Martha White National Cornbread Festival and Cook-Off

February 26, 2009

Hello everyone, sorry that I am so far behind in my Blog. I will bring you up to date from last year, but first I want to tell you about the Martha White National Cornbread Festival and Cook-Off and how you can still enter your favorite recipe. First and foremost, if you want to enter, you need to do so by the end of this month. Here is the link that explains how to enter the contest: http://www.marthawhite.com/promotions_news/media_2009/cornbread_cookoff09.aspx
Don't forget, your recipe has to be in by the 28th of this month.
The actual festival runs the week of April 25th and the cook-off itself is on Saturday the 25th in South Pittsburgh, TN. If your recipe is picked in the top 10, you will cook on site and the judges will decide the winner Saturday afternoon. The first prize is $5,000 cash plus a 5 Star Stainless Steel gas range (worth roughly about $2,000). Good Luck!!!
On today's Morning program I was joined by Martha White's Linda Carman. She is the co-ordinator of the contest and is over the Test Kitchen where the recipes are tested and picked.
We featured two recipes from last year's competition, in fact the winner and runner-up recipes from last year. Here are the recipes that we fixed this morning. By the way, the crew inhaled them after the program!!!

Ancho Shrimp on Smoked Gouda Corncakes
First Prize WinnerLori Stephens – Hendersonville, TN
Corncakes
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 egg1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/3 cups Martha White® Yellow Self-Rising Corn Meal Mix
1 1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda
1/2 cup Crisco® Canola Oil

Ancho Shrimp
4 tablespoons butter
2 or 3 large dried ancho peppers* (split in half and seeds removed)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 lb. fresh uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup canned petite diced tomatoes, undrained
Sliced green onions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 10-inch Lodge® cast iron skillet on medium. Add 1/3 cup green onions; cook 1 minute. Add corn; cook 2 minutes. In large mixing bowl, whisk egg. Add buttermilk, sour cream, and corn meal; whisk until smooth. Stir in cheese, corn and onions. Wipe out skillet with paper towel. Add 4 tablespoons oil; heat on medium high. Spoon batter into oil by 1/4 cupfuls. Cook until golden brown; turn and brown on other side. Cook in batches adding oil as needed. Drain on paper towels. Wipe out skillet.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in skillet on medium high. Add ancho peppers; cook 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add shrimp; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until shrimp turns pink, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes; cook just until hot. Remove ancho peppers.
Place 2 corncakes slightly overlapping on serving plate. Top with shrimp and sauce; sprinkle with green onions.
6 servings

*Ancho chile peppers, a dried red heart-shaped pod, have a mild earthy flavor. If unavailable, add 1 teaspoon ground ancho chile pepper (available in the spice section) with the salt and pepper.


Zesty Italian Sausage Skillet with Sundried Tomato Cornbread Crust
Second Prize Winner
Teresa Ralston – New Albany, OH

Filling
2 tablespoons Crisco® Olive Oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 pound Italian pork sausage
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons dried sage
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Crust
1 (6 oz.) pkg. Martha White® Cotton Country™ Cornbread Mix
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Toppings
6 cups baby lettuce greens
Balsamic salad dressing, to taste
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Fresh ground pepper

Heat oven to 400° F. Heat oil in a 10-inch Lodge® cast iron skillet on medium high. Add onion; cook until softened. Add sausage; cook breaking up with a fork until done. Drain, if needed. Add cream; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sage and red pepper. Simmer on medium about 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
In a medium bowl, combine cornbread crust ingredients; mix well. Spread over top of sausage mixture in skillet. Bake at 400° F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown.
In a bowl, toss greens and dressing. Cut cornbread crust into 6 wedges. Place each with sausage filling on plate; top with 1/6th of the greens. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola and fresh pepper.
6 servings