Cornbread Supper

Young Cornbread Supperian ESRS styled a lovely plate from Cornbread Supper components, starting from the 12:00 position: Tomato Cucumber Mozzarella Salad Homemade Pizza Crackers with Trader John Hummus Spoonbread made with Menifee County homegrown, homeground Boone County White cornmeal, Willow Creek Farm butter and milk, Elmwood Stock Farm eggs: 100 percent Kentucky (well, except for the salt and baking powder) Another Supperian, DE, styled a beautiful plate, too, centered on a brilliant carrot salad, with Greek meatballs in the 12:00 o'clock position, and a chicken-pasta dish at 10:00 o'clock. Your documentarian appreciates the interesting and intriguing wine varieties that show up each week. For this week, a bottle of Elm Tree Argentine Malbec played well with the Greek Meatballs and their awesome Taramor sauce. A lovely squat carafe of Shiraz also tasted delicious. Someone brought a bottle of Lovers Leap " Cynthiana ," which will be opened at an upcoming Supper.

We completely failed to predict the size of the hungry, energetic, convivial crowd that came to Cornbread Supper on Presidents' Day 2010, one of the worst weather nights of our rather unusually cold and snowy winter. Three generations of two different families came, along with plenty of others, and we had a fine spicy time. Firsts tonight: First time we had two different dumpling dishes at the same Supper, first contribution of food labels by a capable and fully participating preschooler (see below), and the first homegrown dried beans (Vermont Cranberry) our household had ever produced. The cranberry beans with cornmeal dumplings and onion jam were unintentionally spicy, but the chicken and dumplings were smooooth and calming. Other fine tastes: Farmer's Pasta (Cheese, Bacon) Chicken & Dumplin's Sour Cream/Buttermilk Cornbread (Vegetarian) Cornbreads Redux: Triangles and muffins from past Suppers, reheated to add food for the hungry crowd Salami and Cheese Plate Homema

I appreciate the friend who sent a link to this story about a supper that has happened in Paris (the one in France) every Sunday night for 30 years. Guest chef each week - perhaps something Cornbread Suppers should aspire toward!

Looking to spice up winter -- and we have been having winter here in our "moderate climate" Bluegrass -- we cooks at the host house made two new dishes for this Cornbread Supper, aided (but not limited) by internet recipes: Pumpkin-Roasted Corn Soup, adapted from this recipe at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen: Added a peeled, chopped sweet potato, a bit more chipotle in adobo sauce, and cow's milk instead of soy: No longer vegan, still spectacular. Wonderfully creamy without cream, and the roast corn is a revelation itself. Feta Cheese Onion Cornbread, adapted from this user-submitted recipe , (thank you, ponderblue1950) in these ways: sauteed yellow onion instead of fresh green (it's winter!), added 1.5 cups homemade farmer's cheese that needed a good use, doubled the recipe, and used 3 TBSP brown sugar instead of the 4 TBSP white that would have been indicated; substituted coconut, white rice, and brown rice flours, in about 1/3 1/3 1/3 proportions, for the wheat flour