Cornbread

1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Best when cooked in a cast iron skillet and served hot tableside.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat
while you make the batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and
baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted
butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375
degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour
the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is
firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25
minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.

Fried Chicken

2 tablespoons kosher salt

3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Hot pepper flacks
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
Breadcrumbs

The brine: In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the water, salt, sugar, rosemary,
and peppercorns to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Stir and let steep and
cool for 15 minutes. Add the ice cubes, buttermilk and cayenne. Whisk well.
Pat the chicken pieces dry and remove excess fat. Place the chicken in a heavy-duty
brining bag or a nonreactive food-safe container with a lid. Pour the brine on the
chicken, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. The smaller pieces will take less time
and the larger pieces will take more time. DO NOT OVER_BRINE or the chicken will be
too salty.
In a medium bowl, whisk the seasoned flour ingredients together.
Remove the chicken from the brine; drain off the excess liquid. Coat evenly in the
seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Let stand for 5 minutes, then coat again with
the seasoned flour; and let stand another 5 minutes before frying.
Pour enough oil in the cast iron chicken fryer to reach 1/2 inch up the side. Heat the oil
to 325 degrees. You may have to adjust the heat level under the pot to maintain a study
temperature.
Immediately place the chicken, skin side down, in the hot oil and cover the pot. Once
you see that the bottoms of the chicken pieces are golden brown and the tops are
beginning to cook, about 10 minutes, turn the chicken over. Place the lid back on the pot
and fry for another 5 minutes or so. You can remove the lid when the chicken is almost
done to crisp up the skin. Cook a total of 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the
chicken pieces. Remember; turn only once, and larger pieces may take longer. The
chicken should deb cooked all the way to the bone. Note: It may help to place the thighs
in the middle of the skillet with the oil is the hotter and surround them with the breasts,
legs and wings.
Drain the chicken on a wire rack set on a baking sheet, and place in a low oven (250 to
300 degrees) until ready to serve.

Gnocchi

gnocchi
olive oil
25g butter
a few handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ball mozzarella cheese
handful basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Simply boil a large pan of salted water, tip in the gnocchi and cook according to the
packet instructions (a few minutes).
Fish out when cooked and drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter in a large,
non-stick frying pan.
When the oil is hot, tip in the gnocchi (be careful, the oil will spit)
After about 5 minutes, when the gnocchi have started to catch and brown, add in
ripped-up pieces of the mozzarella.
The temptation is to keep stirring, but you want the gnocchi to stick so that their bottoms
go all crispy, so resist the temptation to keep prodding them. And if you mix it up too
much, the cheese will melt into a lump of goo. (If that does happen, just use some
kitchen scissors to cut it up.) 1-2 minutes before removing gnocchi and cheese add
sliced cherry tomatoes
Tear the basil leaves over everything and season with salt and black pepper. Then eat.
Lots.

Pizza

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to coat pans and drizzle

1 1/2 cups pizza sauce

12 ounces grated full-fat, dry mozzarella cheese
Toppings as desired
Small handful torn fresh basil leaves (optional)
2 ounces grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Combine flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil in a large bowl. Mix with hands or a wooden
spoon until no dry flour remains. The bowl should be at least 4 to 6 times to volume of
the dough to account for rising. Or just get store bought dough as I always did
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that edges are well-sealed, then let
rest on the countertop for at least 8 hours and up to 24. Dough should rise dramatically
and fill bowl.
Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, then transfer it to a well-floured work
surface. Divide dough into two pieces and form each into a ball by holding it with wellfloured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself, rotating it until it forms a tight
ball.
Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in the bottom of two 10-inch cast iron skillet or round cake
pans. Place 1 ball of dough in each pan and turn to coat evenly with oil. Using a flat
palm, press the dough around the pan, flattening it slightly and spreading oil around the
entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough sit
at room temperature for two hours. After the first hour, adjust an oven rack to the middle
position and preheat oven to 550F.
After two hours, dough should be mostly filling in the pan up to the edges. Use your
fingertips to press it around until it fills in every corner, popping any large bubbles that
appear. Lift up one edge of the dough to let any air bubbles underneath escape and
repeat, moving around the dough until there are no air bubbles left underneath and the
dough is evenly spread around the pan.
Place dough into oven for a few minutes early to cook before adding pizza sauce and
toppings
Top each round of dough with 3/4 cup sauce, spreading the sauce with the back of a
spoon into every corner. Spread evenly with mozzarella cheese, letting the cheese go
all the way to the edges. Season with salt. Add other toppings as desired. Drizzle with
olive oil and scatter a few basil leaves over the top (if desired)
Transfer pan to oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is
golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, 12 to 15 minutes.
Immediately sprinkle with grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese. Using a thin
spatula, loosen pizza and peek underneath. If bottom is not as crisp as desired, place
pan over a burner and cook on medium heat, moving the pan around to cook evenly
until it is crisp, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove the pizzas and transfer to a cutting board. Cut
each one into six slices and serve immediately.

Cranberry Cobbler

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan

1 1/4 cups cranberries, partially thawed if frozen
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 Orange

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Stir together
cranberries and 2 tablespoons sugar. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking
powder, salt, orange zest and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. In a small bowl, whisk
together milk and egg, then whisk in butter and OJ. Whisk milk mixture into flour
mixture until combined.

Pour batter into skillet and scatter cranberries on top. Bake until center springs
back when lightly touched, 25 to 30 minutes.