outside of a grilled cheese sandwich? Add a cup of tomato soup, and that’s lunch.

And I’ve just decided to make Mexican layered polenta for dinner tonight. I’ll report back with results and the recipe for Patty Lester’s famous (in my family) cornbread.